The importance of academic advising and its intervention action in advising students who are near the border of passing or failing an engineering program

Perceived as a relatively tough field, some students cannot complete their engineering program successfully. Systematic and correct academic advising is one factor that can contribute to students successfully graduated from their studies in an engineering program, especially for students who are near the border of passing or failing the program. One important tool in the academic advising is Grade Point Average (GPA) calculator. This paper describes the development of a template file for GPA calculator at UNITEN and its features unique to UNITEN academic regulation. Utilizing the template file, academic advisors at UNITEN are able to monitor GPA, take appropriate action when necessary, guide their advisees doing proper study plan (especially for achieving the targeted GPA), able to simulate and set the realistic semester GPA target for their advisees based on GPA histories and capabilities. A case study related to the use of the template file for the GPA calculator and its successful intervention action in the academic advising of engineering students at UNITEN will also be described.