The College of Nursing is well known for its advising system that builds mutual respect, empowerment and trust between faculty and students. Each student at both the undergraduate and graduate levels is assigned an advisor upon admission to his or her program. The advisor works with the student to develop a program plan and provides academic advisement throughout the program of study.
In the undergraduate program, beginning as freshman, nursing students are able to develop relationships with professional nurses — their academic advisors. At the conclusion of their bachelor's program, the advisor knows the student well enough to be an effective career counselor and reference for those seeking employment and preparing to take the licensing examination upon graduation. Graduate students also find that the faculty wealth of expertise and collegial network are valuable as they plan the next phase of their career.
A strong student advisement system combined with small class size enables a full assessment of each student's learning needs, the establishment of realistic learning goals, ongoing assessment of the student's understanding of subject matter and customization in goals.
Each semester, after discussion with their faculty advisors, students design their course schedules and select their clinical agency group. This ongoing mentoring relationship established between students and faculty facilitates career counseling by faculty and endorsement and recommendation of students by faculty as they enter into the next phase of their professional careers. One measure of the satisfaction undergraduates have with their educational experience is to measure the number of alumni returning for graduate study. Since Fall 2000 semester, 25% of our graduate students were Villanova College of Nursing undergraduates.
To supplement the advising process, our Student Academic Resources Advisor is available during regular business hours to assist students with immediate advising and other academic issues. This advisor is also the link for our multicultural students to the resources offered by the University's Center of Multicultural Affairs.
