Academic Advising

Yes.

Every student is assigned a core advisor when they first comes to LC. The placement team reviews the student’s file and tries to match the student with the core advisor who can best meet that student’s needs. This person can also provide executive function coaching services.

The advisor takes a developmental advising approach by working closely with each student to address academic, social, and transitional needs.

Once students reach their junior year in a bachelor’s degree program, they transition to working with a faculty advisor who mentors students in discipline-related inquiry, research in the field, and planning for life after college.

Once a student has decided to attend Landmark College, an academic advisor is assigned.

The College informs new students of the advisor assignment, and the advisor contacts the student.

New students meet their advisor during New Student Orientation and work with their advisors during orientation to complete course selection. During this orientation session, students learn about where their advisor’s office is located and talk briefly with their advisor about how they will work together.

Advisors work closely with their students in their first year, providing weekly meetings.

Students who want to change advisors during an academic term should contact Nevada Bromley, Academic Advising Coordinator

Students should be prepared to discuss their request for an advising change. A reassignment can only be made if the resources are available at that time.

Returning students may also request an advisor change on the course registration form submitted each semester when selecting courses for the upcoming semester.

Advisors work with students prior to the start of the semester to help them to develop a time management plan. In the first few weeks of the semester, this plan may be adjusted.

For new students, this plan will include an established weekly advisor meeting time.

Students are expected to attend all scheduled advising meetings.

Core advisors hold graduate degrees in student development, education, or a related field. Advisors have had professional development training as executive function coaches.

Advisors are required to stay current with college advising research and are expected to have extensive experience advising students with LD/ADHD and autism.

If a student completes an associate degree and elects to move on to earn a bachelor’s degree OR once a student has moved to the junior level of a declared major (more than 61 credits that is applicable toward a B.A. or B.S.), the student transitions from a core advisor to a faculty mentor advisor.

The student’s core advisor will work with the student and the new faculty advisor to support a smooth transition.

At the center of Landmark College’s educational philosophy is a firm commitment to helping students learn to advocate for themselves. Students are given explicit instruction in understanding their learning strengths and challenges, and are offered the opportunity for self-reflection at key points in their academic program.

We introduce students to various types of assistance, from assistive technology to coaching services to academic support services. In all of this support, we help our students learn to develop their own strategies and to hold themselves accountable for using those strategies.

We expect students to make use of the available resources, ask questions, and take ownership for their learning needs. Students who are strong self-advocates understand their responsibility in appropriately advocating for themselves, and they have the ability to tailor requests based on their individual situations.

The Parents’ Role

No parent wants to get a phone call from an unhappy-sounding son or daughter. Almost every parent will get at least one such call at some point. What can you do?

Lend an empathic ear. Listen nonjudgmentally, and try to understand what your student is experiencing. Validate feelings if it seems appropriate (e.g., “That must be very difficult.”).

Stay in touch. Your student is in a new and potentially overwhelming environment, and knowing that you are still there can make a difference. Letters and packages from home, email messages, text messages, IMs, and phone calls can be critical to helping a student feel comfortable and supported.

Offer encouragement. Let your student know that you have faith in him or her to make the right decisions.

Encourage your student to consider available resources for resolving problems. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the College’s support services and to encourage them to use the resources here. A great question to a student who seems to be stuck or struggling would be: “Who might you go to for help with that?”

Inquire gently. Away from home and your direct guidance for the first time, students may have trouble with medication management, require counseling to help with emerging emotional issues, or develop substance abuse problems. You can monitor these potential challenges by making gentle inquiries. Ask your student about their social life and about their physical and mental health and well-being.

Setting Family Expectations

One of the largest issues we have observed is that families experience conflict because the parents and the student do not have the same expectations. We strongly urge families to have open discussions about hopes and expectations.

We advise families to consider together:

• Expectations about class attendance, use of campus resources, and minimum standards for grades
• Overall budget, allowance, and spending money
• Frequency of telephone and email contact
• Medication issues: will prescriptions be filled at home or at college?
• Timing of student visits home
• Timing of parent visits to Landmark College
• Long-term academic aspirations and life goals

Advisors serve as the primary contact person for parents or sponsors who have questions about their academic program. The student is primarily responsible for contact with parents.

We encourage families to work with their students to develop a plan for staying informed about their progress.

In addition to feedback in classes and after assignments, faculty provide updates on progress to students three times a semester: right before family weekend, at the midpoint of the course, and at the end of course. Faculty may also raise notification warnings if they observe any indications that the student may need additional help. Students can access faculty feedback through the course Canvas site and through the Student Central application.

If we have authorization to disclose information on a student’s educational record (see information about FERPA below), families on the approved contact list will receive email notifications of repeated warnings and academic intervention meetings. If need be, families can contact their student’s academic advisor to discuss observations and concerns. Families are discouraged from contacting members of the faculty directly.

Who is an “approved contact”?

The Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) is a federal law that allows students attending postsecondary institutions to access their own educational records, seek to have their records amended, and control the disclosure of personally identifiable information from their educational records. All educational agencies and institutions that receive federal funding must follow the regulations of FERPA.

When a student turns 18 years old, or enters a postsecondary institution at any age (even as a minor), the rights under FERPA transfer from the parents to the student.

FERPA requires Landmark College officials to obtain consent from students before information from an educational record is disclosed. The College may disclose information from an “eligible student’s” education records to the parents or guardian of the student, without the student’s consent, if the student is a dependent for tax purposes.

Neither the age of the student nor the parent’s status as a custodial parent is relevant. If a student is claimed as a dependent by either parent for tax purposes, then either parent may have access under this provision. If the student is not a dependent, then the student must generally provide consent for the school to disclose the information to the parents.

The College is informed of dependent status or other consent for disclosure by completion of “Authorization to Release Student Account and Education Information” form available through the Registrar’s office.