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Letter

Step 1

Schedule meetings with your students who will be declaring.
 

Most students declare in spring of their sophomore year, but if a student took a leave semester, spring may not be their fourth semester. All students in their fourth semester must declare by the deadline.
 

In spring, the deadline is the Friday before spring break. In fall, the deadline is the Friday before fall break.
 

We encourage students to be proactive and reach out to their advisors, but you may need to contact them, and you should schedule your meetings so you have enough time to meet with them before the deadline.
 

You can find additional information on working with your advisees through the major choice and declaration process in the chapter on sophomores in the college advisor manual.

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What-If instructions from DukeHub

Step 2

Before your meeting with each advisee, review their Long Range Plan, which is found under the Shortcuts drop-down menu in AdvisorHub. 
 

Confirm that Tasks 1 and 2, are complete.
 

Task one includes questions about possible post-graduate study, graduation with distinction, mentored research, and study away plans.
 

Task two asks students to briefly describe why they chose their major.

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AdvisoHub Shortcuts drop-down

Step 3

Next, review your advisees What-If report to confirm that it shows a reasonable plan for finishing Trinity, major and/or planned minor requirements (certificates won't necessarily show as Satisfied).
 

The What-If report is under the Shortcuts drop-down men, on the far upper right, in AdvisorHub.
 

It's easiest to view the What-If report as a PDF.
Download Sample What-if Report
 

You can find more complete instructions for reviewing the What-if report here.
 

Trinity and major (and minor) requirements should show as Satisfied, and future courses should be assigned to future semesters. There will usually be four semesters of planned courses, beginning with the upcoming semester, and ending with the students graduation semester.
 

It's common for some major requirements to show as Unsatisfied. This often means a DUS will need to make some adjustments, and you can discuss the issue with your student and let Christie Phipps know when you email her to approve the Long Range Plan and What-If report.
 

If your advisee is planning to go abroad or take interinstitutional courses, they can select Duke courses that are similar to what they think they will take for that semester as a placeholder.
 

If your student is having trouble with the What-If report, you can refer them to the student declaration instructions for help.

 

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Example of email to Phipps regarding Major Declaration

Step 4

Once you've approved the Long Range Plan and What-If report, email Christie Phipps with the students name and student ID number, and Christie will then process the students major declaration. 
 

You must email Christie in order for the student's major declaration to be processed. If there are any questions, Christie will follow up with you and your student. Otherwise, she will notify you and the student when their major has been declared, and provide information about advising in the major.
 

As long as students have declared by the deadline (the Friday before spring break, or fall break) they will be assigned a major advisor in time for the upcoming registration period.

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View of web page showing Advising in Your Major

Step 5

You're done! Remember that you can no longer lift the registration hold for your declared students. 
 

Christie will remind students of this when she emails them after their major has been declared, but it can be helpful for advisors to remind students that moving forward, their department is responsible for making them eligible to enroll.
 

Information on advising in departments, can be found on this page.