Advisors are knowledgeable about and sensitive to federal, state, and their own institution's policies and procedures, especially those governing such matters as sexual harassment, personal relationships with students, privacy of student information, equal treatment, equal access, and equal opportunity. Advisors share information with others about students and their programs only when both the adviser and student believe that information is relevant and will result in increased information or assistance, assessment, and provision of appropriate services to the student. Advisors gain access to and use computerized information about students only when that information is relevant to the advising they are doing with that particular student. Advisors enter or change information on students' records only when legitimately authorized to do so. Advisors need to document advising contacts adequately to aid subsequent advising interactions.
Advisors are responsible for involving others, when appropriate, in the advising process.
Effective advising requires a broad-based, or holistic, approach to working with students. Advisors are facilitators and mediators. Responsible academic advisors recognize their limitations and use their specialized knowledge effectively. To make connections between academic advising and other aspects of students' lives, advisors seek out resources provided by others. Referrals to these resources provide students with further assessments of their needs and access to appropriate programs and services.