Advising Centers

• Home page
• Advising step-by-step
• About advising
  • Self-advising
  • Philosophy
  • Policies
  • Staff qualifications
• Educational planning
  • Student Online Services tools
  • Transferring to a four-year school
  • Choosing a career
• Study skills & strategies
  • Academic planning courses
• Contact the advising center
  • Fort Steilacoom advising staff
  • Puyallup advising staff
• Advising resources
  • Access & Disability services
  • Women's & Family services
  • TRIO
  • Testing & Assessment

Educational planning

Every step in your college career should be supported by serious thinking resulting in a coherent plan:

1. choosing an advisor,
2. completing a formal educational plan, and
3. periodically checking and evaluating your credits.

Your advisor

If you are a new student, you will begin at the Advising Center with our trained professional academic advisors.

Pierce College advisors can help you understand requirements for Pierce College programs and four-year degrees.

They also have knowledge in special areas of expertise such as transferring to another college, linking careers with academic majors, succeeding in complex health-related careers, and addressing the important questions of success in a diverse population.

Then you will be assigned to a faculty advisor in your chosen field. Faculty advisors combine expertise in their field with a committment to helping students choose actions that will lead to success.

If you are a continuing student, you already have a faculty advisor, and you may also request a new advisor. See "Advising step-by-step" for more about identifying or changing your faculty advisor.

What to expect from an advisor

You are responsible for seeking out the best advice available. Your advisor is responsible for being available to participate in a meaningful conversation about your academic career. See "Advising policies" for more information.

Completing an educational plan

Planning is critical throughout your educational career. Once you have decided on what degree or certificate you will pursue at Pierce College, make an appointment with your faculty advisor to complete an educational plan. This will usually take about forty-five minutes.

You'll leave with a tentative plan showing what courses you should take in order to reach your Pierce College goal in a timely fashion. You'll feel more secure and confident knowing what courses should you take each quarter in order to assure that you will reach your goal with no wasted time.

Checking and evaluating your credits

If life changes -- you interrupt your degree, can't get into a planned class, or change programs -- let your advisor know! You should update your educational plan as your situation changes.

Once you've completed 60 credits towards a 90 credit associate degree, make an appointment with your advisor. You and your advisor will review your progress together and make sure that you're on track to successfully reach your goal.