At SCAD, the University for Creative Careers, student tuition supports a comprehensive array of student support resources designed to advance learning and keep students on track to complete their degrees on time and commence their careers in the creative professions. In addition to providing for an elite faculty with top industry connections and academic learning spaces featuring advanced technology and specialized equipment, the university serves SCAD Bees with a superior network of preeminent resources, including individual student support from SCAD Career and Alumni Success (“CAS,” the career-launching arm of SCAD), SCAD Bee Well (the network of emotional, physical, and social wellness support), and SCAD Student Success (a team of uniquely qualified advisers who assist SCAD Bees in selecting a major, classes, and discovering all the resources of SCAD).
“SCAD Student Success Advisers serve our Bees in so many ways,” said SCAD President Paula Wallace. “They help you find classes, manage your finances, and put you in touch with anything and everything you’ll need during your SCAD education.”
“Think of your adviser as your spirit guide through SCAD. The university offers students a pretty vast universe of resources. We don’t expect our students to know everything, especially not when they first arrive. It’s a lot,” said Dr. Harrison Key, SCAD executive dean. “The advisers are students’ direct point of contact with any question, a little like Google, but an actual person who knows your name and knows what you want out of your education. You can call them, email them, meet with them in person. It’s a mentoring role as much as an informative one. Your SCAD Student Success Adviser is your backstage pass to SCAD.”
What do SCAD Success Advisers do, exactly?
“It all starts with getting to know each student. Advisers meet with students individually and learn what brought you to SCAD. What did you fall in love with in the SCAD catalog? During your tour? What might you want to do for a living when you finish? Where do your passions and interests align with SCAD’s best-in-class degree programs?” said Key. “We offer more different types of degrees than any other creative university in the world. Students need to know what’s available.”
Success advisers help students with major declaration, course selection, and course sequencing and registration. “Every degree program is designed with intention,” said President Wallace. “Every class builds on every previous class. It’s incredibly advanced and designed with intention and purpose. We know precisely how that sequence works and what students need and when. Advisers ensure students know what is needed at each step. They stay in constant contact with our Bees.”
“Let’s say we know a student is keenly interested in studying at SCAD Lacoste for a quarter, which usually happens in junior or senior year,” said Key. “We know, even two and three years out, what courses are offered in Lacoste. So maybe the student wants to spend a summer in Lacoste. We can show them what courses they can take in France, which means we’ll save some of those courses for that particular summer and look at the best options leading up to that quarter.”
“Here’s another example,” Key said. “Maybe in conversation, the adviser has learned that the student is a little anxious about giving presentations and speaking in class, which is a requirement for almost all SCAD classes and essential for success in pretty much any creative profession. They’ll have to pitch, present, network, no matter what they do for a living. The adviser is uniquely positioned to introduce the student to SCADamp, our in-house communication studio. We have workshops and coaching available to every student. Your adviser can get you into those workshops, even before your first class presentation.”
SCAD Success Advisers keep track of everything that ensures student progress toward graduation, including GPA, career goals, shifting interests, possible interest in minors and double majors, even student budgets and how they manage spending. Success advisers provide students with guidance in understanding and meeting the cost of their education, such as SCAD tuition, housing, supplies, and more.
When will I be assigned a SCAD Student Success Adviser?
SCAD assigns an adviser to each student before the first quarter of enrollment, based on the student’s intended or declared major. “Orientation is where this happens,” said Key. “Although students are more than welcome to speak to a Student Success Adviser before then. All they have to do is communicate that to their admission adviser, who will connect them immediately.” Once students are enrolled, they can see their Student Success Adviser’s contact information through SCAD Pro Adviser on MySCAD. “I recommend putting their name, number, and other contact info into your phone! You’ll be talking to them more than you speak to just about anyone else,” Key said.
What are my responsibilities as a student?
“Our SCAD students are motivated and ambitious,” said Key. “They know what they want out of their lives and careers, and that’s why we encourage them to initiate engagement with their Student Success Adviser, too. Students should schedule appointments–and go! They need to read the handbook and learn the policies. They should read the catalog and discuss requirements with their professors, of course. The more students know, the more specific they can be in their question to advisers. SCAD students are expected to take ownership of their choices at SCAD.” It’s right there in the word adviser, said Key. The SCAD Student Success Advisers are advising students and providing options, with the student, perhaps in consultation with family members, making the final decision about majors, elective courses, tuition payment schedules, and which resources are most essential at any point.
SCAD Student Success Advising can be reached at 912.525.5820 and advisement@scad.edu (for SCAD Savannah and SCAD eLearning students) or 404.253.3100 and atl_advise@scad.edu (for SCAD Atlanta students). SCAD international students with advising questions may contact SCAD International Student Services, and any SCAD student wishing to speak with a member of the SCAD CAS team can contact SCAD Career and Alumni Success.
