It takes a village and the support of parents, guardians and families is fundamental to student success. Your support and our guidance will help students achieve their academic and career goals.
Our goal is to help students self-advocate while preparing them for the next stage of their personal/professional development (i.e. workforce and/or transferring to a senior college/university). One way you can help us and your student is to encourage that they take the lead in communicating with us. If you want to be kept in the loop, you can ask them to copy you on the email.
How Advisement Works
In general, students connect with an advisor one-on-one in-person or virtually through video chat (email advisement is also available for continuing students). This provides an opportunity for the student to establish a meaningful relationship with the advisor. There are a few ways you can help your student when it comes to advisement appointments:
- Encourage them to reach out early. The earlier they are advised, the earlier they can register for courses.
- Reinforce that they attend their appointment on time. If something has come up, encourage them to contact the advisor beforehand and to reschedule immediately.
- Assist them in developing questions they may want (or need) to ask during their session.
- Reinforce that they are appropriately and fully dressed for their virtual appointment.
- If possible, help facilitate a quiet space for them when they meet their advisors.
- Give them space to explore different academic and career interests if they are unsure what they want to pursue.
See What Students Can Expect from an Academic Advisor
If you choose to attend the appointment, we ask that you announce yourself. The advisor will need to ask the student if it’s alright that you are there. Upon agreeing, the advisement session can proceed with you present. It’s important the student is fully involved in the session by answering and asking questions. We know that you know your student better than we do. If you realize they are not understanding something, it’s ok to ask a clarifying question. Another way you can participate is by holding your questions until the end.
Access to Student Information/Records
While the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) provides you access to your student’s record while in grades K-12, the access to their post-secondary record is limited to the student once they enroll in college. This means that you do not automatically have access to the student’s record, including, but not limited to, major of study, enrollment schedule, class attendance, and grades. If the student would like for you to have access, they would need to complete a FERPA Release Form.
Though all students are not advised by our office, this information applies to other advising units and academic departments.
Thank you for your partnership! We look forward to assisting your student.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Academic Advising?
According to the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), academic advising is a series of intentional interactions with a curriculum and a set of student learning outcomes. - Is Academic Advising required at BMCC?
Yes. All students at BMCC are required to be advised before registering for courses each semester. - What is FERPA?
FERPA is the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) (“FERPA”). This is a federal law that protects the privacy of student “Educational Records.” This law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. Unlike high school, once a student is enrolled and attends college classes, the FERPA rights are the student’s (not the parent’s). For more information on FERPA, please click here. - Do you have a question for Academic Advisement?
Please submit your questions to aatc@bmcc.cuny.edu with the subject line “Question from a Parent/Guardian”.
