Academic advising at Azusa Pacific University is an intentional, multidimensional, student-centered partnership where students, faculty, and staff collaborate to support holistic student development. This process enables students to identify and work toward educational, career, and personal goals. Successful advising is achieved through well-trained advisors facilitating student growth, accountability, and self-directed learning, enabling students to take ownership of the academic process. This empowers students to utilize institutional resources to optimally plan course progression, evaluate academic performance and strengths, enhance preparation through community engagement, and discover vocational calling while progressing toward a degree.

Traditional undergraduate programs utilize a shared advising model. New students and first- and second-year students are supported through the Academic Success Center with advising staff and receive faculty mentorship through their major departments. Professional staff advisors create individualized academic plans to assist students in meeting degree requirements and provide strengths-based advising to empower students with the resources needed to achieve their goals and thrive academically. Focused faculty advising occurs during junior and senior years to ensure successful degree completion and that graduation preparation is well supported. Faculty advisors also provide mentorship around vocation, graduate school, and career pathways, equipping students to be difference makers now and upon graduation.

Academic advising is provided by each academic department for students enrolled in any of that department’s majors, and also by the Academic Success Center to assist students in the advising and registration process. The center’s Office of Academic Advising provides academic coaching and support that enables students to achieve their scholastic goals and thrive academically. The office’s staff support student academic success by using a holistic approach and providing the following:

• Individualized academic advising and success coaching
• Connecting students to on-campus resources and strategies to foster academic success
• Assisting with questions regarding progress toward graduation
• Partnering with faculty to support students who are identified in our Early Alert program (also known as APU CARES)
• Developing strategies to help increase undergraduate student retention, persistence, and graduation rates
• Providing student-athletes and transfer students with support for their unique needs in scheduling and navigating degree progress