The Daily Bulletin Archive

Here's one easy thing you can do this week to help the students you advise: 

If you haven't done so already, set up specific advising office hours in the Bengal Success Portal to allow students to easily schedule advising sessions with you. Take 30 seconds to watch this video to see just how easy it is. You can also sync your Outlook calendar to view any appointments made in the Bengal Success Portal in Outlook and to import your free and busy times in Outlook to BSP. 

(Note: If you are also an instructor and you already use the Bengal Success Portal to schedule office hours for the classes you teach, it is strongly recommended that you set up advising hours as a separate appointment type to avoid confusion. As shown in the above video, simply click the box next to "Advising" under "Appointment Type.")

Five Advantages to Making Advising Appointments in the Bengal Success Portal

1. It is so much easier than endless e-mail exchanges with students.
2. Students receive a reminder the day of the appointment, helping minimize no-shows.
3. It is flexible! You can set up one-time-only advising hours or recurring weekly blocks. Many faculty advisers find it convenient to set up specific windows during peak advisement times. That way, they can simply send a mass message to advisees requesting that they use this method to make any advising appointments.
4. All first-time freshmen admitted for fall 2017 or later have already used the Bengal Success Portal with their assigned adviser in the Academic Commons, so most students know how to use it; however, you can always point students to these directions for appointment scheduling if they encounter any difficulties.
5. You will be able to quickly pull up any student to view the last time you met with him or her and any notes you may have made in the system.

This Tip of the Week has been brought to you by the Academic Advising Advisory Council (AAAC).
Have a question, concern, suggestion, or technical problem with the Bengal Success Portal? Contact bengalsuccess@buffalostate.edu.

Got a great advising tip you'd like to share (or some feedback about academic advising at Buffalo State)? Contact AAAC co-chairs Lisa Berglund, professor of English, or Aimee Woznick, director of the Academic Commons.