Educational Counseling FAQs

The ECDS department consists of a staff of professional counselors who help students decide on a career path, develop educational plans, and address issues that may be interfering with students' academic performance and progress. The ECDS department is located in the Arts, Sciences and Education Commons building, room 1017, and the phone is (231) 591-3057.

Educational counseling can help you with developing educational and career plans and solving personal problems that may be interfering with your academic progress and success. Career counseling can be particularly helpful when you have multiple interests or unclear goals.

Through counseling you will learn how to understand yourself better. Personal assessments will increase your understanding of your values, personality, needs, skills and abilities, and how they relate to choosing a major and finding job satisfaction. By identifying your strengths and challenges, you are much more likely to improve your academic and professional success.

If you are experiencing or contemplating a life transition, you may benefit from discussing it with one of our Center's professional counselors. Transitions, which are basically any changes that occur in your life, can be as simple as taking on a part-time job or as complex as becoming a parent, relocating, or choosing a new career path to follow.

Professional counselors can help you with issues such as time commitments, balancing multiple roles, family responsibilities and work obligations--issues that may have an impact on your academic performance and success.

Anyone at Ferris and the surrounding community can use ECDS. The services are free of charge to Ferris students and, in most instances, individuals in the Big Rapids Community.

For those interested in exploring career options or contemplating a career change or academic major change, the first and most critical stage is self-assessment. In this stage, you and your counselor explore your interests, skills, values and personality preferences as they relate to possible career and education alternatives. Once you have learned more about yourself, you can use that self-knowledge to identify occupations and/or majors of potential interest to you. Your counselor can help you explore options by guiding you through resources in the ECDS department and coaching you on how to conduct informational interviews with professionals in the fields of interest to you. To test the reality of some of those options, your counselor can help you arrange appointments with department heads and program professors.

The Ferris State University Academic Degrees Web site

This Web site lists Ferris degrees alphabetically, by degree level, and also lists minors and certificates available.

Begin using ECDS as soon as you have any kind of issue that you don't know how to solve. If ECDS cannot help you solve that particular issue we will identify and direct you to the appropriate source to assist you.

You can make an appointment by emailing [email protected] or calling (231) 591-3057. If you are calling from on-campus, just call x3057. Or you may come to the Arts, Sciences and Education Commons building, room 1017, and make an appointment in person.

The length of the appointment depends on the issue you bring to the meeting. Appointments are no more than 50 minutes, but some issues may require more than one meeting.

There is no charge to Ferris students or the Big Rapids Community for the services in the ECDS department.

There usually is not a waiting list for an appointment in ECDS. Often a student may be able to see a counselor the same day an appointment is requested.

ECDS in the Arts, Sciences and Education Commons building, room 1017, assists students in determining an appropriate major and achieving academic success leading to graduation.

The Center for Leadership, Activities and Career Services, located in Rankin 135, assists students in resume writing, interviewing techniques, and locating a job after graduation. That office also arranges internships and campus job fairs.

To change your major you must contact the college in which your major of interest is located. To find out who the appropriate contact is, go to the College Referrals and Program Change Contacts page in the Academic Advising Guide.

If you don't know where to go to ask a question, go to any academic office or to the Educational Counseling and Disabilities Services department in the Arts, Sciences and Education Commons building, room 1017, or contact us online at [email protected]

If you're not doing well in a class, talk with the instructor during his/her posted office hours, or speak with your advisor, or go to the Academic Support Center in ASC 1017 and request a tutor in that subject, or come to the Educational Counseling and Disabilities Services department in the Arts, Sciences and Education Commons building, room 1017.

As licensed professional counselors, by law we are required to keep information that you might tell us confidential, unless you tell us that you are going to hurt yourself or someone else, that you are a victim of child abuse, or if we receive a court order. In those cases we are required by law to report those instances to the appropriate authorities.

Services for students with disabilities are available through Educational Counseling and Disabilities Services. You can call our office at (231) 591-3057, stop by the Arts, Sciences and Education Commons building, room 1017, e-mail us at [email protected] or go to the Disabilities Services Web site for more complete information about our services and the necessary documentation required for accommodations.