First Year Advising Guide
Your first year at UTRGV is full of new experiences, great opportunities and amazing connections! As you begin your first year, our goal is to provide you a solid foundation in understanding and navigating academic policies and procedures, increase your knowledge of your degree pathway, provide you academic coaching to meet your goals and connect you to amazing resources to advance you on your course work. Along the way, you’ll have a team of academic advisors dedicated to you and your first year peers!
So, how do we make this happen? Simple. In your first year, you’ll meet with your academic advisor a minimum of four times. Each session is designed to build your overall understanding of UTRGV and learn how to be successful at the University of the 21st century.
Summer Term
Orientation Advising
Your first contact with an advisor will be at New Student Orientation (NSO). During that time, you’ll connect with the First Year Advisor Team throughout the day. With your new peers and your advisors, you’ll be introduced to the Academic Advising Center’s services, review the first year advising model, and use advising tools to select courses for your fall term. In the afternoon, you’ll take your course list and register for your fall classes! By the end of orientation, you will have a full schedule and your New Vaquero Session #1 will be scheduled.
Fall Term
*New Vaquero Session #1
(Typically conducted during weeks two thru six of the fall term)
During your first New Vaquero session, you’ll meet with your academic advisor to establish your foundation at UTRGV. You’ll work together to learn the academic policies that impact your road to graduation, review your progression on your current course work, connect to academic resources designed to enhance your success and address your questions about your transition to UTRGV. By the end of your session, you’ll have a success plan that will map out your first term at UTRGV and have your second session on the books!
*New Vaquero Session #2
(Typically conducted during weeks seventh thru fourteenth of the fall term)
With your first session completed, we are ready to begin the academic planning process for your spring term. During your second session, you’ll collaborate with your advisor to review your academic progress, plan for the following semester, address any questions you may have about the term and remove your academic advising hold. By the end of your second session, you’ll have a list of course options for the spring term and have your third session scheduled for early spring!
Spring Term
(Typically conducted during weeks two thru six of the spring term)
With your first semester complete, you’ll start the New Year refreshed and prepared to embrace the new academic opportunities coming your way! Your third session will bring you and your advisor together to reflect upon your fall accomplishments, consider new learning strategies to take on the challenges of the spring term, calculate your GPA goals for the spring term and develop your academic skills in time management, self-motivation or life balance. By the end of your third session, you’ll know where you stand with your academic progress and have your fourth session set up!
*New Vaquero Session #4
(Typically conducted during weeks seventh thru fourteenth of the spring term)
Before you know it, you’ll be approaching the end of your first year at UTRGV! As you go into your final advising session, we are ready to begin the academic planning process for your summer/fall term. During your final session, you’ll once again collaborate with your advisor to review your academic progress, plan for the following semester, address any questions you may have about the term, remove your academic advising hold and review your advising connections for your Second Year and Beyond! By the end of your final session, you’ll have a list of course options for the summer/fall term and know how to stay in touch with the Academic Advising Center!
*Students must complete all New Vaquero sessions in sequence. Failure to do so may result in delayed registration and progress towards the completion of the first year. Therefore, first year students are strongly encouraged to plan accordingly to stay on track with their sessions and keep in communication with their academic advisor.
*Students interested in changing majors will require an additional meeting with their academic advisor to review academic ambitions, consider career goals and cultivate program opportunities that align with their life goals.