By the tiswa editorial team, from the official sources listed at the end of this guide. How we write our guides
Sultan is in his first year at a college in Dammam (an invented example to show the idea). His mark dropped in the first midterm, he is late to two lectures a week, and he has three weeks before the drop deadline. He has not asked for a meeting; he tells himself it will pick up. That waiting is the costliest mistake in advising: you reach the advisor when only one option is left.
When do you need an academic advisor at IAU?
In five clear cases: before you register courses if the study plan confuses you, at the first course where you feel yourself slipping, before any drop or withdrawal, when two lectures clash, and when you doubt your major. You do not have to be failing or near a warning. The advisor is there for students who want to avoid trouble as well as those already in it.
University pages point to the idea that each student has an advisor. The College of Design, for one, says it assigns an advisor to every student and that its unit can refer a student to a counsellor at the University Counseling Center when needed.3 If you do not know your advisor’s name, ask your college’s advising unit before you ask classmates, because names change between semesters.
Does the college or the University Counseling Center handle advising?
Both, and they do different jobs. The Counseling Center says it offers individual and group counselling covering academic and career guidance and crisis intervention, with 23 counselling units in colleges and other sites.1 The natural route is to start with the unit in your college, which is close to you, and let it contact the centre when that is needed.
| Your situation | Where to start | What to bring |
|---|---|---|
| You do not understand the study plan or graduation requirements | Your college advisor | Study plan and transcript |
| You are slipping in one course and thinking of dropping it | The advisor, before the drop deadline | Timetable and marks so far |
| Timetable clash or full sections | The advisor, then whoever they name | A copy of the timetable and section numbers |
| Stress that affects your studies | College advising unit, then the counseling centre | Nothing; just ask for an appointment |
| You are thinking of changing major | The advisor, then the department you want | Cumulative GPA and courses completed |
This table is a thinking aid, not a university rule. Your college sets the final procedure, so if something differs, ask its unit directly.
What does the university already see before you ask?
The university describes its Student Support System as automating advising procedures through the Students Information System, so advisors and students can create and direct individual advising requests and staff can follow them up.2 It identifies students at risk of failing using three criteria: semester and cumulative GPA, attendance rates, and assignment and gradebook results.2
In practice, missed lectures and weak assignments show up in the record even if you say nothing. Do not read that as a threat. It is one more reason to make the request yourself before a message reaches you. An advisor who gets a request from you sees a student taking the lead, and handles the case that way.
How do you prepare questions before meeting your advisor?
- Write the problem in one sentence
“I need to decide whether to drop or finish Statistics” beats “I am struggling”. A specific sentence gives the advisor something to build on.
- Collect the numbers
Your marks so far, how many classes you missed, your registered credit hours and your cumulative GPA.
- Bring the papers
Your timetable, your study plan, and any email between you and the course instructor.
- Rank your questions
The decision question first, then the ones that do not change if you wait. Write them clearly enough for the advisor to read.
- Ask for the outcome before you leave
What is the next step, who owns it, and by when? Write the answer on the same page.
The same method works if you use the request system instead of a meeting. Put the same information in two short paragraphs so the advisor does not need three messages to understand what you want.
How do you ask your advisor about add and drop at IAU?
This guide does not give a last date for dropping, because the academic calendar changes between semesters. The right source is the calendar published on the university website and the student portal. What you ask the advisor about is the effect: what happens to my registered hours, does dropping delay my graduation, is this course a prerequisite for a later one? Answering all three needs your study plan, which is why you bring it.
Withdrawing from a semester or the university is a bigger question. Read the guide to semester withdrawal before the meeting, and if you may return later, see withdrawing and reapplying so you know what to ask.
How do you choose and contact your college advisor?
You mostly do not choose; universities assign advisors, and not in the same way. At Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University, for example, a College of Computer and Information Sciences page says the Deanship of Admission and Registration assigns each student an advisor from enrolment to graduation.4 Do not assume that what you hear about one university applies to yours. Ask your college unit three things: who is my advisor, how do I contact them, and what are their office hours?
How can you improve your GPA in college if the meeting goes badly?
The most common are going in the last week, arriving without a timetable, and asking the advisor to decide for you. An advisor lays out options and their consequences; the decision is yours. Another mistake is not repeating back what you heard at the end. A line such as “so I should see the department before Thursday” exposes a misunderstanding before it costs you.
If your problem is with an instructor or a marking method, write a calm email first; the guide to emailing your professor gives a format. If your GPA worries you, read raising your GPA and work out what you need before the meeting.
The add, drop and withdrawal dates you ask your advisor about are in the IAU academic calendar, and the system steps are in course registration at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University.
