The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is moving to professional, centralized advising for most incoming undergraduate students.

Beginning with students admitted for the summer and fall 2018 semesters, most new and transfer undergraduate students will be advised in the Office of Undergraduate Academic Advising for their first 45 credit hours. The advising center will be located on the third floor of the Student Services Center, where five new offices are being renovated for the advisors.

All continuing students will be advised in the current manner and will not switch to centralized advising.

While each college will have a lead advisor in the Office of Undergraduate Academic Advising, all advisors will be cross-trained and able to provide assistance to any student.

Dr. Daryl Rice, associate vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, said centralized advising would offer many benefits to new students.

“Centralized advising makes it easier for new students to find the correct site for advising, and it makes it possible to advise incoming students during summer orientation,” he said. “This summer, we will have eight orientation sessions for first-time college students and five for transfer students. We can also more easily implement retention efforts aimed at first-year students.”

Donaghey Scholars, as well as students who are pursuing the Bachelor of Arts of Applied Science and select programs in the College of Education and Health Professions, will be exempt from centralized advising due to special complexities in the completion of the programs.

The College of Education and Health Professions program exceptions include nursing, social work, audiology and speech pathology, elementary and middle childhood education, and American Sign Language. These five programs will be evaluated in the spring 2019 semester to see if they can be converted to centralized advising.

“There are many moving parts to making the transition to centralized advising, but I could not be happier with the cooperation everyone is showing,” Rice said. “I am especially grateful for the work that Dr. Trakenya Dobbins, director of the Office of Undergraduate Advising, has been putting in. I’m sure we’ll make some mistakes and have to tweak some processes along the way, but if the cooperation across campus continues, we’ll succeed.”