Upon acceptance, every matriculated student is onboarded to the college by an assigned Enrollment Specialist. The Enrollment Specialist facilitates the student's transition to college. Enrollment Specialists also lay the groundwork for academic advising by documenting the student's goals, needs, and preferences and by connecting the students to any resources needed, including, most importantly, their Academic Advisor.
The Academic Advisor is most often the Program Coordinator for the student's chosen major. Advisors serve as critical points of contact and mentors during the students’ time at WMCC. Advisors assist students in identifying academic and personal resources on campus, in conducting graduation audits, and in selecting and choosing various program options. Advisors also help students with decisions about career goals or further education. The more clearly students define and communicate their own goals, the more productive the student/advisor relationship is.
Each semester, Academic Advisors connect with their advisees to discuss any changes in their advisees' goals, needs, and preferences; to review their advisees' academic performance; and to conduct a degree audit. The purpose of the audit is to identify the student’s progress toward program completion and to offer early intervention for necessary schedule changes if the student fails a course or takes a course out of sequence. Ultimately, even with the advisor's guidance, students are responsible for making sure they complete the required coursework for their program.