The Student Academic Affairs Office of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences advises on college breadth requirements, enrollment and registration, provides answers regarding a student's academic progress, commencement and graduation requirements, and also advises the Pre-Business Program and the Undeclared Program. We also work with students in academic difficulty, referring them when appropriate to other services such as the A.C.E. Program.

Specific duties include:

• Providing general information about procedures, requirements, and course credit available.
  
• Acting on petitions for declaring/changing a major, credit by examination, student petitions, changes in class schedule, declaration of double majors or minors, withdrawal from UCR, leave of absence and readmission.
  
• Providing information regarding transfer course credits and their equivalencies. The Student Academic Affairs Office determines how the credits apply toward completion of breadth requirements after it has received the transcripts from Admissions and the major department determines how credits apply toward completion of major requirements.
  
• The Student Academic Affairs Office reviews the records of all students in the College who apply to graduate and consults with the student's major advisor to ensure all degree requirements have been satisfied. The Student Academic Affairs Office communicates this information to the Registrar for final posting of the degree.

An Advisor's Responsibility

• Interpret College policies, academic rules, regulations and degree requirements
  
• Assistance in developing strategies for academic success and in planning coursework
  
• Respect for each student and insurance of confidentiality and discretion in counseling matters.
  
• Provide academic support and guidance with accuracy, consistency, and accountability
  
• Available to listen and help in the assessment of individual situations, especially those involving academic difficulty.
  

The Student's Responsibility

• Keep complete academic records and bring to advising appointments
  
• Schedule advising appointments as early as possible during enrollment
  
• Review your academic history and be honest about your strengths and weaknesses
  
• Progress towards selected degree, including conscientious self-assessment of interests, abilities and talents.
  
• Take the initiative to review the Catalog and other resources to learn basic academic rules, regulations, and standards of excellence.
  
• Use advising services to keep current about college expectations and assessment of your progress.
  
• Be aware of student services and campus programs and determine how they best fit your needs.
  
• Be accountable and accept the consequences for your own actions.

A.C.E (Assistance, Counseling & Encouragement) is a Learning Center program for students in academic difficulty. It is designed for students who are capable of better academic performance, but need the skills, the direction, and the motivation to reach their academic goals. ACE participants meet with an ACE counselor on a weekly basis for private sessions that include goal-setting, study skills training and tutoring. The ACE program is staffed by both professional counselors and peer counselors who are proficient at sorting out the factors that can affect academic performance. Because of individualized attention, the majority of students who participate in the ACE program are able to improve their motivation and earn satisfactory grades for the quarter. For more information on how to become a participant in the ACE program please visit www.learningcenter.ucr.edu/ace/ace.html or contact Michelle Butler, ACE program coordinator, at (951) 827-5345 or via email: michelle.butler@ucr.edu.