About Advising Roles at CWRU
Advising and mentoring are critical components of an education at Case Western Reserve. Advisors and mentors welcome and acclimate students to the university, help students explore curricular and extracurricular opportunities, refer students to resources, guide students in selecting coursework, support and advocate for students when needed, and have conversations about post-graduation plans. Advisors and mentors also derive professional and personal satisfaction from these meaningful connections that help students thrive.
While we can all support students, we formally identify certain roles to ensure that students are systematically supported and guided. These formal roles are four-year advisor, pre-major advisor, and major advisor.
Four-year advisors serve as the resource for students, faculty and staff to understand policies, procedures and requirements of all academic programs as set forth by the faculty, as well as points of contact for academic support systems as needed. Four-year advisors are assigned before matriculation and support students through graduation.
Faculty can contact a student's four-year advisor (as listed in SIS) with questions related (but not limited) to:
- A student's semester course registration
- General education requirements or substitutions
- Progress toward graduation
- Decisions about P/NP, course withdrawal, or term withdrawal
- Academic standing.
Pre-major advisors are students' first faculty connections at the university and are essential guides to their transition to our scholarly community. They provide individualized guidance to students to build a foundation for academic and personal success at CWRU. They will support students until major declaration and then remain an important source of counsel throughout their Case Western Reserve experiences.
Major advisors are assigned once students declare their majors; they serve as key relationships for students, providing expert discipline-specific guidance including for each student’s long-term goals. Major advisors will support students on major-specific course selections and substitutions, and will consult with academic representatives from the department as needed.
Quick Reference for Advising Questions
While advising students, faculty may come across questions that require referral to another campus partner. Below is guidance for common advising topics/questions.
In February 2024, the University launched Stellic, which offers a more modern and user-friendly Academic Requirements Report for both students and adviqsors to track completed degree requirements and plan future semesters.
- The Degree Planning for Advisors page on the University Registrar website provides helpful videos and step-by-step guides.
- The Degree Planning for Undergraduate Students page on the University Registrar website provides helpful videos and step-by-step guides for students.
- For questions about an advisee’s degree requirements or academic record, please contact the student’s four-year advisor in SIS.
- For other inquiries, such as how program requirements are coded in Stellic or for training support, contact stellichelp@case.edu.
General Bulletin: "All degree candidates begin their academic careers in good standing. Those who fail to meet the requirements to continue in good standing, as defined in the General Bulletin, are ordinarily placed on academic probation for the following semester in order to signal the need to improve their academic performance and to help them develop plans for improving their academic performance and returning to good standing. Those who fail to meet a minimum set of academic standards defined below or who have two consecutive semesters in which they do not meet the requirements of good standing are ordinarily separated from the university for a period of two academic sessions, including the summer session."
Contact for further guidance:
- Students (and/or their advisors) with questions about their current or potential academic standing should contact the student's four-year advisor, as listed in SIS.
- Faculty questions about the Academic Standing Board should be directed to the Dean for Undergraduate Advising Support, Molly Watkins, molly.watkins@case.edu.
Students seeking to substitute degree requirements with other coursework should obtain the Academic Advisement Report Substitution Form, available from the Undergraduate Advising Support Office website. If they are seeking to substitute a course toward a general education requirement, they should contact the appropriate person based on the list below. If approved, the student should submit the completed form to their four-year advisor in Undergraduate Advising Support.
Students matriculating Fall 2023 or later, following the new Unified General Education Requirements should fill out their request and send it for review to their four-year advisor, who will consult with the Associate Provost for Curriculum, Peter Shulman.
Students matriculating in Spring 2023 or earlier, following the older school/college-specific General Education Requirements should fill out their request and send it for review to:
- College of Arts & Sciences (including students majoring in Computer Science BA, Economics, and departments housed in the School of Medicine) - Rebecca Benard, rbb53@case.edu
- Case School of Engineering (including students majoring in Engineering Physics) - Daniel Lacks, djl15@case.edu
- Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing - Beverly Capper, bjc40@case.edu
- Weatherhead School of Management - Jenny Hawkins, jrh175@case.edu
- If it is a course for a SAGES requirement - Erika Olbricht, exo37@case.edu
Students seeking to substitute degree requirements with other coursework should obtain the Academic Advisement Report Substitution Form, available from the Undergraduate Advising Support Office website. They will need to have the substitution approved by their major/minor advisor or departmental representative, who will then sign the form. The student should submit the completed form to their four-year advisor in Undergraduate Advising Support.
Case Western Reserve University adopted a common set of general education requirements (Unified GER) for all undergraduate degree programs effective for students who matriculated at the university in Fall 2023 or later. Students who entered the university in Spring 2023 or earlier will continue to follow their school/college degree requirements in place at the time of matriculation. Faculty and students should refer to the requirements either in the student's SIS Academic Requirements Report (Stellic) or the appropriate General Bulletin year in the General Bulletin Archives.
Faculty and students with questions about their specific general education requirements should speak with the student's four-year advisor (as listed in SIS).
Faculty questions related to course approvals, requirements, and policies should be directed to Peter Shulman, Associate Provost for Curriculum, pas125@case.edu.
Students seeking to receive transfer credit for work completed at another domestic, accredited institution after matriculation to CWRU should obtain the Off-Campus Study Form, available from the Undergraduate Advising Support Office website. They will need to have the course approved by the designated departmental academic representative at CWRU, who will then sign the form. The student should submit the completed form to their four-year advisor in Undergraduate Advising Support. Students should take note of the eligibility requirements, noted in the General Bulletin, and refer questions to their four-year advisor.
Note that students seeking transfer credit for study at an overseas institution via study abroad (which includes study through a US university in an international setting) or study in their home country, must work with the Office of Education Abroad to determine eligibility and to apply, completing the Course Approval Form as part of the study abroad process.
Students who are requesting an exception to an academic policy must formally request this through the special request petition process to the Undergraduate Advising Support Deans Committee. To obtain this form and start this process, students should contact their four-year advisor. The UAS Deans Committee meets regularly to review and decide on petitions. Please note that course substitutions and other curricular exceptions should use the Academic Advisement Report Substitution Form (see above).
Proficiency examinations allow students to receive credit for a Case Western Reserve University course by passing an examination for that course. These examinations are optional and intended for students that have completed self-study of the material but have not had the opportunity take AP or IB examinations to earn credit or students that did not earn transfer credit for the course.
Proficiency exams are offered in select subjects at the start of each semester. Students can see the updated schedule and register for exams here.
Registration advising holds can only be lifted by Pre-Major Advisors (if a student is not yet declared) or Major Advisors (if the student has declared).
Students seeking to study abroad should first contact the Office of Education Abroad to determine program options and eligibility. They will work with a study abroad advisor to apply, go through the Course Approval process, and complete other pre-departure requirements.
Mid-semester grades provide an important summary statement for undergraduates about their standing in a course. They also help advisors monitor the progress of their advisees and work with them if needed to develop or update a plan for the remainder of the semester.
Mid-semester grades must be recorded in SIS by posted deadline (see the Academic Calendar). This deadline is critical for providing students sufficient time to review their progress with advisors before making any adjustments to their course loads, such as course withdrawals or P/NP options. Faculty should take special note of this date when planning assignments and exams during the semester.
Four-year advisors use this information to focus on the progress of students currently on probation and to identify students who run the risk of academic standing actions at the end of the semester, reaching out to students who have multiple unsatisfactory grades (D, F, NP, U).
Faculty advisors should also review the mid-semester grades of all their advisees, both to offer support to struggling students as well as congratulate those who are performing well in their coursework.