Advising

The School of Nursing Advising Team can help you identify and clarify your academic pathways and educational goals and aid you in developing meaningful plans to ensure your academic success. We believe that advising is an ongoing, caring, and collaborative relationship between advisor and student that provides meaning, guidance, and support throughout the educational process.

Degree Audit Report System (DARS)

Students should run a DARS report periodically to track their progress toward fulfilling degree requirements. DARS is accessed through the Course Search and Enroll App; instructions on how to access a report can be found HERE (https://kb.wisc.edu/94056). Courses currently in progress will be shown as meeting requirements, pending completion. You can also run a “what-if” DARS report for other majors or certificates that are of interest to you. Your advisor can help if you have questions!

Pre-nursing (PRN) First Year Enrollment Information

If you are a pre-nursing, first year student, please review the pre-nursing handbook, run and review your DARS report, and attend group advising to help you plan your next semester courses. Email or meet with your academic advisor if you have further questions.

Pre-Nursing Fall Events

Several Pre-Nursing events happen during the fall semester to encourage students to connect both academically and socially. Group advising sessions are held for pre-nursing students and occur during the month of October.

First-year students should attend one group advising session to discuss spring semester coursework and parallel planning. If you are unable to attend one of the group advising sessions please make an appointment with a pre-nursing advisor.

Second year pre-nursing students who plan to apply to the School of Nursing should attend an admissions info session.

Who's My Advisor?

UW-Madison Pre-Nursing Students

Make an appointment with any of the following advisors through Starfish: Leigh Arora, Molly Censky, Maisee Her. Links to their individual calendars can be found in the advisor profiles.
Email: advising@nursing.wisc.edu

Admitted Traditional Nursing Students

Make an appointment with Tracey Maloney through Starfish.
Email: tmmaloney@wisc.edu

Admitted Accelerated Nursing Students

Make an appointment with Tracey Maloney through Starfish.
Email: tmmaloney@wisc.edu

BSN@Home Students

Make an appointment with Leigh Arora through Starfish.
Email: leigh.arora@wisc.edu

Career Advising and Student Success

Make an appointment with Kelli Richards through Starfish.
Email: kelli.richards@wisc.edu

Prospective Students Not at UW-Madison

Make an appointment via email.
Email: admissions@nursing.wisc.edu

Who Are My Peer Mentors (For UW-Madison Pre-Nursing Students)?

We are excited to offer Peer Mentoring for enrolled UW-Madison pre-nursing students! Peer Mentors are current admitted Nursing students who are available to meet with you throughout the semester. They are your student life experts! You can meet with them to get the inside scoop on all the best study spaces on campus, the yummiest places to eat, study tips and tricks, and most importantly, learn about their experiences as a Pre-Nursing and admitted Nursing student.

*Note – They are NOT academic advisors and will not be doing course planning via DARS, etc…Please continue to see Molly, Maisee, and Leigh for academic course planning.

It only takes two easy steps to make an appointment with a Peer Mentor:

Choose a Peer Mentor whose availability times work for you.
Send them an email to set up an appointment! For the subject line, use “Peer Mentor Appointment”

If none of the listed times work for you, all Peer Mentors are open to meeting outside of their listed times. Just send them an email and ask!

Fall 2025 Peer Advising Hours

Mondays, 12-1pm &
Wednesdays, 2:15-3:15pm
Bella Schuelke
brschuelke@wisc.edu

Mondays, 5:00pm-7:00pm
Kiran Arora
koarora@wisc.edu

Mondays, 5:00pm-7:00pm
Sonam Dorjee
sdorjee@wisc.edu

Tuesdays, email for time
Alice Hu
ahu38@wisc.edu

Wednesdays, 9:12am-11:15am
Brandon Kreger
brkreger@wisc.edu

Thursdays, 10:30am-12:30pm
Allie Young
aayoung4@wisc.edu

Can I Just Email a Question?

If you have a single question that can be easily answered with a yes or no response, you can begin by sending an email describing your question or situation. Your advisor will either answer you by return email or ask that you schedule an appointment.

When you email your advisor, always include your name and campus ID.

What Can I Expect from My Advisor?

You can expect your advisor to:

Understand and effectively communicate curriculum, graduation requirements, and university policies and procedures
Listen to your concerns and respect your individual values and choices
Assist you in defining your academic, career, and personal goals, and assist you in creating an educational plan that is consistent with those goals
Answer your questions through scheduled meetings, phone calls, or emails
Provide you with information about campus and community resources
Refer you to other campus offices as appropriate
Maintain confidentiality

What Does My Advisor Expect from Me?

Your advisor expects you to:

Read all email sent from Academic Affairs
Use resources (handbooks, web, DARS) to find answers to questions you may have
Come prepared to each appointment with questions and topics for discussion
Ask questions if you do not understand an issue or have a specific concern
Be open and willing to consider advice from faculty, advisors and other mentors
Review your DARS report each semester and track your progress towards completing your graduation requirements
Keep a personal record of your progress toward meeting your goals
Organize official documents in a way that enables you to access them when needed
Become knowledgeable about campus programs, policies, and procedures
Accept responsibility for decisions
Include your ID number in emails

Tips

Schedule now—don’t wait. You don’t need to wait until the Schedule of Classes is released on the Web to schedule an appointment.
Keep your appointment. Re-scheduling appointments during peak registration can be very difficult. If you will not be able to keep your appointment, login to Starfish to cancel or reschedule.