Academic Advising is the foundation of a student’s experience at Sterling.
You will work with a faculty academic advisor, who offers support and guidance around academics, goal-setting, learning support and workload management, and reflection on educational progress. You will meet with your advisor at least twice each semester; many students meet weekly. Through this advising relationship, students are able to create a truly individualized learning experience and find the support they need to thrive at Sterling.
The Advising and Learning Support Program at Sterling is:
Individualized
With small numbers of advisees, faculty advisors are able to meet as frequently as students’ needs warrant to craft a learning plan that enhances opportunities, supports student learning needs, builds on students’ personal goals, and capitalizes on their strengths to support success throughout a student’s tenure at Sterling.
Responsive
In their work together, advisors and students are empowered to identify and set goals, identify learning outcomes and learning strategies that can help adapt to meet students’ changing needs. As a team, course faculty, Deans, the Coordinator of Learning Support, and faculty advisors help to shape a student’s learning experiences.
Multidimensional
Advisors address concerns ranging from course registration, to a student’s involvement in the community, and development of personal as well as academic goals. The advisor-advisee relationship is based on a progression of ongoing, curriculum-based, and goal oriented conversations.
Developmental
Sterling’s Advising and Learning Support Program builds student opportunities for success in a way that is appropriate for each individual student’s level of need and academic and community development.
Cooperatively Designed
Students work one-on-one with advisors to co-create individualized learning plans. Advisors, in turn, collaborate with a student’s course faculty, the three Deans, and other appropriate College staff to support the complete student learning experience.
Advisors work closely with other support resources, including Deans, Community Advisors, Work Program Supervisors, and Learning Support staff.
At Sterling, we work with each student to craft an individual support strategy. Whether you sometimes experience difficulty learning in a traditional classroom setting or are looking for a more challenging rigorous academic environment, our exceptional faculty-to-student ratio allows us the flexibility to build a robust system to buttress every student’s learning.
