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When you were admitted to the Department of Special Education you were assigned an Academic Adviser. This is a faculty member from the concentration area in which you plan to primarily focus your study. Prior to your first semester of coursework, you must make an appointment with the faculty member who has been assigned as your Academic Adviser to broadly plan your doctoral coursework and to specifically discuss your first semester's courses.
What is Admission with Conditions?
Some students may be admitted to the Doctoral degree with conditions. According to the graduate catalog, the Graduate Studies Committee:
May require the student to maintain a certain grade point average or to take a certain number of semester hours of coursework. A conditionally admitted student may also be required to remedy deficiencies in undergraduate preparation by taking upper-division or graduate courses. The graduate adviser notifies the student of these conditions at the time of admission. A student who does not fulfill the conditions within the specified time may be barred from subsequent registration in the Graduate School. If the student changes his or her major before the conditions have been fulfilled, the conditions remain in effect unless the graduate adviser for the new concentration, on behalf of the Graduate Studies Committee, petitions the graduate dean and receives approval for them to be changed.
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Ongoing Advising
In addition to meeting with your Academic Adviser to complete the Program of Work, there are several reasons and benefits to meeting with your Academic Adviser on an ongoing basis:
Your relationship with your Academic Adviser is the foundation for a successful doctoral experience. This is the individual who will typically (though not necessarily) serve in a variety of roles in your doctoral work, including research mentoring supervisor, and dissertation supervisor
Your Academic Adviser can assist you in becoming familiar with the concentration, the department, and other university resources
Your Academic Adviser represents you at Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) meetings, for any matters that go before the GSC, including your annual review of progress, and advancement to candidacy
It is not unusual for your Academic Adviser, Research Mentoring Supervisor, and the Dissertation Supervisor to be the same faculty member. However, you may select different faculty members based on personal preference and mutual interest in the research being conducted.