CAS Advising

Welcome

Welcome to the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) Academic Advising Team website.

Included on this website is information regarding who we are, what services we provide, and additional helpful information regarding USF policies and processes in context to CAS majors and their goals. We hope these resources will help you engage with CAS Advising and support your success at USF!

List of Core Values

WE ARE COMMITTED TO DIVERSITY COMPETENT ADVISING AND ANTI-RACIST PRACTICES

As NACADA, our national advising association, indicated for our peers across the country: we see members of our USF community hurting because every day they see and live the disparities rooted in racism, violence, and injustices against people of color.  We understand that each member of our community has different needs at different times and places.   

Like many institutions in our country, higher education is historically structured by the idea that white skin color conveys superiority and can maintain that structure implicitly and explicitly. Academic Advisors play a role in social justice by helping students navigate this fraught educational landscape and access opportunities and experiences to achieve professional, personal, and societal goals. We acknowledge that we have failed many times to listen to and provide the best support for our Black and Brown students on a predominantly white campus.  To achieve these aims, we must work to overcome our implicit biases and our lack of knowledge from being raised in a society that espouses a white-dominated narrative.   

As members of a community of learners, advisors are committed to taking continual steps towards the ideals of equality and inclusion. With that in mind, we will start by participating in upcoming Multicultural Academic Advisor Committee (MCAAC) events including:  

  • July 16, 2020 - Town Hall Meeting: Voice of the People on Race & Justice 
  • October 16, 2020 - Workshop:  "How to Overcome Your Biases While Advising Students" 
  • December 10, 2020 – Advisor Workshop on Diversity Advising Competence 

Using these events, future trainings, and further research, we commit to working towards Diversity Competent Advising, including ongoing Anti-Racist practices. 

We have some ideas for resources which we hope will be helpful, but we recognize we may not know exactly what you need. If you would like to tell us, please do so here.

Resources: Support for students and Education for All

Mission + Vision of CAS Advising

2021 Mission

CAS advising team members are a community of practitioners dedicated to providing diversity competent advising, which is a collaborative process where we actively listen to students, connect them to resources aligned with their values, and support their informed decision-making to realize their full potential.  

We encourage students’ lifelong success as individuals and members of their communities leading to improved academic performance and increased critical consciousness.

We embrace the diverse knowledges, skills,and experiences of our team and the structural support USF provides to improve our engagement with students individually and as members of their departments.

2021 Vision

CAS advising team members aspire to lead the development of diversity competent advising practices that create experiences where students feel safe, included, inspired, and connected, resulting in them achieving academic, career, and personal goals.

Structure of CAS Advising

In the CAS, we believe our students are served best by having academic advisors embedded with our academic departments to provide specific support to students and faculty. Therefore, CAS Academic Advisors are assigned to student populations by major, and located with CAS academic departments. Our advisors are members of the advising team and of the academic departments, which helps develop them as advising experts for their academic disciplines. In addition to the training and professional development on the Art of Advising all CAS Advisors complete, our advisors also seek training and professional development specific to their student population.