New Student Advising

Students and families will be divided into three groups and rotate through the day’s schedule of events. You will receive your personal schedule that includes the order of your sessions when you arrive that day. Here is an overview of the schedule for students and families.

Student sessions include:

• Welcome
• Scheduling with Academic Advisor
• Connecting with Your Fellow Dutchmen
• Lunch with Family/Friends
• Closing Remarks

Family sessions include:

• Welcome
• Connecting with Campus Offices and Resources
• How to Support Your Student During Their First Year
• Lunch with Family/Friends
• Closing Remarks

We’d love to see you in-person, but we understand this is a busy time of year for high school seniors! If you can’t attend NSAD, please notify Admissions (admission@lvc.edu) to let them know. Your advisor will contact you via your LVC email to schedule an advising appointment in May or June. This meeting is typically done virtually, but in-person is possible if both parties are able and arrange to do so. You and your advisor will collaboratively map out your courses for the Fall 2024 semester. Please make sure you complete all relevant placement tests before your advising appointment.

No. Students and advisors only plan their courses during NSAD. Student schedules are not finalized until mid-August. Our hardworking folks in the Registrar Office go through each schedule individually to ensure that students have a spot in courses required for their program of study.

That depends on your major, but LVC students must complete at least 120 total credits to earn a degree: over a four-year period, that’s exactly 15 credits per semester. This is important to remember in terms of degree pace! Certain majors will carry more credits per semester due to major and/or accreditation requirements. If you are a full-time, first-year student, you’ll need a minimum of 12 credits, and most will have 15-17 credits.

Schedules are released within the first week of August. Look out for a message to your LVC email address around this time. While this may seem late, there is a lot going on behind-the-scenes: our staff works diligently to match FYE course preferences and place students into gateway courses vital for their major.

While we make every effort to provide students with the schedule they requested, you may be registered for a different section (day/time) or for an alternate course, either based on alternate courses you discussed with your advisor (if provided) or for a different course that satisfies the same requirement.

If you need to make changes to your schedule, you will have an opportunity to do so during orientation in August, when there will be time devoted to advising and registration.

You’ll only be able to plan a partial schedule. Your academic advisor needs these test results in order to place you in an FYE of your choice, a math class that best suits your ability (if calculus or analysis is required for your major), and/or a language class that aligns with your experience. If you arrive at NSAD without completing your language placement test, please visit CASEM in the lower-level of Mund, and a staff member will guide you through the short assessment. The math placement test will need to be done on your own to allow enough time for completion.

Accommodations exist on the college level, but they are pretty different than high school accommodations. If you have a diagnosed disability, you should register with the Center for Accessibility Resources, where our director will meet with you one-on-one to establish appropriate and relevant academic accommodations. Common accommodations include extended test time in our testing center, note-takers, closed captioning, recorded lectures, priority registration, and foreign language waivers/substitutions. We also offer short-term accommodation for temporary illnesses or injuries (concussion, broken bone, surgery, etc.).

AP and IB scores aren’t generally released until July, If you haven’t already, please ensure LVC is listed as a recipient of your AP scores.  Once we receive the scores, we will apply credit according to our AP or IB policies and may adjust your fall course schedule as a result.

For dual-enrollment students or those who took courses at another institution, you must contact that institution to request that an official transcript, with your final grade(s), be sent to the Admissions Office at LVC (admission@lvc.edu). Transcripts can typically be requested online from the institution; unofficial transcripts sent directly to you/screenshots will not be accepted. The Registrar’s Office at LVC will determine whether credits are transferable to LVC. At minimum, students must earn a C-or better in any transferrable course, and the coursework must be equivalent to or consistent with LVC curricula and standards. Transferred courses count for credit hours only—they are not factored into a student’s grade point average.

The more information your advisor has, the better they can advise you! Consider sharing any and all of the following, if applicable:

• Student athletes: ask your coach for your practice and/or game schedule to avoid conflicts where necessary. Of course, not all conflicts can be avoided, but if you are an athlete, you must maintain full-time status (12 credits) during any given semester in order to maintain eligibility.
• Commuters: keep in mind your commuting time, and consider whether you want time between classes. Again, some classes won’t have as much flexibility as others depending on available space.
• Jobs: let your advisor know how many hours you anticipate working each week, and if there are any days/times that are particularly busy for you. Be prepared to adjust your work schedule if you are a full-time student: plenty of LVC students have off-campus (and on-campus) jobs, but working 20 hours a week and attending school full-time often presents significant struggles.
• AP/IB/dual-enrollment/transfer credits: any anticipated transfer credits should be factored into the course scheduling process. Even if the transfer isn’t finalized yet, if you know you meet the requirements to transfer a certain course in, keep that in mind when scheduling for the fall semester and ensure you identify alternate courses.
• Accommodations: if you had an IEP or 504 in high school, or if a certain subject area might present a specific difficulty based on a learning difference, work with your advisor (and the Center for Accessibility Resources) to figure out a reasonable schedule that works with your learning style. Certain academic accommodations are also available, based on your diagnosis. In order to receive these accommodations, you must register with LVC’s Center for Accessibility Resources.
• Potential minors: minors are a good way to demonstrate an interest in a subject other than your major and allow you to develop valuable skills and experiences for a future career. Most minors at LVC only require 6-8 classes; some majors would even allow you to declare multiple minors.