Advising for Students

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].

Preliminary Advising for New Students

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 course registration on 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. If you need assistance choosing a new adviser, contact faculty in your program or your dean in the Center for Student Life and Advising at x7454. 

How to Prepare for a Meeting with Your Adviser

• Be timely and thoughtful. Notify your adviser if you have to reschedule your appointment.
• Be informed. Know important deadlines and dates.
• Be organized and bring the following:
  • At registration time, a list of about 10 courses you are interested in
  • List of questions
  • Any relevant documents to support questions or topics of discussion (i.e. transcript, transfer credits, joint major form, etc.)

How to Change Your Adviser

Complete and submit the Adviser Change form from the registrar. If you need assistance choosing a new adviser, contact your dean (see above) or faculty in your program.

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:

Senior Year Resources

Find the Senior Project guide and additional information about Senior year here. Thinking about life after Bard? Check out Bard Works. 

Senior Project
All students at Bard are required to complete a Senior Project. The Senior Project is an original, individual, focused project growing out of the student's cumulative academic experiences. One course each semester of the student's final year is devoted to completing the Senior Project. In order to begin Senior Project, a student must have completed 96 credits, and must be moderated in the program. The Senior Project must be completed in two consecutive semesters.

Preparation
Preparation for the Senior Project begins in the junior year. Students consult with advisers, and pursue course work, tutorials, and seminars directed toward selecting a topic, choosing a form of the project, and becoming competent in the analytical and research methods required by the topic and form. Students in some programs design a Major Conference during their junior year, which may take the form of a seminar, tutorial, studio work, or field of laboratory work. By the end of the junior year, students should finalize the selection of the Senior Project adviser and two other faculty members who will serve on the Senior Project review board.  

Senior Project Completion
At the end of the senior year, four copies of the project must be submitted to the Office of the Dean of the College by 5 pm on the due date. The student is then responsible for distributing three of the copies to the board members. The fourth copy of the Project is filed in the Library's archives. Arts division students who are doing an installation or performance should submit a 1-page Senior Project abstract on the due date.  

Permission to submit a Project later than the due date must be secured from the Faculty Executive Committee not later than one week prior to the due date, and must include the written support of the adviser and an explanation of the reasons for the request. Late submission of the Project without permission will result in a lowering of the grade.

Students receiving the grade of F and desiring to graduate from Bard will have to undertake an entirely new project. The due date for the submission of the new project will be no later than two years after the original due date of the first Project.

Moderation

Moderation is the process by which all students must transition from the Lower College to the Upper College and establish their major in a program. Moderation is a crucial point in the individual student's career at Bard in which, with the help of a board of three faculty members, the student assesses his or her record and plans a future course of study.

Time of Moderation
The Moderation ordinarily takes place in the second semester of the sophomore year. Transfer students entering with the equivalent of two full years of credit should, if possible, moderate during the first semester of residence, but in no case later than the second. In order to postpone Moderation one semester, a student must obtain the written approval of his or her adviser. Postponing Moderation a second semester requires approval of the Faculty Executive Committee. For double majors, the second Moderation may occur in the second semester of the sophomore year or in either semester of the junior year. Students must be moderated before they can start a Senior Project.

Procedure
All students must prepare two short papers for Moderation, the first assessing their curriculum, performance, and experience in the first two years, and the second identifying their goals and proposed study plan for the final two years. All students also submit a sample of work they have done in the program—for example, a long paper written for a course.  

Students consult with their adviser to determine the process for scheduling the Moderation board and to find out about any special papers or other material that needs to be submitted along with the two short papers. Students must prepare four copies of the required papers and materials to be submitted to the registrar's office and the three board members by the Moderation deadline.

Moderation Board Decisions
Promotion admits the student to the Upper College. The board's report shall include an evaluation of the student's work and of performance during the Moderation, recommendations for the student's future program, and the anticipated date of graduation.

Deferral of promotion detains the student for a further semester in the Lower College in that, in the board's opinion, he or she has not yet clearly demonstrated grounds for promotion, but may be able to do so by the end of next semester. Deferred students attempt to re-moderate the following semester with, as far as possible, the same board in the same program. Only promotion or refusal is possible.

Refusal of promotion denies the student admission to the Upper College. It is expected that students who fail Moderation will successfully moderate by the end of the next semester in a different program, and they will be reviewed by the Faculty Executive Committee. A failed student must develop an academic plan with a new adviser in a new program before the end of the semester in which he or she failed.