Student Advising
All students in the human services program are required to meet with an advisor at the Career and Academic Resource Center (CARC) to declare their major or minor as human services and receive information about successfully pursuing their degree. Thereafter, group advising sessions are offered every semester and individual advising through CARC is available continually. Students are very strongly encouraged to obtain advising each semester in order to ensure that prerequisite courses are taken in a timely manner so that progression through the curriculum is not delayed because of not completing a prerequisite. There are also some prerequisite courses that require a minimum grade of "C" in order for that course to be considered completed and that prerequisite met. (Specific information on HMSV prerequisites and minimum grade requirements can be found on the curriculum sheets posted on the HMSV web site's homepage). The HMSV Program also requires that a student has a minimum overall GPA of 2.0 to qualify for the internship. Ultimately, it is the student's responsibility to ensure that all graduation requirements have been met through regularly monitoring progress using the DegreeWorks feature on Leo Online, and through regularly seeking advising on guidance in meeting all course work.
The Career & Academic Resource Center (CARC) is available for walk-ins and scheduled appointments. CARC is located in EDUC 126 and is open Mondays through Fridays from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. CARC is specifically designed to enhance students' academic performance and career seeking skills. In addition to academic advising, CARC also provides:
- Career planning
- Transcript review
- Resume critiques
- Assistance and advice in time management
- Test -taking strategies
- Interview skills
- Study skills
The Career & Academic Resource Center also schedules monthly seminars that focus on areas such stress management, how to study smarter, and preparation for applying to graduate school. To schedule an appointment, find out more about the seminars, or to answer any questions you have, contact a CARC advisor at carc@odu.edu or (757) 683-6987.
Teletechnet students are provided an advisor at each of the TTN locations. If you are not sure who the advisor is for your TTN site, your site director will be able to provide you with this information. The advisor will assist you in scheduling courses in accordance with the five-year long-range TTN course schedule so that any HMSV prerequisite courses can be taken during the semester offered. However, the long-range TTN schedule is provided for you to plan ahead to ensure no conflicts in scheduling occur with your other responsibilities. If courses are taken in the order required, a TTN student can finish the HMSV curriculum in six semesters if all course work is taken when scheduled. As with main campus students, TTN students are strongly encouraged to meet with an advisor every semester to minimize any delays in completing your degree.
In addition to major course requirements, Old Dominion University requires that each undergraduate student complete a minimum of 120 credit hours and that a second major, minor, cluster, or Option D is completed with a minimum of a 2.0 GPA in that minor/cluster. Ultimately, it is the student's responsibility to ensure that all graduation requirements have been met through regularly monitoring progress using the DegreeWorks feature on Leo Online, but the student advisor can provide guidance in meeting all course work.
For students wishing to receive general information about the human services major and degree completion, the hmsv faculty offer group advising sessions throughout the semester. Information about group advising dates will be sent via email.
Please note that students may obtain individual advising at any time through the Career and Academic Resource Center (CARC). Students may walk-in for appointments (Ed 126) or request an appointment via email (carc@odu.edu).