College of the Pacific

Advising

“Good advising may be the single most underestimated characteristic of a successful college experience.” —Richard J. Light
Making the Most of College:
Students Speak Their Minds

Map Out Your Academic Path With Support and Guidance

We believe that close contact with a faculty adviser plays a key role in helping new students to establish a solid start to their college careers. Each incoming student in the College is assigned a faculty adviser with whom to discuss course selection, degree requirements, and college and post-college planning. In addition, peer student advisers are assigned to freshman to serve as part of their support team.

These freshmen advisers work with incoming, first-year students during summer orientation and throughout their first fall semester, helping them to plan their schedules in the spring and, even more importantly, serving as a sounding board for the kinds of ideas, concerns and questions about college life that can feel overwhelming to first-year students. Many students remain with this faculty adviser throughout their time at Pacific. Students who decide to change their major or who declare their major for the first time in the spring, however, are then introduced to a new faculty adviser from their major department who will oversee advising thereafter.

Advising Program

Assistant Dean Cynthia Dobbs is responsible for the College's student advising program, and she supports faculty in their roles as advisers. She also reviews every student's academic file to make sure they are on track, and she often consults directly with students to offer guidance or help them resolve academic issues. She is supported in her work by Eighmee Ferrill, the College's Student Records Coordinator.

Contact information:
WPC 117
209.946.2142
 Cynthia Dobbs