Welcome to the Academic Advising Center!
The Academic Advising Center provides professional academic advising to all entering College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) first-year students, some entering CLAS transfers, Open majors, pre-professional students, non-degree students, and entering students in the IowaLink Program. Entering students who were admitted directly to the College of Business, Engineering, or Nursing, as well as most CLAS sophomores, juniors, and seniors, are assigned to an academic advisor in their major department or college. All undergraduate students are welcome to contact the Academic Advising Center with questions.
Academic advising begins with orientation and continues through a series of meetings each semester. Students are assigned to an academic advisor based on the student's declared major(s) and the advisor's areas of expertise. Academic advising is mandatory at Iowa, which means that students must meet with their academic advisor before registering for classes. Meetings with an advisor are confidential and are designed to provide students with the information needed for a successful academic career.
The majority of first year entering students and about half of entering transfer students are assigned to an advisor in our office, generally for the first year or two. After that, most students move on to advisors within their major department. We are committed to helping students make a successful transition to the University.
Our mission is to teach students how to:
- explore possible majors
- plan their academic programs of study
- select courses each semester
- make viable academic decisions
- seek information on- and off-campus
- and to solve academic problems.
Our goal is to put each student in charge of their education by providing the tools and resources necessary to navigate the University and make informed decisions.
We view advising as a partnership, and as such, there are expectations for both the advisors and students. Our advising expectations page outlines what students can expect from their advisors, as well as the expectations we have of our students. It also provides a glimpse of what an advising year looks like and some answers to frequently asked questions.