Here to help.

The COM Undergraduate Affairs office is the undergraduate advising department at the College of Communication (COM). We provide academic advice, curriculum information and personal advising for COM undergraduates. We serve as the initial point of contact regarding any questions you have about your program and your overall experience at COM.

Advising Mission and Learning Outcomes

Academic Advising is integral to the teaching mission of the University and engages students in a collaborative process to explore academic and co-curricular opportunities as part of a plan to realize academic, career and life goals.

The learning outcomes for academic advising are a shared responsibility in each school and college. Through academic advising students will be able to:

  • Articulate the intent of general education, school/college, and program requirements.
  • Craft, execute and continually assess a coherent educational plan, including post graduate options, based on assessment of abilities, aspirations, interests, and values.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the policies and procedures that guide progress to the degree.
  • Identify and access campus resources and co-curricular opportunities to help reach educational, career and life goals.

Information about academic advising across Boston University and helpful policies for academic planning can be found here at www.bu.edu/advising.

COM Advising Model

COM offers our undergraduate students a dual advising model. Students will have access to our professional advising staff through the COM Undergraduate Affairs Office (COM, Room 123) and also have an assigned faculty mentor through their major department.

Students can schedule an appointment with a COM Undergraduate Affairs academic advisor through Handshake.  To schedule an appointment, visit Handshake and then choose “COM Undergraduate Affairs” from the menu and follow the prompts.  We expect that you will find Handshake to be the easiest and most efficient way to schedule a meeting with our advising team.  Additionally, students may still schedule an academic advising appointment during business hours by calling us at (617) 353-3471 or stopping by our service window in the College of Communication, room 123. Non-COM students can use Handshake to schedule an appointment with us too, but first they must email us (comugrad@bu.edu) and asked to be tagged as COM Undergraduate Affairs eligible before Handshake will allow you to make an appointment.

Professional Academic Advising

The COM Undergraduate Affairs professional advisors discuss:

  • Advising on remaining requirements for graduation
  • Advising on BU HUB requirements
  • Advising on the mechanics of Double Majors, the Dual Degree Program, Minors, Intra University Transfer, Study Abroad, summer course approvals, AP credit, IB credit, transfer credit, etc.
  • Advising on possible personal and social issues
  • Advising regarding academic difficulty or academic probation
  • Reviewing a student’s schedule plan for a term (continuing COM single degree students do not have advising service indicator holds)
  • Advising on University resources

Faculty Mentoring

To encourage mentoring relationships between COM students and COM faculty, all COM students with a declared major are assigned a faculty mentor.  A faculty mentor is a professor in your selected major who can serve as an additional resource for you throughout your Boston University career (and often beyond).  A listing of faculty office hours is posted outside of each department. The Film and Television Department is located in COM, room 118; the Journalism Department is located in COM, room 131; and the Mass Communication, Advertising and Public Relations Department is located in COM, room 124.

The faculty mentors discuss topics including:

  • Professional/educational mentoring
  • A sounding board to learn more about the major and accompanying industry
  • Advice regarding potential internships and jobs
  • The faculty have a general knowledge of the degree requirements within their major field (specific COM major courses, please speak with an Undergraduate Affairs professional advisor to confirm  graduation requirements)
  • Advice on which specific major classes will help a student work towards reaching their educational and professional goals.
  • Advice on extracurricular activities that relate to the major field
  • Discussion on educational and career goals
  • Potentially provide networking connections between mentees and alumni in the communication industries

Newsletter

COM Undergraduate Affairs sends a newsletter to all our majors each Wednesday during the fall and spring terms when classes are in session. We encourage all students to review the newsletter each week for important updates, information, and upcoming events.  Please do not unsubscribe from the COM newsletter.  Once a student unsubscribes from the newsletter, we cannot re-subscribe you.  If you are a non-COM student who would like to be added to the weekly newsletter distribution list please contact us at comugrad@bu.edu.  If you have something to include in the COM newsletter, please email the information (no longer than 100 words) to comugrad@bu.edu by Tuesday at noon.

Staff

  • Bryan Guarnier, Director, Undergraduate Affairs
  • Jen Kahler, Associate Director, Undergraduate Affairs
    • Email: jnw@bu.edu
    • Undergraduate academic advising, COM Ambassador Program
  • Erik Proctor, Associate Director, Undergraduate Affairs
  • Jenn Guneratne, Assistant Director, Undergraduate Affairs
  • Annie O’Connell, Assistant Director, Undergraduate Affairs
  • Paola Veras, Assistant Director, Undergraduate Affairs
  • Abby Bodnar, Academic Advisor, Undergraduate Affairs
  • Kevin McPherson, Academic Advisor, Undergraduate Affairs
    • Undergraduate academic advising
  • Kayla Timmins, Administrator, Undergraduate Affairs
  • Bill Taylor, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Affairs

Resources for COM undergraduate students