1. Department of Economics & Finance
  2. Academics
  3. Advising

Advising

Find your academic advisor in UL Lafayette's Department of Economics & Finance and learn how to prepare for advising each semester.

Your academic advisor helps you plan your path through your economics, finance, or insurance and risk management degree, from choosing classes to internships and your career. Get to know your advisor before you need help.

New First-Year, Transfer, and Re-Entry Students

First-year students going through orientation, transfer students, and re-entry students follow a separate advising process for their first semester. Learn more about transfer advising and re-entry advising from the Academic Success Center. Transfer students in the College of Business are advised first through the Moody College of Business Office of Student Services, where transfer credits are evaluated. 

See College of Business Academic Advising

Planning to continue with an MBA? Talk with your advisor about how to prepare, including the online MBA in Finance and the Moody College of Business's other MBA options.

Thinking about changing your major? Talk with a counselor in the Academic Success Center before your advising appointment.

Preparing for Advising

Every student is assigned an academic advisor who knows your degree requirements and serves as your main contact for academic questions while you're at UL Lafayette.

  1. In ULink, open your Student Profile in Banner.
  2. Find your advisor's name in your profile.

If you don't have an advisor assigned, contact the Academic Success Center, or call the Department of Economics & Finance at 337-482-6662 or email ecfn@louisiana.edu.

Advising takes place each semester during a two-week period in March and October, before registration opens for the next term. The academic calendar lists the exact dates.

Contact your advisor before the advising period begins. Advisors handle scheduling differently: some use email or online sign-up, some post a sign-up sheet on their office door, and some hold group sessions. Check with your advisor or the department well ahead of the advising period.

Advising and registration: You're required to meet with your advisor every semester. Your advisor lifts your advising hold after your session, and the hold must be lifted before you can register for classes. College of Business Academic Advising has the details on registration time tickets.

In your session, you and your advisor will typically:

  • Review your progress toward your degree using Degree Works
  • Choose courses for your next semester, with backup options if a class is full
  • Talk through any current classes you're concerned about, especially if they affect prerequisites
  • Talk about your interests, career goals, and activities, including internships, concentrations and minors, and graduate school
  • Lift your advising hold so you can register

Your advisor may meet with you in person, online, or in a group, depending on the semester and their availability.

  1. Check the calendar. Find your advising dates on the academic calendar.
  2. Schedule early. Contact your advisor before the advising period starts.
  3. Review your degree audit. Open your Degree Works audit to see what you've completed and what's left.
  4. Know your requirements. Review your degree plan on Curriculum & Catalogs.
  5. Build a course list. Choose 5–7 courses you'd like to take, plus alternates.
  6. Write down your questions. These can be about your progress, career plans, or balancing school with work and activities.
  7. Arrive on time. For virtual sessions, join a few minutes early.

For the university's full checklist, see How to Prepare for Advising from the Academic Success Center.

  • Something to take notes with
  • Your student ID or ULID
  • Your Degree Works audit, on your device or printed
  • Your list of preferred and backup courses
  • Your questions

  • Am I on track to graduate when I planned?
  • Which courses should I take together this semester, and which should I space out?
  • Should I add a concentration or a minor, and how would it change my catalog year?
  • Finance majors: When should I take the Student Managed Investment Portfolio course (FNAN 485), and how do I get a seat?
  • Economics majors: When should I start planning my research project for ECON 421: Undergraduate Economic Research?
  • Insurance and risk management majors in the Human Resource Management concentration: When should I plan my required management internship?
  • Which internships and student organizations fit my goals?
  • What are my options if a class I need is full?

Find Your Advising Office