The first question, of course, is “Have you talked with your professors?” Tutoring is available, free of charge, to all students through several tutoring centers. It is also helpful to have a discussion regarding what might be going on in their life that is getting in the way of their academic success and then refer them to support services (e.g., Counseling Center, Academic and Career Advisement Center, residence hall staff), as appropriate.

Most of the time you should be discussing how the student is doing academically, how they are fitting in at NMU, academic requirements and any questions they might have. You may want to refer to the faculty advising checklist to see specific suggested items to cover during an advising meeting.

It’s important to keep a log of what you have discussed with each student. Often students will come back to you to follow up on something the two of you discussed months ago and they expect that you remember the last conversation as well as they do. In addition, there have been times when a student uses the adviser as an excuse for a mistake or oversight on their part. Keeping notes can help a great deal in those situations.

Faculty advisers may substitute a required course in the student’s major or minor with another departmental course under certain circumstances. Substitutions need to be approved by the department head and filed with the Registrar’s Office. You can do so by filling out the course substitution form.

The staff in the Academic and Career Advisement Center can help students who are unsure about their major or have decided to change majors. They can also help students with general questions related to academic programs and career exploration.

You may want to start by asking them if they have applied for financial aid. It is sometimes helpful to call the Financial Aid Office to find out if the student is eligible for more aid or loans.  If the student is interested in employment, connect them with the Career Services. A number of their openings are listed on the Web, but the office staff can be particularly helpful if a student doesn’t know where to begin.

To find out the name of a student's adviser, instruct the student to follow these steps:

  1. Go to MyNMU
  2. Click on Student Services Tab
  3. Click Academic Services
  4. Under: Student Records: View Student Information

To find out the name of a student's IN, instruct the student to follow these steps:

  1. Go to MyUser
  2. Click on View Account Status
  3. Click on Manage Your Account
  4. Login and the NMU IN is displayed under School Information

Students can add and/or drop classes on MyNMU up until the Thursday of the first week of classes. After that, they can still make adjustments to their schedule with a professor's approval and can withdraw from classes all the way until the end of the 10th week of the semester. Go to Registration and Scheduling to see more detailed information regarding deadlines, refunds and procedures. The Registrar's Office provides a full listing of dates, deadlines and procedures for adding and dropping classes.

If the student is under the any bulletin 2000 to the present, he/she may count any course taken for liberal studies towards his/her major or minor (double counting). If the student is under any bulletin prior to fall 2000, he/she cannot count courses in both liberal studies and his/her major or minor.

Students can declare or change most majors quickly and easily online by completing the change of program form.

If students want to declare either of the following, they must do so in person at the location provided:

  • Education – 179 Whitman
  • Electrical Lineman Technology – Admissions

Students may go into MyNMU, select the Student Services Tab, then scroll down to “Degree Evaluation – CAPP” to run their evaluation.

The Academic and Career Advisement Center will review degree evaluations with students. Students may call 906-227-2971 to make an appointment.