Academic Advising
Academic Advising
Mission
The goal of academic advising at Great Bay Community College is to assist students in creating academic plans that will help them achieve their educational goals with timely and financial efficiency.
| Academic Advisor Responsibilities | Advisee Responsibilities |
| 1. Treat all students with dignity and respect and maintain the confidentiality of all meetings. | 1. Regularly schedule and arrive on time for academic advising appointments. |
| 2. Be accessible via phone, email, and by appointment, responding to students in a timely manner. | 2. Be prepared for your appointment by utilizing the tools provided. Examples include catalogs, degree sheets, college websites and academic calendars. |
| 3. Create and maintain an interactive environment encouraging mutual trust and open communication. | 3. Communicate openly and honestly with your academic advisor regarding issues that affect your educational goals and academic performance. |
| 4. Provide students with the information and resources to promote academic progress. | 4. Use advising folder to maintain a file with relevant academic materials. |
| 5. Stay informed of current and changing rules, regulations and program requirements. | 5. Stay informed by regularly logging into SIS, Canvas and checking your college email. |
| 6. Refer students to services relevant to their individual needs. | 6. Follow through with your academic advisor’s recommendations and contact your advisor if anything changes. |
| 7. Encourage students to take responsibility for their academic and personal choices. | 7. Use your time effectively, ask for help when you need it and accept responsibility for your own actions. |
DegreeWorks
The degree audit tool, GBCC DegreeWorks, allows students and advisors to track academic progress towards graduation.
What does DegreeWorks do?
- Shows what you have taken and what it counts for
- Shows what you are currently registered for
- Shows what you still have left to complete
- Explore course options – description, required prerequisites and predicted schedule.
- Allows you to run a “What-If” Degree Evaluation for different majors
To Access
- Login to Okta Portal: https://portal.ccsnh.edu/
- Select DegreeWorks – GBCC – Dashboard
FAQs
Q: What’s the difference between full-time and part-time?
The basic breakdown is determined by the number of credits to take during a semester:
Full-time = 12+ credits/semester (usually 4+ classes)
Part-time = 6-11 credits/semester (usually 2-3 classes)
Less than part-time = 5 or fewer credits/semester (usually 1 class)
The decision to be a full-time student or a part-time student will impact your financial aid eligibility, your workload during the semester, and the amount of time it takes to complete your degree.
Q: How many classes should I take?
There are two major things to consider when deciding how many classes you should take each semester:
- Outside time/energy obligations. These are things like work, your commute, family responsibilities, hobbies, etc. How much time will these take and how much time do I have for college? There’s a great Time/Credit Calculator (.xlsx file) that can provide further insight.
- How quickly you want to complete your degree. If your goal is to complete your degree in two years and you plan to follow your program sheet as recommended to meet that goal—you will need to be able to make time sacrifices elsewhere to achieve this goal. College will need to be your first priority. This might mean less time to socialize or spend with your family. This might mean requesting fewer shifts at work. If you have numerous non-academic commitments and time is less of an issue, being a part time student might be a better fit.
Q: How do know if I’m in the right program or headed towards the right career?
It can be hard to make decisions regarding your entire future all up front and it’s important to know that you always can change your mind. Making the “right” decision upfront though will save you time and money in the long run. GBCC has an online tool called Career Coach which is a 6 or 60 question assessment that ties your interests and strengths to fields, majors, and prospective careers. Career Coach also ties the results to job listings in the area—so you can be sure the path you’re on will lead to employment.
Q: How do I change my program?
After you’ve explored the options in Career Coach, and ran a degree audit with DegreeWorks, you would complete a Change of Major Form. You cannot change your major into selective programs, listed on the second page of the change of major form.
Q: How can I figure out how to raise my GPA?
Retaking classes where you earned less than a C and getting a higher grade will increase your GPA. Please note whatever grade you received on your last attempt will be the permanent grade on your official transcript. We have a great GPA Calculation Tool (xlsx file) to calculate how best to increase your GPA. Check with Financial Aid to be sure your retake is covered.
To Register for Classes as a Continuing Student:
Meet with your advisor and/or confirm your program requirements in Degree Works.
- Degree Works is available vis the CCSNH Okta Portal
- A video tutorial is available here.
Select Courses and Sections in the Dynamic Schedule.
- The Dynamic Schedule is available here.
- A video tutorial is available here.
Register in SIS
- Log into https://portal.ccsnh.edu/
- Click SIS
- Student
- Registration
- Add or Drop Classes
- Select the appropriate semester
- Add the CRN for the course you want into one of the boxes
- Click submit
If you get a prereq error when trying to register in SIS contact your advisor. If you have satisfied prereq requirements, they should be able to override the error so you can complete your registration via SIS.
For more information, watch the video ‘Registering for Classes in SIS.’
Staff
Related Documents
Contact Us
Phone: 603.427.7728
Fax: 603.559.1523
greatbayadvising@ccsnh.edu
210, Portsmouth Campus
Advising Appointments:
Schedule an Appointment with an Advisor
Hours
Monday-Thursday: 8:00AM to 5:00PM
Friday: 8:00AM to 4:00PM
Take the Leap! 
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 
