Advising

Faculty members typically have shared responsibility for advising undergraduate and graduate students at all levels of study including the preparation of honors and graduate theses or dissertations. Assignments differ among programs and levels of study, but the number and kinds of advising duties assigned to faculty members and staff are reflected in their workload assignments, and their accomplishments and those of their students reflected in their merit evaluations.

Training and developmental opportunities are made available to faculty and staff assigned to advising duties. Awards for outstanding advising are made each year commensurate with those for teaching, research and other service assignments. The institution has established a continuing process for the monitoring and identification of issues related to advising and the design of solutions. Those involved in the everyday practice of advising students have a key role in this process. Two pieces of recent legislation also address faculty and institutional responsibilities toward students, and faculty members should be familiar with these responsibilities.  Consistent with Act 1014 of the Arkansas General Assembly of 2005, qualified degree-seeking first-year students must be given the opportunity during their first registration to enter an eight-semester degree completion program or to decline to do so. Such programs exist for the great majority of areas of study at the University of Arkansas and full information is available online. http://catalog.uark.edu/

Similarly, consistent with Act 472 of 2007, entering undergraduate students must be informed during registration of the opportunities provided by the Arkansas Course Transfer System (ACTS). This system specifies course transferability among Arkansas public institutions of higher education and its provisions may be viewed online. https://adhe.edu/students-parents/transfer-info-for-students

Also, consistent with Act 672 of 2005, the U of A may not require a transfer student who has credit for an equivalent course (as reflected in the ACTS) to repeat that course on this campus.

Additionally, transfer credit policy under Arkansas Act 182 from 2009 requires a four-year public institution of higher education in Arkansas to accept all credits earned from students earning an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science or Associate of Arts in Teaching degree from a state-supported public institution in Arkansas. Major stipulations of Act 182 are outlined in the catalog: https://catalog.uark.edu/undergraduatecatalog/academicregulations/transferofcredit/.