Meeting Guide

An advisor meeting with a student

The information below is geared primarily toward a general advising meeting at any point in the year. A few items are specific to summer orientation, as demarked by “Summer Orientation Only.”

Before Your Advising Appointment

  • Summer Orientation Only: Review the electronic version of your advisee’s Mercer Academic Profile.
  • Review student schedules in NEXUS prior to the advising appointment.
  • Print your students’ schedules so you can review their schedule together.
  • Consider scheduling your appointments in 20 minute blocks to accommodate all your advisees in a timely fashion.

The Advising Appointment

  • In some cases, you might be creating schedules from scratch. If a student arrives unprepared for your advising appointment, consider referring your student to the University Catalog, the general education requirements for the college or school, and the course schedule on the Registrar’s website and asking your student to make a follow-up advising appointment after preliminary plans are made.
  • If schedule changes are necessary, consider adjusting based upon all linked classes first.
  • If students identify themselves as athletes and the schedules are not designed accordingly, revise the schedules to accommodate practice times. Feel free to call Athletics at ext. 2994 and/or Sybil Blalock at ext. 2301.
  • Summer Orientation Only: If you need to change a UNV 101 time, please place students in the appropriate section, as certain sections are designated for specific-college/school students.
  • Summer Orientation Only: Please make detailed advising notes under the “Activities” section in NEXUS. If the student did not show up, note that as well.
  • While family members will be encouraged not to attend these appointments, some will! FERPA forms will be distributed that day, but use your discretion in discussions with family members present.
  • Foreign Language and Math Placement scores are added to NEXUS as soon as they are available.

Reminders for your Advisee

  • Print copies of your students’ schedules from NEXUS for students.
  • There will be another opportunity to review (and revise, if needed) their schedule before registration.
  • The math and foreign language placement exams are offered at the beginning of each term, if needed.
  • Summer Orientation Only: Bear Beginnings (fall orientation for first-year students) begins the Saturday before classes start.
  • Summer Orientation Only: If they are first-year students, they should read the summer reading assignment, Selections from the Mercer Reader, and consider entering the Contest for First-Year Students.