Academic Advising

At our B.S. in Early Childhood Education Program, advising is a relationship in which you partner with your ECE advisor to:

• Express, define, and plan for how to achieve your academic and professional goals
• Become knowledgeable about the requirements for the B.S. degree
• Make decisions about how you will progress through the ECE Program
• Learn and practice professional protocols and modes of communication

Please visit our division's Academic Advising page for more information.
 

The Role of the ECE Advisor

The ECE Program Manager is the advisor for all teacher candidates, meaning students formally admitted to the ECE Program. Your advisor educates you about the requirements and protocols of the ECE Program and supports you in navigating the program. They are also your liaison to other offices of the College. In addition to the work they do to support students in the areas mentioned above, they issue permission to enroll in courses.

When to Meet With Your Advisor

You must meet with your advisor to secure permission to enroll in any course you wish to enroll in. To schedule an appointment, contact our Front Desk with your full name, EMPLID, Citymail address, and best-reach telephone number. State that you want to schedule an advising appointment. Meet with your advisor in April or May for Summer and Fall classes and in November or December for Spring classes.

Your Advising Worksheet

Your Advising Worksheet (download the pdf below) is a document unique to you. It is a record of how you have met the course requirements for the ECE Program. The advising worksheet identifies courses taken at City College and previous colleges that meet the specific Pathways, concentration, and teaching methods courses required to earn the B.S. degree. Have your advising worksheet with you for every meeting with your advisor.

Preparing for Your Advising Appointment

Before you meet with your advisor to choose classes for the next semester, review your advising worksheet and your CUNYfirst student transcript. Take note of classes you have completed and classes you still need to take. Make sure your transcript includes all classes you have passed and that all grades have been posted. Then, access the CWE Schedule of Classes from the CWE website and read it. Pay closer attention to the course descriptions than the course titles; the course descriptions provide information about what each class requires. Bring a list of the courses you want to your advising meeting.

Your advisor will also ask you to reflect on your experience of the past semester in order to help you identify patterns, strengths, challenges, and help you develop strategies for a successful academic experience. Be prepared to discuss the following questions in your advising meeting:

1. What has challenged you?
2. What practices and experiences have been working well for you?
3. What would you like to change for the upcoming semester/year?
4. What specific goals do you have for yourself as a student in the upcoming semester based on your reflections for this past semester or your past as a student?

Contacting Your Advisor

You can schedule an appointment with the ECE advisor by contacting our Front Desk at  cwefrontdesk@ccny.cuny.edu  with your full name, your EMPLID, your Citymail address, and your best-reach telephone number. All requests for advising appointments should follow this procedure.

If you have a simple question or request for information, you can also reach out to Deborah Edwards-Anderson, our program senior advisor and program manager at edwa@ccny.cuny.edu . Emails should always include your full name and EMPLID for identification purposes. Be mindful that emails are not text messages, but formal correspondence, so they should include a salutation, a signature, and a clear statement of your request, question, or problem to be solved.