Academic advising is crucial to ensuring you're on track to graduate.

Ashley Conte, director of Academic Advising, Retention & Completion, shares the top information to prepare you for your required academic advising appointments and how PeopleSoft tools can assist you in your course scheduling.

Why are students required to meet with an academic advisor?

We recognize how important advising is to student success and degree completion. Our goal is always to help students complete their degree in four years so they can apply what they’ve learned to what they want to do in the future as soon as possible. 

We intentionally created a touch point where students can meet with someone who can make sure they’re not only on track academically but personally. It’s been even more important since the pandemic and seeing the different levels of student preparation and the academic and non-academic challenges that students have – whether that includes coming up with a plan for academic challenges they’re having or connecting them to resources that will help get them through the semester.

What are key dates students should be aware of as course registration approaches? 

Firstly, ensure all your holds—academic, financial, immunization related or disciplinary—are removed before your registration appointment so you can register for classes on time.

The spring course schedule is published, and registration opens Nov. 10 for graduate students and Nov. 11 for undergraduates. Students registered with Accessibility and Disability Services, and military- and veteran-affiliated students receive priority registration appointments on Nov. 11.

Keep an eye on your email! Enrollment appointment dates will be published on Oct. 20 so you can see when you are eligible to register for the spring. While you can register any time from after your enrollment appointment until classes begin, do so early because classes fill up fast!

For students interested in minimester 2026, the course schedule is now available in the PeopleSoft student dashboard. An enrollment appointment is not needed for minimester—any student can register now. If you still have an advising hold, it will not impact your enrollment for minimester.

How can students best prepare for and make the most out of their advising appointment?

First-year students must complete tasks before their advising appointment. Come prepared with courses you are interested in taking. Even though you can’t enroll, add those courses to your shopping cart to keep track of them. Do that prep work before your advising appointment so that you can ensure you’re prepared.

The schedule builder tool in PeopleSoft helps students put together sample course schedules to see how their weekly layout could look based on what classes they need to take. Most sophomores work with their major adviser to create a degree completion plan. If you have already created one, review it before meeting with your adviser.

Another great tool is the Academic Requirement Report in the PeopleSoft student dashboard. Of the 120 credits you need to graduate, the report shows you what courses you have satisfied in your core, elective, major and minor requirements. For the requirement report to be accurate, you must have your major declared. If you made a recent change to your major, make sure you complete an official major change form if needed.

When do you recommend students set up an appointment with their advisor?

As early as possible! October is advising month, and you don’t want to get into the first week of November without having an appointment scheduled. Academic advisers are faculty members, so it can be hard to accommodate last-minute requests.

Do you have any top tips for how students can filter to find classes in the Peoplesoft/MyTU system? 

I suggest using the “attribute type” feature. It filters classes by requirement type to show what courses are being offered that semester. If you’re looking for a core class, for example, select the attribute type “University Core,” and a menu of all 14 core options will appear. Under each option you can see all courses that count as a core class for a given semester.

What is the best way for students to address any holds or financial concerns impacting their ability to register for classes? 

Any hold you see will give you details and a contact for who to reach out to for support.

If you are waiting for financial aid or funding to come through, investigate that organization’s process to know when the aid will arrive so you can better prepare. The Financial Aid Office is the best resource for you if you are navigating a hold on your account.

Lastly, communicate questions and concerns about academics, finances or personal issues with your adviser; they can help get you connected to resources that fit your needs.