First-Year Advising FAQ

What are the benefits of First-Year Advising?

First-Year Advising offers a holistic advising experience to assist students in their transition to college. First-Year Advisors are able to not only assist students in academic advising, but also provide assistance in financial aid, billing, transcripts, registration, and much more!

Students starting the fall semster, also no longer need to make a separate visit to campus in order to enroll in classes. A custom class schedule will be created for each students based on the enrollment questionnaire connected to the RSVP for Orientation.

Will I do First-Year Advising?

All new students who are coming to WSU straight from high school will participate in First-Year Advising.

Who will be my First-Year Advisor?

Students are assigned an advisor based on their major/college at WSU.

First-Year Advisors

Brittany Ulmer

Specialist / First-Year Advisor

brittany.ulmer@wichita.edu

College of Applied Studies (Teaching Education) and College of Fine Arts

Kylie Johnson

Assistant Director

kylie.johnson@wichita.edu

College of Applied Studies (Human Performance Studies & Sports Management)

Elia Ortega

Specialist / First-Year Advisor

elia.ortega@wichita.edu

Fairmount College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (Students with Last Names A-L)

Kindra Brooks

Specialist / First-Year Advisor

kindra.brooks@wichita.edu

Fairmount College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (Students with Last Names M-Z)

Monica Bergkamp

Specialist / First-Year Advisor

monica.bergkamp@wichita.edu

College of Engineering (Students with Last Names M-Z)

Hannah Vanorsby

Specialist / First-Year Advisor

hannah.vanorsby@wichita.edu

College of Health Professions

How does First-Year Advising work?

As students enter into their first-year at Wichita State University, they will be advised by a First-Year advisor at OneStop. Services of First-Year Advising include assistance in:
- Building a semester schedule
- Understanding General Education and Degree Requirements
- Accepting Financial Aid 
- Reading your student account bill
- Setting up payment plans
- Knowing campus resources 

Students with transition to working with their college advising office when enrollment begins for the summer and fall semseters of their second year at Wichita State. 

What is the enrollment process for my first semseter at Wichita State?

For students beginning in the fall semester:
The first step in the enrollment process is for students to complete their Orientation RSVP. Connected to that RSVP is an enrollment questionnaire that will assist First-Year advisors in creating a custom schedule for each student.  After the questionnaire has been completed, students should receive notification from their advisor within one week of a schedule that has been created or any additional items needed before a schedule can be made. (Please note - MUCH of the communication from First-Year Advising as well as many other offices takes place through the myWSU student email.) Students have 10 days to submit a decision on their scheudle; if they do not submit a decision, their courses will be dropped. If the student does wish to attend WSU, they are able to contact their adivisor and begin the schedule building process again. If a student has any questions, those will be worked out with their advisor until their schedule is set. The student can also accept their schedule and if any other questions arise, they can be worked out with their advisor as well.

Students will complete a group advising appointment with their First-Year Advisor during the summer before they attend WSU in which they will learn about the process of adding and dropping courses, more fully understanding General Education and Degree requirements, navigating their myWSU student portal and other pieces of information important as they begin their time at Wichita State. After this appointment, students will be eligible to make any schedule changes on their own, but we always recommend consulting an advisor before changes are made. 

Students will be notified when enrollment appointments for 2nd semester are avaialble and will schedule those appointments through an online scheduling system. 

For students beginning in the spring semster:

For your first and secoond semster advising appointmetns, please contact OneStop to schedule appointments at (316) 978-3909

What if I have questions about First-Year Advising?

If you have any questions about advising or your first year at WSU, please call us at (316) 978-3909 or email your First-Year Advisor.