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How Does University Exploration Work With Your Student?

Every student in EXP is assigned an academic counselor, a trained professional advisor who has experience working with college students to help them decide on a major. We help students who want guidance in selecting a major and also assist students who have decided on a major and need to finish up prerequisites before they can declare. EXP is Ohio State’s advising unit with responsibility for knowing all of the majors, minors and degree programs available ath the university.

​​​Academic Advising

​An academic counselor will assist your student through:​

• Individual Appointments: Academic counselors want to get to know your student, and the best way to do that is through individual appointments. There is no limit to individual advising appointments—a student can meet with an advisor every week, every term, or every semester. We strongly recommend that every student meet with a counselor at least once per semester.  ​The more your student meets with a counselor and shares interests, goals and dreams, the better s/he will be able to help the student connect to new ideas and explore academic possibilities at Ohio State.

• Strategic Scheduling: Ohio State has a liberal arts core, called the Gen Ed, that gives students a broad foundation across many disciplines. This core can constitute about half of the required degree hours, and we are skilled at helping students use the Gen Ed to:
• ​​meet degree requirements 
• explore major interests, and 
• take care of prerequisites needed for majors they may be considering. 

​University survey provides students with a foundation to be successful at Ohio State. Every new student is required to take survey during your first term of enrollment, and the course is taught by an academic counselor in EXP. Every college offers a university survey course to cover policies, procedures and degree planning. In Exploration, we cover degree planning by helping students complete self-assessment activities and matching those results to available majors. We also review degree requirements and help students learn more about the General Education core as well as prerequisite courses that may be needed based on academic areas of interest. Each student will create a schedule plan for the following term, and will develop an action plan for the next several semesters to help them continue to explore options.    

​​Personal Assessment

Part of the process of selecting a major starts with self-assesment.  The information gained from personal assessment can be used to help students explore majors and find options that are best suited to their goals and style. The personal assessment inventories taken through the University Survey course are matched to Ohio State majors during college led class presentations. Academic counselors help students interpret results and also refer to more in-depth assessment if desired. Your student can start the process of self-assessment at any time, simply by thinking about the things s/he is passionate about—we suggest students write everything down and bring the list to an advising appointment.    ​

Support from the Start

One of the best ways to stay on track academically is to get help right away. Exploration offers students the opportunity to sign up for early intervention outreach which includes tips and strategies, and helps students navigate the plethora of resources available on campus. Your student doesn’t have to figure everything out alone, and we really want to help connect students to the right people and opportunities.

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