Resources for Faculty Advisers

The Center for Student Life and Advising

Center for Student Life and Advising: In addition to the faculty adviser, each student is also assigned to a dean who provides supplemental advising to students in need of academic, social, or emotional support. Deans meet with students who seek to improve their academic skills and time-management strategies, are unsure about their program of study, or want help with the registration process, and support students as they navigate personal, social, community, and campus life. The deans work closely with the faculty adviser to provide comprehensive support for students and provide referrals to other offices such as the Health and Counseling Center, the Learning Commons, and the Career Development Office.

All five deans work closely with Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs & Dean of Studies David Shein and with Dean of Students Bethany Nohlgren. David and Bethany are available to work with students and faculty who need additional assistance. They can be reached at x7454 and via email at [email protected] and [email protected].

Advising Assignments

All members of the Bard College faculty serve as academic advisers.

During the two Matriculation Days that precede the start of fall term, first-year and transfer students meet with preliminary faculty advisers for group advising sessions, program information sessions, and for individual advising appointments. The faculty who serve as preliminary advisers also represent their programs during the in-person registration process on the afternoon of the second Matriculation Day.

First-year and transfer students are assigned preliminary faculty advisers on the basis of expressed academic interests and intended program of study. The registrar, with input from program chairs, makes the initial advising assignments.

Students can, at any point during their study at Bard, change advisers. They do this by completing a Change of Adviser form, available in the Registrar’s Office. This form requires the signature of the new faculty adviser.

When a faculty adviser goes on sabbatical or takes a leave of absence, the advisees should get a temporary adviser. When the faculty adviser returns to campus, the advisees return to the original adviser. Students can add a temporary adviser by completing a Change of Adviser form, or the faculty adviser can send a list of the temporary advisers to the registrar.

Meeting with Advisees

Faculty advisers are responsible for meeting with their advisees at key points during the semester, as follows:

• During the drop/add period at the beginning of each semester, to review changes to the student’s program and discuss plans and goals for the semester;
• At midterm, to review midterm criteria sheets and make plans for improvement as needed;
• On Advising Days (about 3/4 through the semester), to review course offerings, discuss schedules for the upcoming semester, and prepare for final exams and papers; and 
• After online registration (at the end of each semester), to review the semester, the student’s schedule, and discuss possible changes.

Faculty advisers should be familiar with college-wide and program-specific requirements for Moderation and graduation. This information is gathered in the Guide to Academic Programs and Concentrations. For additional information, consult the Bard Course Catalogue, colleagues in the appropriate programs, or the academic affairs staff.

Faculty advisers are also encouraged to:

• Host informal gatherings with advisees once per semester to strengthen connections with students outside of the classroom. Advisers are reimbursed up to $15 per person (for the adviser and each advisee). In the past, this funding has been limited to Lower College advisees; the funding now covers Upper College advisees and students in your courses, as well. Past advising events have included apple picking expeditions, dinner in the adviser’s home or at a restaurant, roller skating, pizza at Blithewood, or breakfast in the faculty dining room. Simple and easy is just fine, and it is OK to team up with another adviser. To receive reimbursement for food and expenses, faculty advisers should submit receipts and a list of the students who participated to the program administrative support person. To arrange a catered meal on campus, contact Chartwells at x7346. To arrange transportation, contact Jeff Smith at x7007.
• Review their advisees’ complete academic records, including applications to the College (on file in the Registrar’s Office) and criteria sheets from all courses taken at the College. Most criteria sheets are available online on the "Full Academic Record" page on BIP. The adviser can help the student find the root of his or her academic difficulties by asking questions and examining the student’s transcript to see if she/he is adequately prepared for the course.
• Remind students to read the "Learning at Bard" section of the Student Handbook, which includes discussion of Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty, Academic Requirements and Regulations.

Academic Planning and Exploring Potential Majors

For a list of Moderation and graduation requirements for each program and concentration, see the Guide to Academic Programs and Concentrations.

For additional advice on selecting a major and how to connect your program of study to a future career, contact the Career Development Office.

Students are advised to read the the "Learning at Bard" section of the Student Handbook, which includes discussion of Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty, Academic Requirements and Regulations. 

Further Reading and Resources:

Academic Policies

Pass/Fail/D - As of fall 2016, students can request to take a course that is normally letter graded as pass/fail/D until 5:00 p.m. on the fifth Wednesday of the term. The petition requires the signature of the professor. Students must now earn the equivalent of a C or better in the course to get the grade of P. A grade of P does not factor into the GPA. If a student earns a D or F in the course, these grades will be recorded on the transcript and will factor into the GPA. There is no grade of C- with pass/fail/D; the grade must be either a P, a D, or an F.

Drop/Add and “Late” dropping - As of fall 2016, the drop/add period extends from the first day of class until 5 p.m. on Wednesday of the second week of classes. Drop/add requires the signature of the professor and the student’s adviser. Provided the 12 credit full-time enrollment minimum is observed, courses may be “late” dropped until 5:00 p.m. on the fifth Wednesday of the term. Late drop requires the signature of the professor, the student’s adviser, and a registrar. Late drop is not available to part-time students.

Credit limits - A normal course load is 16 credits each semester. No student may take more than 18 credits in their first semester at Bard. After the first semester, students wishing to take more than 18 credits must complete the Irregular Program Form (available in the Registrar’s Office) and have a GPA of 3.6 or higher in the preceding semester and cumulatively. Exceptions must be approved by the dean of studies.

IB & AP transfer credits - Students who earn a score of 5 on a high school Advanced Placement exam will be given 4 college transfer credits. A score of 5 or higher on an International Baccalaureate exam will earn 8 credits for each higher level course and 4 credits for each standard level course. A maximum of 32 AP and IB credits may be transferred in. High school Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses may not be used to satisfy distribution requirements, and in some programs may not be used to satisfy program moderation or graduation requirements.

Using the Bard Information Portal (BIP)

The Bard Information Portal (BIP) is an on-line database of student academic records and course information. You can use it to check your class rosters on-line and to review your advisees’ academic records. You can also use BIP to send group e-mails to all members of a class and to your list of advisees.

To use BIP, you will need a Bard College e-mail name and password (contact the Henderson Help Desk at x7500 if you do not know your password), and a faculty PIN number (contact Jennifer Triplett at x7365 if you do not know your PIN number).

To access BIP:

• From bard.edu/inside, click on the link to BIP under Quick Links, or visit bip.bard.edu;
• Enter your Bard College e-mail name and password

Options once logged in:

• Click on the Faculty Menu link.
  • From this page, you can select: Class Roster: a list of your current courses, tutorials, and senior projects.
  • Clicking on a course will show you a full roster for that class.
• Clicking on ‘e-mail all students in the class’ will open up an e-mail message addressed to all students registered for that class.
  • Advisee List: a list of your current advisees.
• Clicking on a student’s name will bring you to that student’s academic record, including current schedule, past courses and grades, distribution transcripts, and most criteria sheets.
• Clicking on a student’s e-mail address will open up an e-mail message addressed to that student.
• Clicking on ‘e-mail all advisees’ will open up an e-mail message addressed to all of your advisees.
  • Program Schedule and Enrollment: a list of all courses in your program.
• Advisers are urged to review their advisees’ complete academic records, including distribution transcripts and criteria sheets, in helping them craft programs of study.