First-Year Advising

First-Year Advising

The professional staff advises students in their first academic year at The College of Idaho of the PEAK Center who is specially trained to assist students in navigating the unique challenges the first year of college can bring. Throughout a student's first year at the College, they meet with their First-Year Advisors multiple times to plan and register for courses. Together, an advisor and student will:

• Explore the student's interests and career goals
• Navigate class registration
• Connect students with other appropriate campus support resources
• Transition students to an advisor (faculty member) in their major field of study at the end of their first academic year

Advising and Registration timeline(s)

Please click this link for information regarding a tentative timeline for your first year at the College. Also, click here to find a blank first-year Peak map template.

Preparing for your first advising meeting

Throughout your first year with the College, you will be working with an advisor from the Academic Advising Office before transitioning to a faculty advisor in your respective area of study. While not required, building a positive and authentic relationship with your academic advisor increases your individual growth as a student and community member of the YoteFam! To encourage a fluent advising process, there are some important topics we have put together for you to consider:

• You will be asked to sign an advising agreement that outlines the expectations for both the advisor and advisee. It might be helpful to at least look over this document prior to the first advising meeting and bring questions (if you have any) with you.
• Being that we place you in certain math or science courses based on your test scores and transcripts, it is beneficial for both you and your advisor if you are knowledgeable about your educational background.
• Utilize the Undergraduate Catalog to browse the College’s major and minor offerings for this catalog year. This will help you get a better understanding of how to connect your interests and goals with our PEAK curriculum. Don’t get too worried about specifics! We are here to help you develop your own unique passport to success!
• Conversations between an advisor and advisee as well as educational records are confidential per FERPA. If you foresee a party outside of yourself or your advisor needing to discuss any matter related to advising, you will want to make sure that there has been appropriate documentation completed (learn more here) to allow for any information to be shared with the desired party.
• Please take the time to review Self-Service. This is the platform the College utilizes for students to register for classes among many other institutional processes and it will be imperative that you become comfortable with it.

Schedule-building information

As professional staff in Academic Advising, we utilize a variety of information to inform how we build each individual student’s schedule. Some of the materials we rely on include the Pre-Registration Questionnaire, transcripts from previous institutions you have attended, and/or your high school, and test scores (such as AP, ACT, SAT, etc. if applicable). Additionally, while our PEAK curriculum is stellar and makes us unique as an institution, it can be tricky to plan your own passport to success. Something standard for all of our first-year students is to engage in a First-Year Seminar and Civilization courses that allow for cohorts to form encourages community learning, and also happen to be two classes that are graduation requirements. Our goal for students in building their schedule is that we start them down the best initial path that allows for a smooth adjustment to the College and leads each student to success, no matter how many changes might happen along the way.

Please note that the information in this First-Year student section is important for ALL students. Something that is more specific to international students is regarding credit count. It is super important to remember that you must be enrolled in 12 or more credits due to the stipulations of the visa that is issued. Refer to the International Student Handbook provided by the Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Engagement.