Academic Advising and Undergraduate Retention

Retention Specialists listed by Major

To schedule an appointment with your Retention Specialist, contact them directly via email or phone based on the information above.

To find your assigned faculty advisor and Retention Specialist, log in to My Portal or click on the Faculty Advisor List link.

If you are considering another major or minor, you can discuss this with your assigned advisor, seek out faculty from other majors in which you are interested, and explore options through the Madonna University Office of Career Development.

If you have never enrolled at a college or university previous to Madonna University and are between the ages of 18-24, then you are a first-year student. You might, however, have already earned college credit through a Dual Enrollment Program, Advanced Placement Test (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), or International Baccalaureate Program (IB) scores.

As a first-year student, you will meet with an academic advisor and register for your first semester courses at your New Student Orientation. To register for classes in future semesters, you will  either stay with your Retention Specialist or be transitioned to a faculty advisor within your major during the first semester. This information will be made clear to you during your UNV 1020 course in your first semester.

You are considered an adult or transfer student if you:

1. have never enrolled at a college or university previous to Madonna University, and are 24+ years old; OR
2. have earned college credit through enrollment at a college or university before attending Madonna University. Note: If you have military credit you are included in this category; but if you are a high school student with Dual Enrollment credit, Advanced Placement (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), or International Baccalaureate Program (IB) scores, you are considered a first-year student.

Before you are able to register for classes, you are required to complete an Orientation.  Though you are not required to meet with an academic advisor as a new adult or transfer student (unless you were admitted provisionally), we strongly encourage you to do so.

If you start Madonna University with a declared major, you might find it beneficial to simply meet with your assigned faculty advisor for your major. If this is the case, please click on the link below titled Academic Advisor List or log in to MY Portal to find your faculty advisor’s name.

If you are a current Madonna University student who is undecided on a major, you will be assigned a Retention Specialist in the college that you are interested in finding out more about. During your appointment, your Retention Specialist will help you select courses by reviewing remaining core curriculum requirements, discussing major programs at Madonna University that are of interest to you, and might recommend that you complete a career assessment through Madonna University’s Career Development Office.

There are several steps to receive admission to the Madonna University Nursing Program. The first step is to be accepted as a pre-nursing student. Until then, you will be categorized as a “Health Sciences- Undeclared” student with an interest in Pre-Nursing. During this process, you will receive advising services from the Retention Specialist in the College of Nursing & Health.

Your Retention Specialist will help you select courses by reviewing pre-nursing and nursing program criteria, as well as your remaining core curriculum requirements. In the event that you do not receive admission into the Madonna University nursing program, Retention Specialists in the various colleges are great resources to utilize to talk about alternative majors and related careers.

The admissions process for the ABSN program does not follow the same structure as the traditional program. Information regarding the admission process for the accelerated nursing program can be found at absn.madonna.edu.

“Provisional admission is offered to those applicants whose credentials may not satisfy the minimum admission requirements but whose maturity and seriousness of purpose indicate potential for academic success” (Madonna University Catalog).

If you have been granted provisional admission to the University, a hold is placed on your account that required you to get permission from either your Retention Specialist or Faculty Advisor in order to register for courses.  They will help you understand the criteria of your provisional admission and assist you in taking the necessary steps to ensure academic success.