Academic Advisor

Your Course Director, or Course Administrator, will tell you who your Academic Advisor is.

You will usually meet with your Academic Advisor at least once per semester and they are likely to remain with you throughout your course. Initial meetings with your advisor may be specifically set up by them, or scheduled into your timetable, but if you need their help between organised meetings then you can contact them. Later in your course you will normally take responsibility for organising the meetings.

Preparing for a meeting

Your Academic Advisor will prepare for your meeting by looking at how you are progressing. They have access to the Student Engagement Monitoring System (SEMS) to view your attendance, progress and results. They will use these indicators as a guide to discuss ways you can work together and be supported to achieve your best. You too should prepare for the meeting by thinking about how things are going and trying to identify anything you need help with.

In the meeting

The meeting with your advisor will be relaxed and your advisor will chat with you to discuss your academic progress, how you best learn, and your future aspirations. Together you will identify any help that you need. Your advisor will be able to help you directly with some things but, if you need help beyond their knowledge (e.g. specialist learning support, money matters, wellbeing advice, medical issues or accommodation matters), they may signpost you to other services. You can get information about all these services under the Support tab in MyBeckett. During the meeting your advisor will make notes, which they will discuss and agree with you. These help you both remember what you have discussed and are useful in preparing for your next meeting. If you want your advisor to keep something confidential, then you should tell them.

There is also information about the Academic Advisor’s role in your Course Handbook.