Navigating Your Future: A Guide to UCF College of Business Advising Services

The UCF College of Business is dedicated to equipping its students with the resources and guidance necessary for a successful academic and professional journey. With a comprehensive network of advising services, the college ensures that students receive personalized support from orientation to graduation. Whether you're a prospective student exploring majors, a current student navigating academic requirements, or a graduating senior seeking career opportunities, the College of Business offers a range of services tailored to your needs. Paul Jarley, Dean of UCF College of Business, notes, “We have more than 8,500 students in the College, a couple thousand of whom will graduate this semester and still need to find a job.” This highlights the critical importance of accessible and effective advising services.

Academic Success Coaching: Your Partner in Academic Planning

Every undergraduate student at UCF pursuing a degree within the College of Business is admitted as a Pre-Major (Pre-Accounting, Pre-Finance, etc.) until admission requirements are met. Each student is assigned an Academic Success Coach (ASC) to guide them through their academic journey at UCF. The College of Business’ Academic Success Coaching Team is the result of a partnership between the College and the UCF Division of Student Success and Wellbeing. This highly competent team is dedicated to providing a welcoming and supportive environment for College of Business students.

Personalized Guidance and Support

You and your assigned Academic Success Coach will work together, from orientation to graduation, to establish your goals, design your academic plans, and monitor your success. The team works with internal and external partners to provide academic and college engagement resources and is the primary academic advising and success coaching team for business students. Students will receive information and guidance through individual appointments, classes, workshops, and collaborative partnerships with other student support teams and offices throughout the college and campus community. Students can take advantage of these opportunities as early as their new student orientation.

Accessing Your Academic Success Coach

While walk-in advising is not offered, every active UCF student in a College of Business undergraduate program is assigned an Academic Success Coach (ASC). Students can schedule a 15- or 30-minute appointment with their ASC through myKnightStar. To schedule an appointment, log in to your myUCF portal using your NID and NID password to access your Student Self Service menu. Select a date that works well with your schedule and choose either the morning or afternoon block for a drop-down menu of available times. Select a time from the available times listed. Use the arrow to advance weeks or go back. You will be able to schedule an appointment up to two weeks in advance. Review the details related to your appointment. If applicable, add any comments for your advisor related to your appointment. Select your preferred method of reminder. Walk-in dates may be offered during the first week of classes. These will be posted to our OPD Resource Course for active College of Business students.

Addressing Academic Concerns

Academic Success Coaches can assist with a variety of academic concerns. Students can seek guidance if they want to see if they are on pace for graduation or if they don’t think they are going to meet the GPA requirement to get into their major. Course overrides are provided for students having trouble with enrollment when they meet all course prerequisites.

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Career Coaching: Charting Your Path to Professional Success

The Office of Professional Development (OPD) provides career coaching services to students in the College of Business. Staffed by experienced Human Resource professionals, Career Coaches help students develop their career plans from the day they start classes in the college. Focusing on professional development, Career Coaches work with students to help them formulate a plan for building a successful career. Our goal is to help students Get to the One - the one who gets the internship, the job or promotion. Each major has an assigned Career Coach to provide a tailored consultation to each student. We also have specialized coaches who act as a liaison between employers and business students for networking opportunities, internships, and potential jobs.

Connecting with a Career Coach

You can see a Career Coach in a few different ways. First, you will want to schedule a Career Cluster appointment to meet with a coach in a small group session. To sign up for a Career Cluster Session, go to Office of Professional Development Resource Course in Webcourses. By attending a group session, you then will be able to schedule a one-on-one appointment with a Career Coach upon completion. This will allow you to gain additional feedback for this resume in an individual setting.

Specialized Support for Internships and Job Preparation

The Employer Relations Team can assist with job and internship-specific preparation. Appointments are available Tuesday and Wednesday of each week and can be booked. While we cannot get the internship for you, we can certainly help you prepare and navigate through the process of finding an internship opportunity! If you are a graduating senior, graduating the following semester, or are in the process of applying to jobs and/or internships, you should see the Employer Relations Team. The first step is to sign up for a “Resume” Career Cluster Meeting.

The Invitational: Your Exclusive Career Fair

The Invitational is the exclusive career and internship fair for the College of Business that is held each Fall and Spring semester. Business students can earn an invitation to the event from a faculty member or by completing certain activities, such as meeting with a Career Coach, attending a Career Cluster, etc. The Invitational features 30-50 employers with open internships and jobs specifically for business students. It is a great way to connect with employers and gain valuable real world experience in industry.

Dean Jarley’s Initiative

Dean Paul Jarley’s latest initiative - an online community exclusively for UCF business students and employers - is designed to connect our students with the businesses they want to work for.

Additional Resources and Support

The College of Business offers a variety of additional resources to support students' academic and personal well-being.

Office of Professional Development (OPD)

In addition to facilitating appointments and advising sessions, the Office of Professional Development offers online career resources, links to academic policies, and frequently asked questions. The Office of Professional Development (OPD) provides academic advising, career coaching services, and study abroad resources to students in the College of Business.

Business Minor Advising

Business minors can meet with the Advising Team for academic questions related to their minor. However, Career Coaches and the Employer Relations Team are able to help only students who are in a College of Business major. UCF Career Services assists students from every major and every college.

Major Exploration

Major Exploration is a non-academic appointment to help students identify the right major for their career goals.

Student Advocate & Empowerment Coordinator

The role of Student Advocate & Empowerment Coordinator is to support our students both in the classroom and in their personal lives. Students often experience “non-academic” challenges or life stressors that can adversely impact their academic success.

Study Abroad Opportunities

The college offers Study Abroad experiences at every step of your academic career.

Knights Major Exploration and Transition Center (KMETC)

The Knights Major Exploration and Transition Center (KMETC) advisors and coaches assist undeclared and major exploring undergraduate students with degree exploration, college skill building, and transition to degree-specific college advising.

Military and Veteran Success Center

The Military and Veteran Success Center is the first-stop shop for military students to include, student veterans, active-duty, and military-connected students.

Adapting to Change: Remote Learning and Support

The College of Business is committed to providing uninterrupted support to its students, even in the face of change. As Denise McFadden, Associate Director of Student Success and Employer Outreach, notes, “In business, change is inevitable, and we are adapting. These students still need our services and we want them to be prepared to continue their career journey once we are able to resume normal operations.” The move to remote learning means students will need to transition to remote internships or co-op experiences to finish out the semester.

Navigating Challenges

Sylecia Groover, Career Coach/Internship Coordinator, explains, “We are working through the kinks and anomalies as they show up. Because I handle internships in my role, I am working with students as some internships are unfortunately canceled.” Angela Cotto, Manager of Academics & Retention, adds, “Our students are grateful that we are still able to support them.”

Contact Information

Please use the appropriate contact method below for guidance from the College of Business Academic Success Coaching and Office of Professional Development Team. Location (Main Campus): Classroom Building 1 Suite 302 Location (Rosen College): 9907 Universal Blvd.

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