Advising Support, Student Success, & Retention
Advising Support & Registration
Faculty are central to academic advising at TLU. All tenure-track faculty with one year of service assume academic advising responsibilities.
The faculty role in the advising system is supplemented and supported by the Office of the Vice President within Student Affairs.
The TLU academic advising system has as its guiding principle the belief that academic advising is a natural component and extension of faculty teaching and, as such, is integral to student learning.
The purpose of the academic advising program is to assist students in the development of meaningful educational goals that are consistent with personal interests, values and abilities.
Although many individuals on campus, including academic advisors, may assist the student in making decisions and accomplishing goals, the academic advisor is granted formal authority by the university to approve the student's academic program of study and assist the student in progressing toward the appropriate degree.
New Student Registration Form
All incoming students complete the New Student Registration Form.
The New Student Registration Form is used to capture your academic interests, strengths, and specific course requests. Alongside other admissions documents, the New Student Registration Form is used by a team of TLU faculty and staff to build a first semester class schedule tailored to your major and interests. Our goal is to build a schedule that sets all students up for success
Current students are required to meet with their faculty advisor to be approved for course registration.Advising and registration for the spring will occur in the middle of the fall semester. Advising and registration for the fall and summer sessions will occur approximately a month before the end of the spring semester. There are always opportunities for students to participate in late registration periods or register during the first week of classes if they miss scheduled registration.
Advising Learning Outcomes
- Clarify personal educational values and goals
- Guide decision making
- Learn how to gather needed information systematically
- Reflect on strengths and weaknesses and how these affect student academic plans
Advisor & Advisee Responsibilities
Faculty advisor will... |
Student advisee will... |
Have a knowledge and understanding of General Education & major requirements Encourage and support students as they gain the skills to develop clear and attainable educational plans Provide students with information about and strategies for utilizing available resources and services on campus |
Be involved in the advising process, be prepared to discuss plans, and bring materials Accept responsibility for decisions and actions (or inactions) which affect your educational progress and goals Ask questions if you do not understand an issue or have a specific concern |
Paw Print & Pathway Guides
Paw Print: The Paw Print module is required for all incoming students enrolled in the Exploring the Arts & Sciences (FREX 134) course. This module will focus on first-year students’ understanding of why they have decided to get a higher education degree, what they want to do with it to better their life and community, and how they are going to get it done (graduate). Students will discuss the concepts of liberal arts and vocation, will be introduced to Compass (TLU’s General Education Curriculum), and complete a comprehensive education plan for their upcoming college years.
Pathway Guides: Pathway Guides are student leaders cross trained in academic advising and career development and are responsible for supporting students in academic and career exploration regarding personal academic interests, strengths and majors; providing resources for academic and career planning; and serving as a resource for degree planning and course selection prior to registration periods. While Pathway Guide support first-year students through facilitating the Paw Print Reflective module, Pathway Guides are tasked with supporting the entire student body with any academic or career planning needs.
Bulldog Road Map To Graduation
Navigating college can be challenging, especially when you're trying to make sure you've completed specific requirements, earned enough course credit, or attended certain events. TLU's Bulldog Road Map To Graduation visually breaks down how students become engaged, find support, and are challenged throughout their time at TLU. There are four different roadmaps each aligning with the year a student is at TLU or based on a student’s credit hours. Downloadable PDFs are available on the MyTLU Student Life tab and printed copies are available in the Student Activities & Campus Programs Office or in your residence hall.
MyMajors Assessment
Choosing a college major can be a difficult decision. At Texas Lutheran University, we encourage you to explore possible majors, and the Texas Lutheran University MyMajors assessment is one tool to assist you with this process.
After completing the TLU MyMajors assessment, you will receive a list of recommended majors at Texas Lutheran University based on your academic aptitudes, interests and personality. Students complete the TLU MyMajors assessment in their first semester at TLU.
Pathway Pursuit
Pathways Pursuit is a program designed to help undecided and exploratory majors take a closer look at their academic and career path and goals! Through a series of workshops, coaching sessions, group activities and assessments, Pathway Pursuit will open the door for students to build a network of support with their peers as well as the Advising Support and Career Services departments at TLU.
Finding the Right Fit
There are a variety of resources on campus to support students as they determine whether a major is the right fit. Check out below who you can connect with on campus to talk about your major.
#15To Finish
- Want to graduate on time?
- Get better grades?
- There’s a substantial amount of data that shows how taking 15 credits a semester (or 30 credits each school year) dramatically increases on-time graduation, leads to higher grade point averages (GPAs), and lower dropout rates!
Here a few reminders to help you stay on track to graduate on time:
- Meet with your academic advisor if you have questions or need help navigating through your degree plan. Remember: you don’t have to wait until the advising and registration period to speak with their advisors. Students can simply email for an appointment.
- Do not suffer in silence. There are so many benefits to speaking with your instructor or a staff member if you’re struggling inside or outside of the classroom.
- Take care of yourself! If you need mental health support, our TLU counselor, Sarah Westerfield is here to help!
- When it’s not an emergency but you need medical or mental tele-health support, you can visit anytime, from anywhere with TLU Care.
The Office of Student Success & Retention
The Office of Student Success & Retention provides support for all TLU students, houses the campus Collaborative Learning Assistance and Supplemental Instruction programs and provides campus-wide academic workshops, individual academic counseling, and support. The center is located in the Blumberg Memorial Library lower level east. The center has achieved certification Levels One and Two through the College Reading and Learning Association’s International Tutor Training Certification Program.
Academic Support
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Online Academic Support
Academic support services at TLU provide academic assistance to all TLU students and is comprised of the Office of Student Success & Retention, Early Academic Warning Program, the Developing Scholars Program, and the Student Alert System.
Students can find detailed information about when the sessions are on the Student Success & Retention page on MyTLU.
No appointments are necessary, but students will need to drop in during scheduled hours. Schedules are currently being set, and sessions will begin the second week of the semester. We have CLAs available for math, statistics, Spanish, chemistry, physics, and computer science classes.
SI sessions are available for certain biology and chemistry classes. All support offerings benefit strong and weaker students alike. Students who have sessions available for their classes should make a habit of attending. Studies show that students who attend SI, earn one-half to one whole letter grade higher than those who do not attend.
Besides session schedules, other useful information found on the MyTLU Student Success & Retention page are short study strategies videos, links to various educational resources, and time management and stress management workshops.
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Study Strategies Workshops
The center offers many study strategies workshops for students each semester and additional workshops can be scheduled for organizations, meetings or classes. Available workshop topics include test-taking strategies, time management, efficient study strategies, dealing with test anxiety, note-taking and reading texts. Any workshop can be tailored to address needs that are specific to a particular class or subject. A study strategies video series and a list of online resources are available to students on MyTLU.
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Early Academic Warning Program
The Early Academic Warning Program is conducted after the third and sixth week of each semester for all first-year students, transfer students, athletes, and students on academic probation. The three-week inquiry includes checks on behavioral issues that could lead to academic difficulty, and the six-week check consists of grades earned as of that date. Those students who receive alerts will be contacted and provided information on campus resources available to improve their academic success.
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Student Alert System
The Student Alert System is provided for faculty and staff who have concerns about students. After being notified of the concern, the Office of Student Affairs will contact the student for follow-up and provide appropriate information and/or referrals as needed.
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Developing Scholars Program
The Developing Scholars program is a 1-credit course for students who have been placed on academic probation. Students who attend the weekly seminar with a campus support person will receive the support needed to work toward returning to good academic standing.
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Collaborative Learning Assistants
CLAs (also known as tutors) are recommended by their professors based on good academic achievement in the courses they work with. They are then trained and supervised by the Student Success & Retention staff. All CLAs are familiar with course content as well as with study skills strategies, so they can help students understand not only what to learn but how to learn. Both the scheduled CLA and CLA by appointment are funded through university fees.
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Supplemental Instruction Leaders
SI leaders are recommended by their professors and are trained and supervised by Student Success & Retention staff. They attend the class for which they lead sessions and they also take notes and read required texts.
They then schedule learning sessions which focus on reviewing content material as well as improving the students’ ability to study, think critically, take tests and improve their overall performance as students.
SI leaders are trained not only to help students in the class they are currently taking but to help them transfer good academic skills to the other classes they take. All students in the class are encouraged to attend, whether they want to raise a low grade to an acceptable one or raise a B to an A.
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Three-Week Advising
The three-week advising period is a time for professors to provide feedback on the performance of first year students in their classes. Because it is only the third week of the semester, some professors may not have information to submit at this time; however, we encourage them to provide us insight on their students’ behavior (excessive absences, poor quality and quantity of work, stress, other behaviors that may be a concern). If your student has questions on how to retrieve this information, please share the following instructions:
- Log into MyTLU
- Click on “Student” tab
- Go to “Transcript and Grade Reports” – located on the left side of the screen
- From there, click on “Three-Week Check” on the page (above Mid-Term Report and Final Grade Report)
- First year
- On academic probation
- In the Education program
- Athletes
- Dual participants
- Transfers
- Special non-degree-seeking
If you experiencing any trouble on MyTLU please contact the TLU IT Department at (830) 372-6000 or email ishelp@tlu.edu; or visit the IT Help Desk in the Library Basement.
Please note, Three-Week Checks take place in September (Fall semester) and February (Spring semester) and again in mid-October (Fall) and mid-March (Spring) for Six-Week Advising. At six-weeks, we ask professors to submit course averages for our first-year students. You will get a reminder as that time approaches.
For parents of upperclassmen: Three- and Six-Week Check information is provided for students who are:
- First year
- On academic probation
- In the education program
- Athletes
- Dual participants
- Transfers
- Special non-degree-seeking