Student Success: Meet With an Advisor
Too many times I missed out on an important class for my degree because I was too late to sign up for classes, forced to wait until the next semester, or get lucky and enter the class late through the waitlist. Western Wyoming Community College (Western) recently released the schedule for the next semester of classes. The registration date for the next semester is November 1, which leaves students with 3 weeks to plan their schedule in time to register for classes. The importance of meeting with your assigned advisor to plan your schedule can’t be overstated and the most important aspect of this process is a willingness to reach out and be proactive.
Several programs have classes that fill up within a day of the registration date, such as the Nursing or Manufacturing and Technology classes. It’s more important for students majoring in these areas to remain proactive, lest they are unable to register into a key block class, which is prerequisite for all other courses in their program. Meeting with an academic advisor can significantly enhance your student success by providing guidance tailored to your educational and career goals. Western strongly encourages students to meet with their faculty advisor instead of signing up for courses on their own, and students who do will be more successful in the pursuit of their degree. Advisors provide access to needed support services, as well as professional advice in your program and what steps can be taken for your situation.
To be successful in a meeting with an advisor, a student should ensure that they are making satisfactory progress in their degree, that they have a sufficient plan for their future courses in accordance with their career goals and that they ask questions if they don’t understand parts of the process. Students can meet with their advisor at any time, and with the recent release of the schedule there is no better time like the present in helping to ensure you stay on track to finish your degree. If you do not know your advisor, you can access that information through My Western, where advisors should be listed and accessible in the section marked “advisors”. If you do not have an advisor, then you should meet with a student success coach by contacting Mustang Central by phone at 307-382-1677 or going in person during office hours.