The Advising Center helps College of Arts, Languages & Letters (CALL) students clarify their life and career goals, develop meaningful educational plans, navigate challenges, and attain a liberal arts baccalaureate degree, thereby preparing for productive lives, enlightened citizenship, and life-long learning.
- Empower and encourage students to make decisions about their academics;
- Identify their strengths and life/career goals;
- Discover/create the logic and meaning in their academic journeys;
- Integrate parts of the curriculum into a coherent whole;
- Build an educational experience that fulfills their needs and expectations;
- Navigate the challenges of their academic journey; and
- Overcome challenges and persist to graduation.
Students meet with advisors in two areas: a Major Advisor, who is located in the major department, and a College Advisor, who is in the Advising Center for CALL (that’s us!). Be sure you know and meet regularly with both!
- Empower and encourage students to make decisions about their academics;
- Identify their strengths and life/career goals;
- Discover/create the logic and meaning in their academic journeys;
- Integrate parts of the curriculum into a coherent whole;
- Build an educational experience that fulfills their needs and expectations;
- Navigate the challenges of their academic journey; and
- Overcome challenges and persist to graduation.
Major Advisor have expertise in the subject matter of the major. They know more details about course sequencing or future availability of some of the courses. They make decisions on exceptions to major requirements for your degree.
- If you have been assigned a specific major advisor, you should contact them for advising.
- If you don’t know who your major advisor is, see Major Advisors List
CALL Advisors have a broad knowledge of academic advising as a whole. They provide guidance on completion of general education and graduation requirements. They also process and clear students for graduation. They make decisions on exceptions to college and university requirements for your degree. The CALL Advising Center provides advising from professional advisors, study abroad advisors, and peer advisors.
Click on the link below to make an appointment with us. M-F 9:30am-4:00pm (Closed State Holidays)
SCHEDULE APPOINTMENTS WITH CALL ADVISORS VIA 
(If you are having difficulty with STAR Balance book via Google Form)
Initial Advising
Assists incoming students with starting their academic journey at UH Mānoa
Registration Assistance
Helps with adding/dropping courses and navigating STAR GPS
General Advising
Answers questions, provides resources and connects you with your major
Study Abroad Advising
Encourages and plans for overseas academic experiences
Academic Planning
Helps develop a plan beyond the upcoming semester
Graduation Advising
Ensures that you are on track for graduation
Academic Notification
Guides you through the process of understanding academic actions and help during challenging times
For Students
- Prepare for appointments, participate in the process, follow through on next steps, and apply what is learned;
- Know and understand degree requirements, advising responsibilities, resources, deadlines, policies and procedures;
- Recognize that advising is a shared responsibility;
- Accept responsibility for decisions;
- Be open to learning, trying new things, and changing;
- Mindfully develop rigorous critical thinking, self-assessment, and in-depth reflection that results in action; and
- Monitor your own academic progress and take appropriate action in relation to life responsibilities.
- Be responsible for knowing published deadlines and timelines for your academic success.
- Respect the staff and student assistants in the Advising Center who are there to provide you with guidance and advice.
For Advisors
- Be knowledgeable about, accurate in explaining, and able to communicate effectively UHM’s policies and procedures, degrees, majors, and/or refer to outside resources;
- Teach the advising curriculum;
- Be accessible and respond to students in a timely manner;
- Provide a safe space and a positive environment for advising;
- Help students discover the meaning and purpose of their education;
- Empower students to be independent, resourceful thinkers and accept responsibility for their decisions;
- Explain the power of a liberal education and its transferable skills;
- Challenge students to develop life skills (e.g., time management, decision making, growth mindset, resilience, etc.), explore connections, integrate learning, and create a coherent academic journey;
- Support and guide students through the complex journey from developing life goals to pursuing a major and transitioning successfully to a career;
- Respecting student rights and privacy.
This 4-year advising calendar is designed to give you an estimate of the approximate times that you may be addressing key points in your education. Every student’s path is unique, but this calendar gives a typical 4-year plan to guide you on your journey. Just like using the STAR GPS Registration, it serves as only an estimation or guide for your completion.
YEAR 1
Learn Your Major
□ Learn the specifics about your major requirements. Visit the websites for the Advising Center and your department.
□ Explore the various career paths that may be associated with your major.
Four-Year Plan of Study
□ Review your first-year coursework in relation to your overall plan of study. Review your academic plan in your STAR GPS Registration.
□ Discuss with your advisor any plans to study abroad or attend graduate or professional school.
Academic Advising
□ Make sure to see your academic advisor every semester to ensure that you are taking the appropriate courses and remaining on-track for graduation.
General Education
□ Make sure you are progressing toward completion of your General Education Core requirements.
Course Prerequisites
□ Make sure you are progressing in the appropriate course prerequisites for your major so that you are on-track for graduation.
□ Complete any placement exams for courses to ensure you can register for appropriate courses.
YEAR 2
Complete General Education
□ You should be completing most of the General Education Core requirements at this point.
Get Involved
□ If you have not done so already, get involved in university life, whether it is with a student organization, an academic organization, or other scholarly activity. You need to begin to build your résumé early.
Faculty Relationships
□ Begin talking with faculty in your department regarding your future and what you can learn from their experiences. These individuals may be the source of your letters of recommendation.
□ Work with your advisor to identify steps you may need to take to be prepared after you graduate.
Experience
□ Near the end of your second year, you should be considering work experience, research, or internships that would help you with either job placement or post-baccalaureate studies.
YEAR 3
Leadership
□ Now that you have been involved in your respective area, you should consider taking the next step and being a leader in your organization(s).
Upper-Level Coursework
□ You should have already started taking upper-level courses, but this is the year where you choose your courses carefully to be most applicable to your path after graduation.
Graduation Preparation
□ Graduate School (if applicable): Begin narrowing down your graduate school plans and take the appropriate entrance exam.
□ Employment: Begin looking at what industries or particular companies you should be contacting for future employment. Find ways to gain the necessary skills for your area.
YEAR 4
Apply for Graduation
□ Remember to apply for graduation 1-2 semesters in advance. You may want to meet with your academic advisor before applying to make sure everything is on track.
Applications
□ Make sure you have prepared your résumé.
□ Work with the Mānoa Career Center to help build your interviewing and application skills.
□ Apply for graduate schools and employment.
The Advising Syllabus is a document that outlines the advising relationship for undergraduate students in the college and provides relevant campus resources. It also provides a general plan of experiences to expect during the completion of a degree.
CALL majors must complete Hawaiian or a Second Language through an intermediate level. Students typically complete coursework through the 200-level of the language, which equates to 2 years of the language. Students can opt to take a placement exam if they feel they can start at a higher level of the language. If a student feels they already have an intermediate mastery of the language, they can pursue alternative methods of completing the requirements as noted on the H/SL Requirement Advising Chart.
Advising Center Sakamaki Hall, Room D202 [map]
2530 Dole St, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi 96822
(808) 956-8755 / advising@hawaii.edu
Submitting forms? advisewd@hawaii.edu
M-F 9:30am – 4:00pm (in-person)
M-F 9:30am – 3:30pm (phone)
Closed State Holidays