All full-time students at Northwest are assigned an adviser. Advisers are usually faculty members in the student's area of study, although members of the Student Success Center also advise students. Students who have not decided upon an area of concentration are assigned faculty advisers who are particularly interested in advising in the area of general studies.

Incoming students who attend summer registration work with a temporary adviser for their initial registrations. In some cases this may turn out to be the student's permanent adviser, but more often than not it is a faculty member who was available for the registration session.

In the fall students can meet with their permanent advisers.  While many students see their advisers primarily during each preregistration period, advisers are also a resource students can visit throughout the semester. Advisers can offer suggestions for campus resources which may be helpful for a student. They can also help students review their transcripts and evaluate their progress in a program of study.

Students may change advisers at any time they wish. They do so all the time, and for a variety of reasons. Sometimes students change majors and need an adviser in their new area. Sometimes students strike up a friendship with a faculty member they particularly enjoy working with. Advisers are not offended when students shift to another adviser. All a student has to do is go to the Vice President of Academic Affairs office or the Student Services office and fill out a change of adviser form.

The job of the adviser is to offer advice and suggestions regarding courses, career options, and other academic issues a student faces. Students are not required to see their advisers, though most do. The final responsibility for a student's program of study lies with the student.