News & Events

As part of the UCD Academic Advising Initiative, in September 2024 academic advising commenced on a pilot basis in five UCD schools. All students in the pilot will have been contacted by their academic advisor with whom they have met, or will meet, to discuss their educational development. Over the last year, the schools developed their own approach to academic advising in line with UCD’s Principles and Objectives of Academic Advising.

For students in the pilot, a dedicated website at www.ucd.ie/academicadvising introduces them to academic advising in UCD explaining the objectives of academic advising and their role in the academic advising process. As part of the communications to students, two video playlists have been developed featuring UCD staff and students sharing their experiences of what academic advising is and how students can benefit from it.

To support academic advisors, the UCD Teaching & Learning website outlines the Principles and Objectives of Academic Advising, outlines the expectations for students and academic advisors and provides professional development resources, including:

• Videos specially made for UCD by NACADA, with guidance on how academic advisors can help students evaluate their interests and abilities, create educational goals and academic plans.
• Access to five short online courses on academic advising available to all UCD Staff as part of UCD’s subscription to UKAT, the UK Advising and Tutoring Association.
• A signposting document specially prepared to assist academic advisors in signposting students by highlighting the services and resources available.

Additionally, the pilot schools are trying a new academic advising IT system which comprises an InfoHub system for allocating students to academic advisors and E2S which was procured to facilitate efficient academic advising processes.

Find out more about the Academic Advising Initiative, including a literature review and reports on consultation with UCD students and faculty, on the UCD Academic Advising Initiative page.