Adviser Links and Tools
The most common links to tools and information used by advisers are found here.
- Colleague Self-Service: select Advising to view a list of your advisees; then access their academic records including planned and registered courses, mid-term assessments, final grades, academic Progress (i.e., degree audit) and test scores showing placement at Grinnell; enter Notes about your advising interactions.
- Schedule of Courses: live and searchable for each semester
- Colleague Guide for Advisers: outlines how to approve online registration. (PDF, login required)
- How to take and record advising notes (PDF, login required)
- Academic Catalog: Grinnell’s understanding of a liberal arts education, the academic policies, and the departmental pages are the most helpful sections for advising.
- Academic Policies and Forms for Advising
- Academic Alerts (SAL): Review academic alerts for your advisees from their course instructors; view detailed concerns; clarify the situation and coordinate your response using a “post” (texting) feature in the app to communicate with the course instructor and the staff in the Academic Success Center.
- Personal Alerts (SAL): Submit a personal alert if you’re concerned about an advisee’s well-being or personal situation. Care Team staff will follow up.
- Degree Planning for Students
- Departmental Advising Guide (formerly called Departmental Advising and Registration Suggestions) offers detailed advising guidance for students exploring disciplines during the first two years; includes sample four-year plans for each major; especially helpful for Tutorial advisers.
- Tutorial Adviser Resources (login required) for the first registration only.
Professional Development and Support
Faculty are oriented to their role as advisers beginning in New Faculty Orientation and continuing with training for new advisers. Ongoing development is offered regularly through the Community Friday program (watch for advising-focused topics) and annual summer workshops on advising, typically in late May. In addition, Department Chairs’ responsibilities include development of faculty in their advising role. Trainings are built around developing various competencies needed to be an adviser (login required).
- Adviser’s Handbook explains how academic advising works at Grinnell and includes the nuts and bolts advisers need, tools and processes for academic planning, and resources for developing one’s advising technique in order to work effectively with all students.
- Advising in Practice (login required) is a catalog of faculty-created resources that facilitate effective advising such as how to do an intake with a new advisee, taking notes during an advising meeting, assignments you can give your advisees to learn about liberal education or to facilitate four-year planning, and much more.
- Advising Partners (PDF, login required) lists offices that support your advising. This reference guide is especially helpful for making student referrals.
Faculty are encouraged to contact the Dean for Student Success and Academic Advising with questions or requests for additional resources.