New York University is the largest private university in the United States, and the LS academic advisement system is designed to assist students in navigating a complex university, in identifying their academic goals, and in providing advice and information about how best to achieve those goals. LS is a student-oriented liberal arts program. Class size is kept small to ensure lots of faculty-student interaction, the faculty know their students by name, and the academic advisement system provides academic support and problem-solving services.

LS ADVISING CENTER

The LS Advising Center, located at 726 Broadway, 6th Floor, is open Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The assistant dean for academic advisement and student services and LS’s academic advising staff are available for individual meetings with students. Each semester, the LS Advising Center schedules preregistration information group sessions as well, to provide registration information to targeted audiences of LS students. There are preregistration sessions designed for College of Arts and Science–bound students; those interested in transferring to the Tisch School of the Arts, Gallatin School of Individualized Study, or Steinhardt School of Education; students on track to transfer to the Stern School of Business; prehealth students; film students; and undecided students. All LS students are required to attend one preregistration information session each semester, scheduled in anticipation of the following semester’s preregistration period. Students can register via Albert (NYU’s online registration system) only after being cleared to register, and LS students are cleared each semester by the staff of the LS Advising Center once they have attended a preregistration information session. At those sessions, academic advisers remind students of the degree and transfer requirements yet to be satisfied, give advice about choosing electives, and answer students’ questions about majors, requirements, and deadlines.

The LS Advising Center also provides information to students about meeting deadlines of all kinds. Students are kept abreast of deadlines for registering for courses, making schedule changes, withdrawing from courses, satisfying incompletes, applying for internal transfer, and applying for study abroad. E-mail announcements are sent to flag these deadlines and to announce the schedule of preregistration information sessions each semester. A monthly electronic newsletter is also sent by the LS Advising Center with announcements from the dean’s office, the schedule of student activities and events, and information about special programs organized by faculty or by student clubs. Students should acquire the habit of reading the monthly electronic newsletter to keep abreast of LS events.

FACULTY ADVISERS

In addition to the services offered by the staff of the LS Advising Center, all LS students are assigned a faculty adviser. It is expected that students will be advised by the same faculty adviser for the two years that they spend in LS. (After transferring to the baccalaureate program from which they expect to earn their bachelor’s degree, students are assigned a new faculty adviser in the department in which they declare their major.) Faculty advisers in LS are prepared to give academic advice to their students: advice to freshmen about college adjustment issues (such as time management, juggling extracurricular activities with academic responsibilities, and beginning the search for a major and a minor) and advice to sophomores about meeting academic goals (making plans for transferring to one of the baccalaureate programs, finding out the details about the departments in which they are interested in the respective bulletins and online Web sites, and making use of the vast resources of New York University). Faculty advisers are often the first to hear about student problems and are on the frontlines to refer students to the LS Advising Center to have an academic problem solved or a registration problem rectified; to the NYU Student Health Center for medical treatment or psychological counseling; or to the Wasserman Center for Career Development to get expert advice about finding an internship, developing a résumé, or beginning a job search. Faculty advisers can be helpful to students in many ways so long as students are proactive in arranging and keeping appointments with their adviser. And as these faculty advisers are faculty members as well, it is not unusual for them to give “homework” assignments to their advisees, asking them to research some Web sites or attend the study abroad fair (an all-University event scheduled each semester to provide information about study abroad opportunities), and then returning to discuss their findings with their adviser. Faculty advisers help to teach students how to become self-reliant and responsible adults.

LS ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER

The LS Advising Center publishes an electronic newsletter that is sent to all current LS students via e-mail on a monthly basis. Therefore, it is absolutely essential that all LS students activate their NYU e-mail account and regularly check their NYU e-mail. The LS electronic newsletter lists all upcoming extracurricular events and includes special announcements about deadlines and activities. The LS Advising Center uses the newsletter as a tool for keeping LS students on track by reminding them of registration dates, posting deadlines for applications for internal transfer, and providing a schedule of preregistration information sessions throughout each semester. Students should make a point of consulting the LS electronic newsletter at the beginning of each week. It is a very valuable resource to all LS students.

ONLINE COURSE REGISTRATION (ALBERT)

Albert is the NYU student information services Web site. Students can use Albert to register for courses, change addresses, and review transcripts and financial aid information. Access Albert at www.albert.nyu.edu.

ACADEMIC SUPPORT SERVICES

The academic support services available to Liberal Studies students include the following:

• LS provides tutoring services in writing with faculty tutors through the LS Writing Support Program. Appointments can be made at the LS office at 726 Broadway, 6th Floor, or by e-mail at svs1@nyu.edu
• The Writing Center, part of the Expository Writing Program at the College of Arts and Science, offers tutorial help in writing for the University community. The center is located at 411 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor. See also www.nyu.edu/cas/ewp and click on “Writing Center.”
• Math tutoring is available through the CAS Department of Mathematics, located in the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at 251 Mercer Street.
• The College Learning Center, at the College of Arts and Science, offers tutoring services and workshops (see below for more information).

THE COLLEGE LEARNING CENTER

The College of Arts and Science operates the College Learning Center at two locations: at the Weinstein Center for Student Living, and at the Third Avenue North Residence Hall. The Center provides extensive academic support services to students in all divisions of the University who take courses in the College. The Center offers various free services including the following:

• Individual and group tutoring sessions
• Examination review sessions
• Residence hall group study sessions
• Study skills assessment
• Academic Success Workshops
• Computer-assisted tutoring

For more information, go to www.nyu.edu/cas/clc.