Advising Calendar & AA Actions

• Thursday, August 15:  Your advisor will receive an email from the OFY with the list of your advisees. The Online Advising Folder for each of your advisees becomes available on this day. This is only accessible to the advisor you matched with and your advisees. Transfer credit, advanced standing exams and other placement information is available here.
  
• Thursday, August 15 – Friday, August 23: Your advisor will send welcome email to advisees with details on your first meetings by this date.
  
  AA Actions: You should draft a brief email (3-5 sentences) about yourself (hometown, major, interests etc.) that your advisor will include in Welcome Email to your advisees.
  
  Information in the Advising Folder can be shared with you at your advisor’s discretion. Placement information for your advisees will help you register them for their classes, so you may ask your advisor to print the folders for each of your student’s folders in advance.
  
• Sunday, August 25: AA Orientation
  8:00AM: Breakfast (Walker Memorial)
  9:00AM: Welcome & Introductions (Walker Memorial)
  9:15AM-11:30AM: Presentations (6-120)
  11:30AM-1:00PM: Breakout Groups (Building 4 classrooms)
  1:00PM: Lunch “to go” (6-120 Lobby)
  
• AA Action: All expected to attend!
  
• Monday, August 26: Registration opens but no action required for you or your advisees.
  
• Tuesday, August 27, 1:30-3pm: Initial Advising Group Meeting
  This block of time is available for you and your advisor to meet with your advisees and as a group. You may also use part of the time to have individual registration meetings. Your advisor will decide where the registration meetings will take place.
  
  AA Actions: Your advisor will likely take the lead in this meeting. You should prepare 1-2 ice breakers for introductions, offer your student perspective, and schedule Thursday’s individual registration meetings.
  
  Remind your advisees to bring their laptops to their registration and email them reminders on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning about their scheduled times and location.
  
• Thursday, August 29, 10-4pm: Individual Registration Meetings with your advisees
  Advisors must sign off on advisees’ registrations by 5PM. 
  
  AA Action: Arrive 10 minutes early, bring your laptop and be prepared to contribute especially around CI and HASS selection.
  
• Friday, August 30: Class schedules temporarily available on WebSIS.
  Registration for 1st quarter Physical Education & Wellness classes opens at 8am.
  
  AA Actions: Remind your advisees to review their schedules for accuracy and to download or enter into CourseRoad, Hydrant or some other calendar management tool and help them make any necessary adjustments to their schedules. This may include lecture or recitation changes, adding themselves to CI waitlists on WebSIS or submitting an Add/Drop Forms for a class that they changed.
  
  Inform your advisees about PE 1st quarter and recommend that that they be ready at 8am if they are interested in signing up, especially the more popular offerings.
  
• Monday, September 9: First full week of Classes 
  
  AA Action: Follow up with each advisee once again, referring to your notes/spreadsheets as needed, to ensure that they have made registration adjustments. This often includes adding themselves to CI waitlists and attending the first class or finding a HASS class that interests them.
  
• Friday, September 13: Last day to ADD half-term subjects offered in first half of term (H1).
  
• Monday, September 16: Second week of classes is the recommended check-in #1 with your advisees.
  
  AA Actions: Connect with your advisor about planning individual check-in meetings with your students. You should give your availability to your advisor to be included in these meetings if possible. These check-ins are intended to get to know your students better and address any initial issues that they may be experiencing.
  
  It’s also a good time to start organizing a fun activity with your advisees! You can take the lead by using an online scheduling app to coordinate. Funding is available available through your advisor.
  
• Friday, September 20: Fall Career Fair
  
  AA Actions: You can alleviate the pressure that your advisees might feel to attend by helping them set goals for the Fair. Rather than focusing on landing a job, they can use this opportunity to getting comfortable with networking, update their resume and prepare a few questions to ask employers.

• Tuesday, October 1: Few days before Add Date Oct 4
  
  AA Action: Remind your advisees about Add Date as a time to consider switching versions of classes. If a student finds themselves in a class that is not suitable for them, they should submit an Add/Drop form to be approved by their advisor. Most GIRs within a department are scheduled simultaneously to accommodate changes, and instructors are flexible about
  make-up assignments.
  
• Friday, October 4: Add Date – Check in with your advisees prior to this deadline in case any advisee needs to adjust their registration.
  
• Starting the Week of October 14:  First Year Flags from instructors begin to be sent to your advisees if their performance is below a C and will copy their advisor. You will not be copied on flag notifications.
  
  AA Actions: You can ask your advisor if any of your advisees are ‘struggling’ in a class and how you can help. Then reach out to them with suggestions about psetting and test taking or time management. You might also ask them what they think contributed to their performance. By offering tips that have helped you and directing them to appropriate resources, you can help build their confidence.
  
• Weeks of October 14 and October 21: Schedule mid-semester meetings to check in with all of your advisees, but especially for any students receiving one or more flags. 
  
  AA Action: Coordinate these meetings with your advisor. Talk to your advisor on how they prefer to follow up with your studenst. In some cases, your advisor might defer to you.
  
• Monday, October 28: Registration for 2nd quarter Physical Education & Wellness classes opens at 8am.

• Friday, November 1: Last day to add half-term subjects offered in second half of term (H2)
  
  AA Action: For students who are taking 6.100B, this date is important should they decide to drop the class.

• Monday, November 18: Few days before Drop Date November 20
  AA Action: Contact advisees prior to Drop Date to help them assess whether dropping a class in which they are struggling or is taking up most of their time might give them time to focus on their other classes. Meet with any advisees that would like to discuss their options.
  
• Wednesday, November 20: Drop Date
  
  AA Action: Check in with your advisees before this deadline, especially if any has received a flag or is struggling in some way. Your expertise can help them weigh the possibility of dropping a subject or not.
  
  Ask them about their plans for Thanksgiving! For those staying at MIT you an direct them to gatherings on campus for the holiday.
  
• Monday, November 27: Last check-in meeting before finals
  
  AA Action: Coordinate with your advisor a wrap up meeting with your advisees as the semester comes to a end. Reminders include pre-registration, preparation for finals and plans for IAP. Alleviate their concerns about finals by offering tips that have helped you in the past.

• Friday, December 2: Pre-Registration for IAP and Spring Term begins.
  
  AA Action: Send them a reminder and offer to help them select their classes preliminarily.
  
• Wednesday, December 11: Last Day of Classes
  
• Monday, December 16 – Friday, December 20: Fall Term Final Exam Period
  
  AA Action: Send your advisees online tips and resources for finals preparation and remind them to find stress relief techniques that work for them.
  
  Send a personalized note to each of your advisees congratulating them. Check your notes for details that you might include about their specific challenges or accomplishments.   

Monday, January 30: Registration Week Begins
AA Action: Coordinate with your advisor the individual registration meetings for your advisees.

Wednesday, February 1: Associate Advisor Recruitment Begins. Application available online
AA Action: Re-apply and refer your advisees and friends!

Friday, February 3: Registration Week Ends at 5pm
AA Action: Remind your advisees that they must take the last step of ‘submit’ to finalize their registration.

Monday, February 6: First Day of Classes
AA Action: Let students that any changes after they have submitted their registration require an Add/Drop form. If an advisee did not enter the CI lottery, they can add themselves to waitlists on WebSIS.

Monday, February 13: First full week of Classes 
AA Action: Follow up with each advisee referring to your reg notes, to ensure that they have made section changes and other schedule adjustments.

Monday, March 17: Associate Advisor Application Deadline

Monday, March 6: Few days before Add Date March 10
& (Leslie’s 30th wedding anniversary!)
AA Action: Remind your advisees about Add Date as a time to consider switching versions of classes. If a student finds themselves in a class that is not suitable for them, they should submit an Add/Drop form to be approved by their advisor. Most GIRs within a department are scheduled simultaneously to accommodate changes, and instructors are flexible about make up work.
Monday, March 13: First Year Flags from instructors begin going out any first year who is performing at C or below. You will not be copied on notifications.

AA Action: Ask your advisor if any of your advisees are ‘struggling’ in a class and how you can help. Reach out to any advisees to help them figure out what has contributed to their poor performance. It might be how they’re approaching the material and need to connect with department or TSR tutoring.

Week of March 20: Check In Advisee Meetings
AA Action: This is a good time to schedule check in meetings with your advisees to find out how the semester is going. These should be initiated in communication with your advisor.

Associate Advisor Applications: April 3-14 are AA group interviews for new applicants. Returning applicants do not interview.

Nominations for First Years/Advisors Awards begins (more information to come!)

Friday, April 7: Last day to add half-term subjects offered in second half of term.

Friday, April 14: Last day to add half-term subjects offered in second half of term (H4).

Tuesday, April 18: One week before Drop Date April 25
AA Action: Contact advisees prior to Drop Date to help assess whether dropping a class in which they are struggling would allow them to focus on their other classes. Meet with advisees that would like to discuss their options.

Tuesday, April 25: Last day to drop half-term subjects in second half of term.

Friday, April 28: Deadline for your advisees to declare their major
AA Action: Have preliminary conversations with each of your advisees about their decision. This includes answering questions but also directing to resources that will help them make the decision on a major. Forms need to be turned in to the Office of the First Year, 7-103.

Monday, May 1: Pre-Registration for Fall Term begins
AA Action: Email your advisees to initiate at least with one class even if they don’t actually know what they are taking.

Monday, May 1: Last day to drop half-term subjects offered in second half of term (H4)

Week of May 8: Recommended end-of-term advising meetings with your advisees
AA Action: Check in with your advisor about planning the final meetings. It’s a great time to remind your advisees that they have until Add Date of the following semester to change their grades to P/NR and visa versa… and to say goodbye!

Tuesday, May 16:  Last day of Spring Term classes

Friday, May 19 – Wednesday, May 24: Spring Term Final Exam Period
AA Action: Send a congratulatory message to your advisees for finishing up their first year at MIT!