Advising Services

Navigating your way through college can be confusing, especially if you try to go it alone. At the College of Western Idaho (CWI), we are committed to helping make sense of your educational journey with advising and career opportunities offered by Student Advising and Success.

What is advising?

Academic advising is a resource to help you navigate your college experience, understand program and course options, connect to campus resources and activities, and identify, develop, and implement plans to successfully achieve your academic or career goals.

Advisors should be considered the students’ first source for academic help. An advisor assists students in several different areas, including:

• Understanding advising and registration tools
• Understanding graduation requirements
• Developing an academic plan
• Assisting in career or major exploration
• Assisting in the preparation for a professional program (nursing, OTA, etc.)
• Planning and scheduling the next semester’s schedule
• Developing a transfer plan or assisting in career preparation
• Identifying campus resources and support services 

Advising Options

CWI students are provided with different advising options depending on their program of study:

• All degree-seeking CWI students will be assigned an advisor within 3-5 business days of their admission. Advisors are assigned based on the student's intended major. Students can work with their advisor for career exploration, degree planning, career planning, registration, and discussing strategies to be successful. Advisors also help with transfer planning for students who wish to transfer to four-year colleges and with career preparation for students who plan to enter the workforce after attending and/or graduating from CWI. 
• Non-degree seeking students can request to be assigned to an advisor by email at academicadvising@cwi.edu. Students will be assigned to an appropriate advisor based on their academic and career goals. Students who need registration assistance can visit any One Stop Student Services location or call 208.562.3000. 

For more information regarding advising options and the list of advisors, please visit the Advising Services webpage. 

Matriculated degree-seeking students are required to meet with their assigned advisor within their first semester to create an academic plan. The purpose of the required advising meeting is to allow students to meet with their advisor, understand academic expectations and degree requirements, and discover more ways to meet their educational or career goals while at CWI. To ensure that students are meeting with their advisor, an advising hold is placed during their first semester preventing registration for the following semester.

Together, degree-seeking students will work with their advisors to create a plan which matches the students' educational and career goals. Doing so reduces the risk of students taking more classes than are needed for their degree, potentially saving time and money.

Students will be able to see their plan in the Student Planning section of myCWI. With a plan available, students can view which courses apply toward their goals on-demand.

Credit Enrollment Limits

Every student has a unique set of circumstances: academic preparation, skills and abilities, drive and self-motivation, family and work responsibilities, etc. The number of credits a student should enroll in depends on many of these factors as well as on the type and level of difficulty of classes in which they intend to enroll. For some students, 15 credits could be considered a full load while in a 16-week session, while others may be able to successfully complete more credits each semester. Registering for too many credits may result in lower performance.

• Students who want to register for more than 20 credits during a 16-week session will need the approval of their advisor. Students who fail to obtain the necessary permission may be administratively dropped from one or more classes.
• Students who want to register for more than 10 credits in an 8-week session will need the approval of their advisor. Students who fail to obtain the necessary permission may be administratively dropped from one or more classes.