Academic advising is an assistant educational system whereby faculty members introduce the students to the university and colleges' policies and regulations. Help and support are provided by increasing the students' awareness of their academic responsibilities and encouraging them to make more effort in solving their study-related issues and achieve their educational goals.
Academic advising represents a fundamental and pivotal pillar in the educational system, as it is an objective response to facing social, economic, and human variables at the core of the system and its educational philosophy, in addition to being responsive to the student’s needs to communicate with university education to achieve the requirements of the human self in creativity and excellence, which represents a necessary national development. Academic advising is described in the two axes of the guiding process: the educational institution and the student. This role is reinforced by the specialized academic advisor who works through the Academic Advising Unit throughout the academic year. The academic advising process is integrated with the awareness and understanding of all parties to the advising process; With the aim is to guide the student in the most appropriate ways to choose the best ways to achieve the desired success and adapt to the university environment. This goal is achieved by providing students with various academic skills that raise their academic achievement, discussing their aspirations, and increasing students’ awareness of the university’s regulations and laws, all through various counseling services such as academic advising. It also includes individual counseling programs and multiple consultations. In addition, This goal is achieved by providing students with different academic skills that raise their academic achievement, discussing their aspirations, and increasing students’ awareness of the university’s regulations and laws, all through various counseling services such as academic advising. It also includes individual counseling programs and multiple consultations.
The academic advising philosophy includes social, economic, cultural, human, and cognitive foundations that aspire to achieve some related characteristics such as flexibility, adaptability and choice, and meeting individual needs, which center on ensuring the success of the educational process and achieving the best scientific outcomes for the student by helping him choose the best alternatives in each semester. According to the study plan and according to their academic status and academic progress, the student reconciles his educational needs and personal circumstances
The axes of academic advising are:
1. The Student: The student is considered the center of the academic process, and in the absence of organized and directed academic guidance, the student has the responsibility to become familiar with the university’s rules and regulations once he is accepted into the university. As a result of the individual differences between the student, there are those who reach knowledge of the rules and regulations and work to adapt themselves to them, and on the other hand, there are those who are ignorant of many of those systems and regulations, which leads to many academic problems such as low grades, repetition and dismissal....etc. Which bears its responsibilities due to ignorance of the systems and the ineffectiveness of the academic advising system.
2. The educational institution, which is:
- Academic advisor: The role of the academic advisor (faculty members and their assistants) is to help the student make sound decisions that will help him in his academic career successfully and effectively.
- Deanship of Admission and Registration: The role of the Deanship of Admission and Registration is summarized in registering the student's academic courses according to the academic advisor's signature on the registration forms. And follow-up monitoring of grades and student's academic record, as well as the unit applies the university's university and college regulations and regulations according to the student's specialization.
- The college: is the body that issues study plans for each major, and appoints the academic advisor after counting the number of accepted students and faculty members in the college.
3. Updates on university systems and regulations
Academic advising programs are as follows:-
- Orientation programs for new students to introduce the system of study and examinations, achieve the necessary adaptation to university studies, and familiarize them with their rights and duties.
- Guidance programs to help students with special needs, during their university life, achieve the highest levels of academic achievement according to their abilities, study their problems and work to solve them.
- Guidance programs for stumbling students to help them overcome their stumbles, achieve the desired success and help them overcome the obstacles and problems they face.
- Guidance programs for outstanding students to help them continue and increase their excellence, encourage them and motivate other students.
- Guidance programs for scholarship students to guide them to what will achieve their continuation of study and help them overcome any obstacles or problems they may encounter to be good advocates.
- Guidance programs are organized for all students to help them improve their academic level and achievement. These programs will be implemented through the Academic Advising Unit, where the unit will develop an executive plan for the university’s general plan for academic advising to begin its implementation. It also evaluates its program and submits it to the Dean of the University, which extracts an evaluation report from the college for the extension work at the university level.