While advisees may request a meeting at any time, and we encourage meeting more than once a semester, there are two solidified times in the academic year that advisors and advisees should meet: October and March. During the October advisement, you and the student will be planning for the spring semester. During March advisement, you and the student will be planning for the fall and summer semesters. Please refer to the academic Calendar to find out when advisement and registration times begin.

Through Navigate you can see your assigned advisees by term.

• Log into the site
• Ensure you are on the “Staff Home” page. You can toggle between the “Professor Home” and “Staff Home” by clicking the arrow. A drop-down menu will appear, this is where you will choose “Staff Home.”
• Once on your “Staff Home” page, you can select the appropriate term and your advisees will show below it.

There are several ways in which you can see this information. Through Navigate:

• Under your “Staff Home” page, search for a student by their name or ID number
• You can click through the Overview, Success Progress, and Courses tabs to see information about the student.

Through Self Service Carolina:

• Log into SSC
• Select the Faculty and Advisors Menu
• Click Advisee Information, then Advisee Search
• Select correct Term, and enter Student ID
• Click View Profile
• You will be able to see some general information in the black bar above the student's photo
• Look under their photo for the following selections: Academic Transcript, Registration History, View Grades.

On DegreeWorks:

• Log into SSC
• Select the Faculty and Advisors Menu,
• Select DegreeWorks
• Click on Aiken
• Input Student’s ID, then enter
• Student’s program of study will be available

1. Requirements in yellow are completed. Grade and term will be listed
2. Requirements in blue are in process.
3. Requirements in orange are still needed.
4. Electives or courses that are insufficient will be listed at bottom.

Navigate is the best place to record your advisement interactions.

If a student had an appointment with you:

• Under your “Staff Home” page click the Appointments tab
• Scroll down to the Recent Appointments section
• Click the box to the left of the student's name
• Click Actions, a drop-down menu will appear
• Select Add Appointment Summary
• Complete the summary and click Save

If a student did not have a scheduled appointment with you:

• Under your “Staff Home” page, search for a student by their name or ID number
• In the “Staff Alerts” box to the right, click Report on Appointment
• In the Care Unit box, choose Advising
• Then complete the other drop-down options on the left of the summary
• Complete the rest of the summary and then click save

• Log into SSC
• Select the Faculty and Advisors Menu
• Click Advisee Information, then Advisee Search
• Select correct Term, and enter Student ID
• Click View Profile
• Under their photo, look for “Remove Advisement Hold” and select it
• Click “Delete”

Make sure to do this for each term you are advising for. When you are advising for Fall and summer, the holds for both terms must be removed. You can remove for different terms by changing the term when you are searching for that student.

Students can change their major by following the instructions via the links below.

• Change your major or concentration
• Chang or declare a minor

• Log into SSC
• Select the Faculty and Advisors Menu
• Click Advisee Information, then Advisee Search
• Select the correct Term, and enter Student ID
• Click View Profile
• Above the Students picture, there is a black bar with information listed
• Look for the word “Holds” on right-hand side of the bar. If the number is “0” the student has no holds. If there is a number listed, click the word for a drop-down menu to appear with the holds they have on their account .

• Log into SSC
• Select the Faculty and Advisors Menu
• Click Advisee Information, then Advisee Search
• Select correct Term, and enter Student ID
• Click View Profile
• Above the Students picture, there is a black bar with information listed
• Click the words “Registration Notices” on the right-hand side of the bar
• Look at the section titled “Time Tickets”
• The date and time a student can start registering will be listed

• Students need to log into SSC
• Select the “Student tab”
• Select “Registration” and then “Register for classes”
• To add a class: 1) Search for the class in the search box; 2) Click the “Add” button to the right of the section they want to add; 3) Then click “Submit”
• To drop a class: 1) In the bottom right corner, the student’s list of registered classes will appear in the “Summary” box; 2) They need to click the drop-down menu next to the class in the “Action” column and select the Drop or Withdraw option; Click “Submit”

• Student will have to pay an additional fee for each credit hour over 16 hours. ($80 per credit hour).
• The advisor will need to email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and provide the student’s name, ID, and the specific number of credit hours the advisor has approved.
• A student who wishes to take 19 or more hours must have earned a GPA of at least 3.0 for the preceding semester’s work (on a minimum of 12 semester hours) to be eligible.

Students can apply for grade forgiveness twice during their time at USC Aiken. If they do poorly in a class, they have the option to retake it. The new grade they receive will replace the old one in their GPA calculation but will still be shown on their academic transcript. Students can only apply for this on their second attempt of the class and replace the following grades: D+, D, F, FN, and WF. Once students have completed a class for the second time and the final grade is in, they need to complete a grade forgiveness form and turn it into the registrar's office. To find the form use the following steps:

• Go to the Office of the Registrar’s website
• Select the tab on the top that says “Forms”
• Select "Grade Forgiveness"

Student must complete the following form: Reinstatement Petition

The SS&P committee meets monthly, and the student will receive communication from the Office of the Registrar once the committee has made its decision. Students whose appeal is approved can register for the following semester's classes but can only be enrolled in 13 credit hours.

You can go to the Office of the Registrar’s website and click the “Academic Bulletin” tab at the top of the screen. You will be routed to a list of several past Bulletins. Make sure when advising a student, you are looking at the bulletin year that they began taking classes at USCA unless they have adopted a newer bulletin.

Appointment Summaries are required for VMSS students to receive their benefits. Veteran and military benefits cover only degree-applicable courses and their prerequisites. The summaries should contain specific course advisements, e.g., MATH A108 or ENGL A102. Nonspecific recommendations, such as “humanities choice” or “a math class,” are not acceptable for VMSS verification. Because of the specificity required, we suggest that the advisor provide alternative course recommendations to help guide students to other options without needing a secondary advisement appointment or the entry of a new summary.
Additionally, the language you use is important in the recording of appointment summaries for VMSS-connected students. Summaries should indicate that the student was provided with the best course suggestions for progression by the advisor. Use “Student was advised for” rather than “student registered for” in your appointment summary to verify that you approve of the courses.

If a student wants to take a summer course at another institution, there are some steps they need to take:

Speak with either their Academic Advisor or someone in the Registrar’s Office to ensure that the class they are wanting to take will transfer back to USC Aiken. Obtain a Special Enrollment Form from either their Academic Advisor or from the Registrar's office.
1. Complete the Special Enrollment Form, making sure their Academic Advisor and the Department Head for their major sign the form.
2. Return the completed form to the Office of the Registrar.
3. Once the class is completed, students need to send their official transcript from that institution to USC Aiken’s admissions office.

*Students need to be sure to contact the institution they are wanting to enroll in for the steps to become an admitted guest or transient student. They also need to ensure that the school is offering the class they need before submitting their application. Advisors can find course equivalency information through SSC:

• Log into SSC and select “Transfer Equivalencies”
• If a student is taking a course at another USC campus select “Home to Home Course Equivalency”. You can search for the USC Aiken class and see how that would transfer from another campus.
• If a student is taking a course at a non-USC campus select “Transfer Course Equivalency”. Select USC Aiken and then the state and institution the student is going to be taking the class at. The USC Aiken classes are on the right side and the classes from the other institutions are on the left.

If any student has taken off a major semester, they will have to apply for readmission to the University.

Students are required to contact the new advisor they want to ensure the advisor is willing/able to work with them. The Office of Academic Advising needs to see a written agreement, such as an email, from the advisor in order to make the change. We typically ask the student to forward your written approval to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..