Advising for English Majors and Minors

The primary purpose of academic advising in the Department of English is to assist students in the development of meaningful educational plans that will be compatible with career aspirations. In the English Department, academic advising is based on a system of shared responsibility between student and advisor, and a process of continuous improvement, clarification, and evaluation with the aim of furthering institutional advising goals and desired student outcomes.  The English department views the advising relationship as an on-going conversation that transcends course selection and attempts to assist students as they explore the breadth of a Liberal Arts curriculum, experience college life, focus on their English major or minor, and prepare for life after college.

 English Department Advisors will:

• assist students in their clarification of education goals
• assist students in developing an education plan, and selection of courses consistent with the student's goals
• provide accurate information about institutional policies, procedures, resources, and programs
• assist students with evaluation or re-evaluation of progress towards degree
• make referrals to resources within and out of the college as appropriate
• to empower and encourage students to be self directed learners

Students are responsible for knowing and fulfilling all university, college and major requirements for graduation. In order to meet that goal, they are responsible for:

• meeting with an English department advisor upon entrance to the major
• conferring with an advisor on a regular basis about major options if the student is initially undecided about a major
• reviewing the tracking (degree) audit each semester to ensure the student fully understands the remaining degree requirements
• seeking advisement when in academic difficulty (e.g., below a 2.0 GPA, doing poorly in a critical tracking course)
• maintaining their own personal academic records, including the catalog of their year of admission, transcripts, tracking (degree) audits, evaluation of transfer work, and notes from previous advising sessions

*Students who at any time are confused about academic requirements or their progress toward degree are encouraged and expected to meet with an English Department Academic Advisor. 

The Advisement Process

Freshman: English majors and minors with less than 24 hrs are advised in the University College Academic Advisement Center http://www.ucollege.ilstu.edu/advisement/.  Freshman Honors students are advised in the Honors office http://www.honors.ilstu.edu/.

English Studies and Publishing Studies: English majors in the English Studies and Publishing studies sequences with 24 or more hours are advised in the English Department by Mark Vegter.  English, Writing, and TESOL minors are also advised by Mark Vegter.

English Education: English majors in the English Education sequence with 24 or more hours are advised in the English Department by Ryan Gray.  English Education minors are also advised by Ryan Gray.

Advisement Availability
Appointments are strongly encouraged when meeting with an Academic Advisor.  To schedule an appointment, please email Mark Vegter (mavegte@ilstu.edu) for English Studies, or Ryan Gray (krgray2@ilstu.edu) for English Education. During heavy traffic periods like registration, be sure to allow extra time to schedule your appointment before your registration date.