The Academic Advisement Center is designed to provide continuous centralized academic advising to new and continuous ASU students who have not met the requirements for exit from University College. The Center was established in 1979 to help students realize the maximum benefits from their educational experiences, and move them into successful, desirable careers.

Academic advising is an important part of the University’s commitment to students' growth and academic development. We believe that effective academic advising can have a powerful influence on students' success in the college environment.

The basic goals of advising focus on the development of Alabama State University students and embrace the following tenets:

• Academic advisement is an integral part of an institution’s larger mission of educating you for life.
• The advisement process can significantly influence your educational and personal growth while you seek to accommodate yourself to the college environment and the larger society.
• Academic advising goes beyond the clerical functions of scheduling classes and filling out forms. Good academic advising is a developmental process which assists you in the clarification of your academic career, and life goals. It helps you in developing plans consistent with your goals and in evaluating your progress in meeting those goals.
• Academic advising carries you through a decision making process which guides you in acquiring the skills needed to develop your educational plans for accomplishing your goals. These are decision making skills which will serve you throughout life because these skills contribute to the development of mature, self-directed students who are capable of thinking, judging, and acting responsibly on their own.
• The advisement process provides opportunities for communication and information exchanges between you and your advisor, which will help you to realize your maximum potential in the college environment.
• The advisor serves as a facilitator of communication and as a coordinator of learning experiences through course(s), and career planning and academic progress review.
• Academic advisors are making a strong and concerted effort to increase your retention through examining causes and finding cures for the high attrition rate, and this will enable the university to retain more of you through graduation.
  
  

The advising program is designed to do the following:

• Guide students through University College’s core curriculum in preparation for successful transfer of their records to a degree-granting college;
• Assist students with course selection, registration and the course drop/add process;
• Help students evaluate progress toward established goals;
• Consult with students experiencing academic difficulty and assist them in identifying reasons for their academic problems and possible solutions;
• Help students to explore educational career options;
• Interpret and assure adherence to the University’s academic policies;
• Refer students to institutional and community support services;
• Collect and distribute data regarding student needs, preferences and performances for use in making institutional decisions and policy;
• Help students develop decision-making skills and reinforce the student’s self-direction, and
• Keep in frequent contact with students regarding their advisement needs.