Definition:

Going off to college or graduate school is a huge deal, fraught with new experiences and new bureaucratic mazes and procedures to untangle. In high school, there was a set series of classes with a few electives thrown in here and there. In college and graduate school, every major has its own requirements, prerequisites and electives. Bumbling around taking this or that without a clear plan is a recipe for academic disaster.

Universities offer academic advisers to help, but how this plays out depends on the school.

Every university or college provides academic advisors to help first years sign up for that first round of classes during orientation. These may be deans or professors, or they may be peer advisors - i.e., sophomores or juniors, who help your student sign up for the first semester basics. It's what happens after the first semester that's important to know because it can run the whole gamut.

Small, private schools often assign a professor or dean, based on the major your child noted on his application - and depending on how your child's interests develop over the next two years, he may have that same adviser and mentor through his whole collegiate tenure. It's a close relationship, especially the first year, when the adviser may meet with him every couple of weeks just to check in and see how things are going, as well as discuss academics and spring semester course choices.

At the other end of the spectrum: Very large public universities are typically very proactive about offering academic advice during freshman orientation.

But after that, your child will have to seek out any additional help on his own -- through his department, i.e., a designated physics or linguistics major adviser, or through the main administration office. The latter scenario may involve literally taking a number and waiting to be called in by someone, who will look up your child's academic record and note what graduation requirements remain to be satisfied and what options are available. In other words, if your college kid needs guidance and mentoring, he's the one who's going to have to be proactive. Make sure he knows where to get help and how to do it.