From the time of students' matriculation to the time of their graduation, undergraduates benefit from their contact with faculty advisors. Whether that contact is a formal advising session regarding progress towards fulfilling degree requirements or a casual discussion about post-baccalaureate plans, faculty advisors play a crucial role in the academic success of undergraduates. The purpose of this handbook is to provide a resource for faculty in the College of liberal Arts and Sciences who advise undergraduate students.

This handbook provides general information for faculty, some of whom have been advising undergraduates for decades, others of whom may have little advising experience or little experience of advising at NIU. It explores common themes of academic advising and specific policies at Northern with which all faculty advisors need to be familiar. The handbook also provides names and contact numbers for key personnel within the college and in other colleges and divisions at NIU; there will be periodic revisions made to keep information current, and the most recent information will be made available at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' Web site at http:// www.clas.niu.edu.

This handbook is a user's manual, designed primarily for faculty advisors but also for other staff members (supportive professional staff, graduate students) who provide academic advising in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Most users of the manual may wish to consult the index and find the section that addresses the particular issue at hand. Others, however, may find the background information on qualities of academic advising and on the role played in advising by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Advising and Counseling Office useful in providing a context in which to view the particular question that has drawn them to the manual.

A note on language usage in key sections-institutional policy requires that catalog language be reproduced verbatim in university publications paraphrasing of key policies raises the possibility of confusion or ambiguity. In certain sections of this handbook (admission requirements, withdrawal policies, the general education program, for example) one may note a change from the overall tone of the handbook to the language of the catalog. This rhetorical disjunction is necessary, if occasionally infelicitous. Wherever possible, the handbook avoids replication of the undergraduate catalog; where necessary, however, the handbook brings together scattered catalog references (in this typeface) to focus on faculty and student roles in implementing a particular policy.