Students First Office | Exploratory Advising | The Exploratory Advising Experience

The Exploratory Advising Experience

FUNDAMENTALS OF EXPLORATORY ACADEMIC ADVISING

Exploratory Academic Advising

All Exploratory students are unique and therefore each student will have their own unique experience. Exploratory students meet with their academic advisors twice a semester. The first meeting is focused on relationship building, discussion of major options, identification of any academic or personal concerns, connecting with resources, and the development of an Exploratory Action Plan. The second meeting includes discussion of progress on the Exploratory Action Plan, GPA projection, and selecting courses for the upcoming semester. Students must meet with their assigned Exploratory academic advisor each semester to be able to register. Read more about our Exploratory Advising model here.

Active Exploration

Academic advising as an Exploratory student is meant to be an active experience. Students are expected to engage with advisors during appointments, to share their experiences and preferences, and to discuss action items that will allow the student to make meaningful progress towards major declaration. Active exploration outside of academic advising appointments may include activities such as class observations, attending campus events, and conducting informational interviews. For additional ideas on active exploration, see our Resources for Exploration page.

Advisor Assignments and Registration Practices

The table below summarizes when new Exploratory majors can expect to have an Exploratory Majors Academic Advisor assigned and how registration will work for them, based on which population they fit into.

Exploratory Student Population	Advisor Assignments	Course Registration
New First Time in College	Assigned an Exploratory Advisor after the first week of classes	Pre-registered by advisors prior to SOAR, with the ability to make schedule changes as needed
New Transfers	Assigned an advisor after the first week of classes	Meet for a one-on-one appointment with an Exploratory Advisor to review transfer credit and register for courses for the upcoming semester
Exploratory Major Changers (continuing UNCG students)	Newly assigned Exploratory Advisor will reach out to student via email within one week of approved major change request	Meet for a one-on-one appointment with new Exploratory Advisor to select courses for the upcoming term

Max Credit Hours Increase Request

Exploratory students and students on Academic Probation can request a credit hour increase beyond the standard maximum by completing the Students First Office Maximum Credit Hours Increase Form. You can expect to receive a decision from an SFO advisor within two business days via your UNCG email account. See the table below for maximum hours based on academic standing.

Term Requested	Students in Academic Good Standing	Students on Academic Probation
Fall/Spring	18 credit hours	16 credit hours
Summer	14 credit hours, with no more than 7 credit hours per session	8 credit hours in total, no more than 4 credit hours per Summer Session

ADVISING & REGISTRATION TOOLS

Degree Works is the name of UNCG’s degree evaluation tool. It generates customized reports that outline the degree requirements you need to satisfy to complete your degree. Degree Works utilizes a color-coded, symbol-based system to help you understand your progress towards degree completion.

As an Exploratory student, because you do not yet have a major declared, your Degree Works report will only include University Requirements and Minerva’s Academic Curriculum (MAC) requirements. You will work with your Exploratory Majors Academic Advisor to strategically make choices about classes that help you explore majors of interest that also fulfill MAC requirements.

The What If Report is a great tool within Degree Works that can be especially helpful to Exploratory students. It allows students to effectively “try on” majors of interest, by showing you how your earned credits and registered courses will apply to any major you’re considering. Instructions for how to run a What If Report can be found in our Advising Tools 101 resource.

The University Catalog is the official reference for all policies, requirements, and expectations the student must adhere to during their time at UNCG. Exploratory students will find the Catalog especially helpful as a means to view all majors, minors, and their requirements while they are exploring.

Schedule Hero is UNCG’s tool for course registration. It allows you to search for classes, create a schedule that meets your needs, and (most importantly) register for courses each semester quickly and easily. To register on Schedule Hero, you will first need to meet with your advisor to receive your advising code.

DECLARING YOUR MAJOR

Major Declaration Timeline

Most first-time in college Exploratory students have plenty of time to learn more about themselves, the majors available at UNCG, and career options before reaching a point where they must declare a major. The table below summarizes important credit hour benchmarks for Exploratory majors to be aware of.

Most ideal time frame for declaration
Equivalent to approximately one academic year’s worth of credit hours
Generally, declaring on this timeline will keep you on a 4-year graduation timeline*

Strongly encourage declaration by this time
Equivalent to three semesters worth of credit hours
For most majors, considered to be on track for 4-year graduation
It is possible for students to begin accruing a small amount of elective credit by the time they reach 45 credit hours, depending on their chosen major

Required declaration timeline per University Policy
Equivalent to two academic years’ worth of credit hours
May result in a delayed graduation timeline

*There are a small number of majors at UNCG that are an exception to this rule due to extensive course sequencing.

Major Declaration Process

When you’re ready to declare a major, your Exploratory Majors Academic Advisor will be ready to assist you with the process! If your desired major has specific requirements that must be met before declaring, your advisor will make sure you’re aware of those.

While you can declare most majors at any time throughout the semester, it is recommended to declare in September (fall terms) or February (spring terms) to make sure students are connected to a new academic advisor before the registration advising period begins. You can find detailed instructions for declaring your major on Spartan Central. There are some majors that have secondary admissions requirements OR have a 4-year timeline once you begin them. This is something important to talk through with your academic advisor.

Once you declare your major, you’ll be assigned an academic advisor within your new major unit. Your Exploratory Majors Academic Advisor will still be a resource available to you but will no longer be your primary advising contact.