Faculty Liberal Arts Advisor Pilot Program
During the 2026–27 academic year, the School of Arts and Sciences will pilot a new faculty advising system for first-year students. Faculty liberal arts advisors will serve as the primary academic advisors during a student's first two years of pre-major study at Dartmouth, working in partnership with the Undergraduate Deans Office. Each advisor will work with a cohort of 20 students, supporting the Division of Undergraduate Education's broader efforts to strengthen faculty advising in the pre-major space.
Express Interest Here
Program Goals
- Pilot an advising model involving approximately 400 first-year students and 20 Faculty Liberal Arts Advisors situated within two House communities.
- Develop more strategic communication pathways among faculty academic advisors, residential communities (UGAs, house faculty), and the Undergraduate Deans Office.
- Clarify and define roles and expectations among the various advising partners (faculty, UDO, Athletics, Engineering, Health Professions, etc.), with a focus on improving student understanding of and engagement with advisors and campus resources.
- Promote engagement between faculty academic advisors and students during New Student Orientation, including through programmatic development.
- Evaluate and refine Dartmouth's liberal arts pre-major advising system, incorporating feedback from the faculty advisor pilot cohort.
- Prepare to launch a revised liberal arts academic advising system for all first- and second-year students in the 2027–28 academic year.
Faculty Liberal Arts Advisor Responsibilities
Faculty liberal arts advisors will be compensated to commit approximately 60–70 hours over the course of the 26–27 academic year (Summer '26–Spring '27), distributed across training, student meetings, and evaluation activities.
Participation in this pilot requires some availability in late August for a two-day mini retreat (TBD, with pilot cohort) as well as the ability to meet with and to advise students in person during Fall 2026, Winter 2027 and Spring 2027.
- Training
- (Optional) Planning and informational meetings during Spring 2026
- Initial training meetings with the academic advising leadership team, focused on advising best practices, soft skills development, generalist advisor training, and pilot goals. (Late Summer 2026)
- Termly training meetings focusing on skill development, resources, and questions raised by participating faculty. (Fall 2026, Winter 2027, and Spring 2027)
- New Student Orientation
- Based on academic and developmental interest, coordinate and refine elements of New Student Orientation communications and programming in collaboration with the NSO/Advising team. (Summer 2026)
- Meet with students during New Student Orientation for the first group meeting of advisees with their faculty liberal arts advisor and UGA. (Fall 2026)
- Required availability: Sept. 2 (move-in day, afternoon welcome); Sept. 4 and Sept. 8 (Intellectual Community Days); September 10 (floor welcome), and September 11 (Advising Day).
- Student Meetings
- Meet individually with first-year advisees during the Thursday and Friday course election period before classes begin. (Fall 2026)
- Meet individually with first-year advisees during winter course election. (Winter 2027)
- Meet individually with first-year advisees during spring course election. (Spring 2027)
- Meet with advisees off-cycle as needed, and coordinate with their undergraduate deans to share observations, notes, or concerns.
- Residential Community Engagement
- Meet with advisees as a group for a check-in/debrief meal within the Residential Community. (Fall 2026, Winter 2027, and Spring 2027)
- (Optional) Work with house faculty to bring in guest lecturers, host write-ins, facilitate "what matters to me and why?"-style conversations, and similar events open to advisees or the broader house community.
- Evaluation
- Meet termly with first-year undergraduate deans to share observations, questions, and notes related to the advisee cohort. (Fall 2026, Winter 2027, and Spring 2027)
- Meet termly with undergraduate deans and the Academic Advising Team to discuss pilot progress, feedback, suggestions, and concerns. (2026, Winter 2027, and Spring 2027)
- Meet with the academic advising team to debrief the pilot and discuss next steps as the School of Arts and Sciences expands the new liberal arts academic advising system to all first- and second-year students. (late Winter/early Spring 2027)
To learn more about this program, contact Timothy Baker, associate dean of academic support and advising, at tbaker@dartmouth.edu.