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Office of Academic Advising & Off-Campus Programs

 Announcement about Academic Advising in the School of Art (Sent February 20, 2025)

Greetings.

We have an exciting development taking place in the School of Art academic advising model. Beginning April 1, our full-time faculty will become advisors for cohorts of rising juniors and seniors. Faculty advisors will meet regularly with their assigned upper-level students to discuss educational goals, classes, resources, and opportunities. 

Please note the following details:

  • The Office of Academic Advising (Assistant Dean Frances Northcutt Green and Director Doug Ashford) will focus on advising students up until April 1 of sophomore year. As Director, Doug will also continue to advise all transfer students from admission through graduation. Fran and Doug will offer ongoing training to faculty advisors, and will be available to guide faculty advisors and students when complex situations arise.
  • Pre-registration, registration, and add/drop will still be managed by the Office of Academic Advising, with assistance from the Office of Academic Operations (Nazig Tchakarian).
  • Faculty advisor assignments for rising juniors and seniors will be made alphabetically by the Office of Academic Advising and communicated in mid-March.
  • Students: be on the lookout for a message from your new faculty advisor inviting you to meet in early April for pre-registration advising.

I am grateful to the Advising Subcommittee and the Office of Academic Advising for all their hard work in creating and implementing this plan. I appreciate the full-time faculty for taking this opportunity to build additional meaningful connections with students outside the classroom and studio. I look forward to seeing how the new model contributes to learning and success in our school community.

Adriana Farmiga
Dean, School of Art

The mission of the School of Art is to educate artists in the broadest sense, both as creative practitioners and as enlightened citizens of the world who are prepared to question and transform society. 

Academic Advising is integral to this mission, empowering students to navigate the BFA curriculum and The Cooper Union’s many resources with confidence, intention, and success. 

The advising model of the School of Art comprises a centralized component (The Office of Academic Advising & Off-Campus Programs) and decentralized caseload advising performed by full-time faculty.

The Office of Academic Advising & Off-Campus Programs also houses the School of Art’s international exchange program and coordinates access to several other off-campus opportunities. These include the Rothenberg Travel Fellowship, Skowhegan, the Yale Norfolk summer program, and curricular practical training (CPT) for international students.

Please see the FAQ for common questions.

Key forms can be found on the forms page.

Team

Frances Northcutt Green
Assistant Dean
frances.green@cooper.edu | 212 Foundation | 212-353-4205

Key responsibilities:

  • General advising for Foundation and sophomore BFA students
  • Oversight of BFA student registration processes
  • Degree progress tracking for all BFA students
  • Point person for BFA student petitions
  • Transfer credit evaluation process
  • Onboarding and continuing guidance for faculty advisors
  • Coordination of off-campus programs

Doug Ashford
Professor, Director of Academic Advising
doug.ashford@cooper.edu | 41 Cooper Square, Room 805a, back of Media Lab | 212-353-4019

Key responsibilities:

  • Art-focused advising for Foundation and sophomore BFA students
  • All advising for BFA transfer students
  • Coverage for faculty advisors on leave
  • Transfer credit evaluation
  • Review of certain BFA proposals and petitions
  • Onboarding and continuing guidance for faculty advisors
  • Support with acute junior/senior advising issues

Coco Fusco
Professor, Director of the Exchange Program
coco.fusco@cooper.edu | 237 Foundation

Key responsibilities:

  • Guiding Cooper students who are interested in going on exchange
  • Selection, registration, and support for visiting students
  • Assessment of existing and potential school partnerships
  • Administrative matters related to exchange

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.

   

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