Fundamentals of Advising at Mason (FOAM)

Training and professional development for all Mason academic advisors is a priority and essential in providing our students with quality and consistent advising experiences across all academic units and to promote opportunities for professional growth and advancement for our advisors. This training includes three live workshops and four asynchronous training modules. It is supplemental to training within your school/college/department. Please work with your supervisor to determine which parts of this training will be required as part of your onboarding and development.

  • Professionals of all experience levels can benefit from completing all modules and workshops, but it is recommended especially for those who are new to academic advising.
  • We strongly recommend the asynchronous modules and the “Academic Advising Tools and Technology” live workshop to those who are new to advising at Mason.
  • Fundamentals of Advising at Mason (FOAM) (formerly Academic Advisor Onboarding training) is available for all Mason faculty, staff, and graduate assistants who are interested in learning more about the profession and advising at Mason.

FOAM training topics were developed based on guidance from NACADA (National Academic Advising Association), the Global Community for Academic Advising, as well as needs specific to being an academic advisor at Mason.

If you have not already done so, please submit this form to be added to the advisor database, academic advising Teams group, and MAAN listserv if you are new to your advising position. If you are not an academic advisor but want to complete the training, please submit the form as well so you can be notified when sessions for the live workshops become available.

The MS Teams Mason Academic Advising-GRP is used for advisors to share brief updates and to ask each other questions about various advising related issues that may arise, related to registration, forms, processes, locating the appropriate office or advisor, and more. This group consists of academic advisors and members of other offices, such as the registrar, who can answer questions that are connected to their units.

Joining the MAAN (Mason Academic Advisor Network) listserv will help you stay connected and receive up-to-date information about advising news, course updates, events, and more.

As you complete FOAM, we encourage you to continue to pursue professional development opportunities. Dedicating time to professional development throughout your career as an academic advisor is essential to our field so we can continue to best serve our student populations.

Questions? If you need assistance anytime during the training, please email the Academic Advising Coordinator at oaa@gmu.edu.

Introduction and Itinerary

Please begin by reading this introduction letter from the Office of Academic Advising.

FOAM Itinerary for New Advisors at Mason
  1. Enroll in Fundamentals of Advising at Mason on MasonLeaps.
  2. Complete Asynchronous Training Modules.
  3. Complete Banner Navigation and Navigate trainings
    • Banner training and access are needed prior to Navigate training and access.
    • It is helpful for these to be completed before the “Academic Advising Tools and Technology” live workshop
  4. Enroll in and complete Live Workshops.
  5. Complete training within your school/college.

Note that items in the itinerary may overlap. We recommend enrolling in Live Workshops when they are made available (as long as you have time to complete the pre-requisites before the actual workshop).

Every module (both live and asynchronous) includes a quiz (on MasonLeaps) and evaluation. Please submit a session evaluation after you complete each asynchronous and live module.

Banner and Navigate
Banner is our student information system. Navigate is our customer relationship management (CRM) system used by academic advisors and other faculty and staff at Mason for student appointment scheduling, note taking on student appointments, email and appointment campaigns, reporting, and more. In order to complete Navigate training and gain access, you need to complete Banner Navigation training and gain access to Banner.

You can access the “Banner Navigation” training on MasonLeaps. Contact your supervisor about gaining Banner access.

After you have completed Banner training and gained access, you can complete the NavigateMason training which is accessed through Blackboard. After completing the training, you can request access to Navigate.

Required HR Trainings for New Employees
You will be notified by HR via email and during your new employee orientation of other trainings that are required by HR as a new Mason Employee. Some examples of these include but are not limited to:

  • FERPA 101
  • Banner Navigation
  • Tools for an Ethical Workplace
  • Mason 101 (strongly encouraged)
Training within your School/College/Unit
In addition to the centrally supported advisor training, each school/college also provides training to their academic advisors on policies and processes specific to the school/college. The recommended areas include:

  • Curriculum requirements in your advising area
  • Details of school/college specific policies, procedures and forms
  • Advising appointment shadowing
  • New Student Orientation
  • Student programming/events
  • NavigateMason campaigns/outreach
  • Calendar and appointment expectations
  • Advising students for good standing (below 2.0, returning from suspension, unsatisfactory midterms, warning, probation, and related policies)
  • Advising for BAMs and graduate school

Asynchronous Modules

The asynchronous modules are completed on MasonLeaps, but some of the information and articles from the trainings are made available on this page for anyone who cannot access MasonLeaps or would like to review some of the training materials without enrolling in the training itself. Below you can also find descriptions and learning outcomes for the modules as well as the link for evaluations.

Asynchronous Training Module: The Mason Degree
Description:
This session will provide advisors an overview of the Mason degree, and will include information on the Mason Core, Major coursework, degree structure, and a brief introduction to the Honors College. Through this session advisors will be able to articulate requirements of the Mason degree and develop a broader understanding of the student experience.

Learning Objectives:

  • Advisors will develop an understanding of the major components of the Mason Degree
  • Advisors will be able to identify the Mason Graduate
  • Advisors will be able to articulate overall requirements of the Mason Degree
  • Advisors will be able to communicate with students components of the Mason Core curriculum

Remember to submit a session evaluation after you complete the module.

Asynchronous Training Module: DegreeWorks for Advisors
Description:
This session will provide new advisors with a step-by-step overview of the Degree Works system. How to search for students and how to read their audit. Additional time will be spent reviewing unique features such as, the What-if function, Plan-ahead and Notes.

Learning Objectives:

  • Learn how to navigate Degree Works
  • Utilize the “What If” feature in Degree Works for major and minor exploration with students
  • Understand the various Degree Works icons (requirement has been met, not met, in progress)
  • Know how to add a note in Degree Works

Supplemental Resources:

Remember to submit a session evaluation after you complete the module.

Asynchronous Training Module: Registration and Program Changes
Description:
Advisors will learn about academic policies and resources necessary for their role. This session will go over Mason specific academic standards applicable across schools/colleges throughout the student lifecycle.

Learning Objectives:

  • Recall where to find academic policies and deadlines
  • Recognize purpose of forms and where to submit
  • Determine which form to use depending on a student’s situation
  • Interpret academic policies to support student academic goals

Remember to submit a session evaluation after you complete the module.

Asynchronous Training Module: Withdrawals, Exceptions and External Options
Description:
Overview of possible academic requirement exceptions, external options for academic requirements, and processes to follow for academic and non-academic withdrawals. This session will be especially useful when working with transfer and international students.

Learning Objectives:

  • Recall pertinent academic policies and procedures
  • Recognize purpose of forms and where to submit
  • Determine which form to use depending on a student’s situation
  • Interpret academic policies and forms to support student academic goals

Remember to submit a session evaluation after you complete the module.

Live Workshops

Registration for the live workshops is on MasonLeaps. Some of the materials for the workshops are made available on this page for anyone who cannot access MasonLeaps or would like to review this information without enrolling in the training itself. Below you can also find descriptions and learning outcomes for the workshops as well as the link for evaluations.

The Foundations I and II workshops are designed with new academic advisors in mind.

If you have submitted the advisor intake form, you will be notified when sessions for the live workshops become available.

Live Workshop: Academic Advising Foundations I
Required prerequisite: articles (access in the module on MasonLeaps)

Time: 90 minutes
Mode: Virtual
Offered: September, February (approximately)

Description:

In this session, advisors will learn about the history, importance, and role of academic advising at the local and international levels as it relates to student learning, success, and retention. Participants will also understand and recognize the importance of their educational community and their individual well-being through establishing a consistent practice of self-reflection and professional development.

Learning Objectives:

  • Advisors will be able to recognize the history and importance of academic advising.
  • Advisors will understand the four pillars of academic advising.
  • Advisors will be able to communicate responsibilities of being an academic advisor at Mason.
  • Advisors will be able to recognize advisor roles and expectations and understand the importance of these expectations in relation to their students.
  • Advisors will understand the structure of academic advising within their unit and at Mason.
  • Advisors will understand the importance of their educational community and the support it provides to students.
  • Advisors will recognize the importance of building in a consistent practice of self-reflection and professional development.

Course Materials:
If you are completing the training, access these articles in the module on MasonLeaps to receive credit.

NACADA Pillars of Academic Advising

Additional Resources:

  • We encourage you to explore the Advising site as well as the advising sites for the different colleges, schools, and departments to gain an understanding of the advising structures at Mason.
  • You can also check out the Mason Academic Advisor Network (MAAN) website for additional information and professional development opportunities.
  • Please review this article regarding advisor training recommendations in our field: Training Blueprint for New Advisors (from NACADA)

After you attend the live workshop, return to MasonLeaps to complete the quiz for this module.

Also remember to submit a session evaluation after you complete the module.

Live Workshop: Academic Advising Foundations II: Best Practices
Required prerequisites: Academic Advising Foundations I, articles (see Course Materials below)

Time: 3 Hours
Mode: In-Person
Offered: October, March, June (approximately)

Description:
This training module builds on Academic Advising Foundations I and provides information on Best Practices in Academic Advising. Areas covered include advising models and approaches, the structure of an advising meeting, advising meeting note taking, referrals, and the academic advising syllabus. It is also an opportunity to meet and get to know fellow new advisors in person.

Learning Objectives:

  • Recognize various approaches and models of academic advising and when to employ them
  • Learn the structure of an academic advising meeting
  • Recognize the point at which a student should be referred to another office
  • Employ efficient and effective note-taking strategies
  • Identify Mason resources in the area of self-care
  • Identify academic advising student learning outcomes
  • Understand the purpose and importance of an advising syllabus, identify its components, and learn when and how to share your advising syllabus with your advisees
  • Begin to customize the university-wide academic advising syllabus template and make it unique to you

Course Materials:
Please review the following resources prior to the live workshop.

After you attend the live workshop, return to MasonLeaps to complete the quiz for this module.

Also remember to submit a session evaluation after you complete the module.

Live Workshop: Academic Advising Tools and Technology
Required prerequisites: All of the asynchronous training modules, NavigateMason training and access
Required prerequisite to NavigateMason training: Banner Navigation training (available on MasonLeaps) and access

Time: 1 Hour
Mode: Virtual
Offered: November, April (approximately)

Description:
During this workshop, new advisors will be able to ask questions and trouble shoot regarding any advising technology and tools, such as DegreeWorks, Navigate, PatriotWeb, Banner, the advising website, transfer credit matrix, and more. More senior advisors will also share tips and tricks within these tools.

Learning Objectives:

  • Learn how to apply various tools and technology in advising situations
  • Recall where to find academic policies and deadlines
  • Recognize purpose of forms and where to submit
  • Determine which form to use depending on a student’s situation
  • Interpret academic policies to support student academic goals

After you attend the live workshop, return to MasonLeaps to complete the quiz for this module.

Also remember to submit a session evaluation after you complete the module.

Wrap-Up and Thank You

Thank you for participating in Fundamentals of Advising at Mason! Your progress and ultimately your completion of this process will be tracked in Mason Leaps.

If and once you have completed the entire training, please email the Academic Advising Coordinator (oaa@gmu.edu) for your certificate. Your supervisor will also be notified of your completion.

We hope you were able to complete the evaluations after each training module as we truly value your feedback.