Academic Advising

Overview

Academic Advising at Quincy College promotes the institution’s mission of encouraging academic achievement and excellence by guiding your decisions as you identify your academic goals. Our Advisors will assist you in taking ownership of your educational opportunities, becoming a member of the Quincy College academic community, and realizing your academic and professional potential.

Advising Learning Outcomes

Academic Advising at Quincy College is focused on the institution’s motto of teaching and learning, one student at a time. Accordingly, our goal is that, as a result of the guidance and mentoring you receive from both Faculty and Professional Advisors, you will:
Apply your developed understanding of the requirements for Quincy College degrees and certificate programs as you define your educational and career goals.
Craft a coherent academic plan—based upon a self-assessment of your abilities, aspirations, interests, and values—in order to achieve your established goals.
Apply your acquired knowledge of College policies, procedures, and deadlines to the decisions that you make and the business that you conduct as a student.
Cultivate the intellectual habits that lead to successful college-level and life-long learning.
Analyze and assess your academic strengths and areas in which you need improvement, and seek out Quincy College resources designed to assist you in developing your academic skills.
Assume responsibility for meeting your program requirements and tracking your progress towards completion.

Advisor and Advisee Responsibilities

At Quincy College, we approach advising as a partnership between you and your Academic Advisor—you’ll work together with the common purpose of helping you succeed academically by attaining the outcomes outlined above. You each have responsibilities in this partnership.

Advisee Responsibilities

In order to be a successful advisee, you should:

Understand and monitor your academic progress via the QC Portal.
Contact your advisor with any questions or concerns.
Complete online registration each semester after your advising session.
Work with your advisor to assure no holds prevent you from timely registration each term.
Prepare for, and bring necessary information to, advising sessions, such as your printed audit and/or academic plans.
Be an active participant in advising meetings—ask questions, take notes, and follow-up after the appointment.
Become aware of, and adhere to, all College policies, procedures, and deadlines.
Seek academic assistance, such as advising, tutoring, and/or student success coaching as needed.
In the event you plan continue your education after graduating from Quincy, contact your transfer institution early to confirm you are positioning yourself for a smooth transition.

Advisor Responsibilities

You can expect your Advisors to:

Support you as you become a member of the Quincy College academic community.
Help you to develop a realistic educational plan consistent with your abilities and interests.
Help you understand Quincy College policies and procedures, your curriculum, and graduation requirements.
Teach you the best way to build your academic schedule from term to term.
Assist you in monitoring your progress towards academic and career goals.
Provide you with transfer information and advising.
Have discussions with you, and connect you to other faculty and staff who can guide your academic development.
Respond to your emails in a timely manner and proactively reach out to you on a regular basis.

Our advisors will gladly set individual appointments with you—simply call our office at 617-984-1720. We also accept walk-in appointments, however, if your time is valuable to you and you can’t wait to be seen, please do reach out and set a specific time and date for your appointment with us. Additionally, if your work schedule does not permit you to see us during our regular hours, please reach out via our email at: advising@quincycollege.edu. The Office of Academic Advising looks forward to working with you.

Academic Advising
(617) 984 – 1720
advising@quincycollege.edu

Quincy College

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Common Academic Terms

Degree Audit – A worksheet outlining all course requirements for your degree or certificate program.

Portal – An online system where students access grades, register for courses, view degree audit sheet, add/drop courses, access college e-mail, view important messages from instructors or the institution.

Academic Probation – Warning status students receive when they fail to meet academic progress standards.

Associate’s Degree – An Associate’s Degree is a diploma granted by a community college, usually after a student earns at least 62 academic credits. Students who earn associate’s degrees need at least two academic years to earn all the academic credits they need for their degree. For this reason, an associate’s degree is also referred to as a “two-year degree,” and a community college is sometimes referred to as a two-year college. In spite of the “two year degree” label a majority of students take longer than two years to complete an Associate’s Degree.

Certificate – A Certificate is a diploma granted by the community college for fewer credits than a degree. A certificate program is the collective term for all the courses and other requirements you fulfill in order to earn a certificate in an academic or technical area. Your certificate program is the area in which you earn your certificate, for example Criminal Justice. At Quincy College, certificate programs are from 16 to 31 credits.

Core Curriculum – This is a group of courses that provides you with basic knowledge across all of the academic disciplines (English, math, science, etc.) at Quincy College. All degree-seeking students are required to complete the Core Curriculum.

Registration – When you select, schedule, enroll in courses for the next semester, you register. In order to register you refer to the schedule for the semester and you consult an advisor. After determining which courses to take, you present proof of payment and have your name and courses entered into the Quincy College computer system. By registering, you make an official commitment to take the courses you have selected.

Must Pay – Quincy College requires all students have funding available at time of registration. This means your financial aid must awarded or you must be able to pay out of pocket.

Syllabus – A written description of the contents and requirements of a course is a syllabus. The syllabus contains the dates of the classes, the assignments, quizzes, exams, research, projects, and other work scheduled for a course in one semester. The instructor for the course gives the students a syllabus at the beginning of the course.

Developmental Courses – Courses that provide students with the fundamentals in a certain academic area in order to prepare them for college-level courses are developmental courses. For example, “ENG 090: Basic Comp” provides students with the fundamental writing skills they need in order to prepare them for the demands of college-level English courses.
Students take a College Placement Test shortly after being admitted to the College in order to determine whether they need to take developmental courses. If they score below a certain level on the assessment, they must take developmental courses.

There is institutional credit, not academic credit, for developmental courses. Quincy College offers developmental courses in English and math.
Format adopted from Northeastern University Center’s for Academic Success and NACADA.

Academic Advising
(617) 984 – 1720
advising@quincycollege.edu

Advising FAQ

How do I change my major?

You will need to submit the Declaration/Change of Major form to the Registrar’s Office in the Welcome Center. Please see your advisor before changing your major.

How do I use the GPA calculator on the My QC Portal?

How do I repeat a course?

How do I transfer credits to Quincy College?

What is the difference between traditional and non-traditional classes?

What is the difference between fall semester, springs semester, winter session, summer session?

What are online classes and Hybrid Classes?

What is the difference between adding/dropping a course and withdrawing from a course?

What is Academic Amnesty and who can get that?

What is the difference between part-time student and full-time student?

How do I self-advise?

Make An Appointment

Any Matriculated Degree-Seeking students should meet with an Advisor to maintain progression toward completing the appropriate degree requirements in preparation for graduation.

Click here to make an appointment with an Academic Advisor>

To make an appointment with a specific advisor, contact via email or phone below:

Heather Keen
Senior Officer – Academic Services/Advising
hkeen@quincycollege.edu | (617) 984 – 1721

Jillian Benn
Academic Advising Associate
jbenn@quincycollege.edu | (617) 984 – 1725

Timothy Shaw
Academic Services Associate – Advising
tshaw@quincycollege.edu | (617) 984 – 1726

Download the Advising Schedule Worksheet. Use this worksheet to plan your class schedule.

Academic Advising
(617) 984 – 1720
advising@quincycollege.edu

Forms

Academic Advising
(617) 984 – 1720
advising@quincycollege.edu

Virtual Drop-In Hours

Whether you’re looking for guidance on course selection, understanding degree requirements, or navigating your academic journey, our advisors are here to support you. No appointment necessary — just drop in and get the personalized advice you need to stay on track for success.

Drop-in to meet virtually with an Academic Advisor during the hours below: