Skip to Global Navigation Skip to Local Site Navigation Skip to Main Content

Advising Handbook - Advising Students Year-by-Year

 ADVISING STUDENTS YEAR-BY-YEAR:

  • Freshman: 01-24 earned credits
  • Sophomore: 25-55 earned credits
  • Junior: 56-89 earned credits
  • Senior: 90+ earned credits

First-Year students, unfamiliar with the rules and regulations of the University and adjusting to college life, often need much more assistance from their academic advisor than upper classmen.  It is important to meet with students new to the University several times throughout the academic year to make sure that they fully understand their academic requirements, the extracurricular component of campus life and the centrality this has to learning, as well as the numerous resources available to enhance their successful development as articulated in the University’s mission.  

The Office of the Dean places all new freshmen into a 12-credit schedule according to the directive of each Department Chairperson once they have indicated their intent to enroll by submitting a tuition deposit.  Students participate in summer orientation prior to the beginning of classes. Any time during the summer, including orientation, students can change their schedule with the assistance of their academic advisor. Aside from adjusting their preliminary schedules, students should also add a course to bring their enrollment to 15 credits.  In some instances, students will be enrolled in a 1-credit course, such as protocols of learning or a science lab, which will bring their enrollment up to 16 credits.  However, most first-year students should not attempt more than 5 academic courses.  

Each faculty member will receive an advising folder from the Dean’s Office.  Stapled inside the folder will be a placement sheet indicating English, Math, and/or AP placements as well as Admit Type.  This information can also be found on On Course. You are to keep this folder as your department file on your advisee. Notes from advising sessions, updated DCPLs, and all departmental copies of forms, should be kept in the student’s file.  An official DPCL for new students will be sent to you from the Dean’s Office after the end of the drop/add period.  

On LORA, faculty will find a current list of their advisees.  With a simple click of a link, you can email all your advisees either individually or simultaneously.  This is a very useful tool, particularly at the beginning of each semester, to check in with students to see how their classes are going and to set-up appointments.    

You will also be able to view early warnings for all of your advisees as well as midterm grades.  Please make sure you review this information with your advisees on a regular basis.  While some students will be very proactive and engaged in developmental advising, others will be more reluctant.  Please remember that not all students have had opportunities to experience this type of intellectual engagement, and it may require you to be more proactive in establishing a productive working relationship.   

As students mature intellectually and personally, their academic advising needs will evolve.  Second and third-year students will become increasingly independent and academic advisors’ roles should shift to more of a mentor role.  Advising sessions should increasingly focus on long-term academic and professional goals, research opportunities, minors and double-majors, internship possibilities, study abroad interests and graduate school.  

As students near their final year, academic advisors should make sure that their advisees clearly understand the requirements necessary to successfully complete their degree and that they are on track. Students with more than 85 earned credit hours should apply for graduation.  While they will receive emails for the Office of Student Records promoting them to do so, often times they do not read these emails or forget so please make sure to remind them to do so.  Student can apply for graduation online at http://www.loyno.edu/records.  Students can also find the appropriate form by typing in “application for degree” in the search box at the top right corner of the university’s homepage.  Once this is done, the Dean’s Office will conduct a degree audit.  Degrees are certified in the semester in which students complete all their degree requirements.  

Unlike many colleges and Universities, Loyola University New Orleans allows students who are near degree completion to participate in the graduation commencement ceremony.  However, participation in the commencement ceremony is not the same as graduating, and they will not receive their diploma until they have completed all their degree requirements.