Student Academic Affairs

Academic Advising, Standards, Academic Integrity & Conduct

Online Student File

How to use the on-line student advising file:

  1. Get training. Training is available as a Power Point file.
  2. Get Access to the On-line File.
  • Have your department advising support staff e-mail Online File Support Group at lsa.ugfile.support@umich.edu so that you can be added to the access group. Faculty and professional staff advisors can have access. This includes GSIs who are departmental advisors, though they do not have M-Pathways access and cannot get to the Advising Report (our version of the unofficial transcript) directly. Undergraduate peer advisors do not have access (and didn’t to the paper file, either).
  • Access and Compliance Agreement.  In order to be granted access to the on-line file, you must first agree to proper use of the information.  The Access and Compliance Agreement can be found at https://sitemaker.umich.edu/ugstufilecompliance.   You will be notified via email as soon as your access has been approved.
  1. Get Access to the M-Pathways data in the On-line File.
  • Once your access to the LS&A Student File is approved, a request for access to MPathways data will be submitted in your behalf.
  • Access and Compliance Agreement.   In order to be granted access to confidential Student Records data, you must first agree to proper use of the information.  Print, read, and sign the MAIS Access & Compliance Form.   Fax the completed form to MAIS Access Services at (734) 936-1549.
  1. Sign into the file through Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher (PC) or Safari 1.3 or higher (MAC). The address is https://www-a1.lsa.umich.edu/UGStuFile/ Use your Kerberos password.
  2. Use the on-line file if the student started at UM Ann Arbor as a first year in Summer 2003 or later, or Spring 2004 and later if a transfer student.
  3. The on-line file has in it all the information that appears in the paper file.

The transition from paper files to on-line files:

Paper files continue to exist for 5th-year seniors. Student Academic Affairs decided not to try to backload all those paper files. When you get a set of advising appointments, the LSA File Room will give you as usual a cover sheet listing the students’ names and appointment times. In addition, the cover sheet will say whether that student has a paper file or an on-line file. You'll find that most of the student files are the on-line version.

If the student has a paper file, you’ll record your note on the yellow backer card, and you’ll be able to review all earlier notes there. If the student has an on-line file, you’ll record your note by typing it into the file, and you’ll see all existing notes already typed there.

In addition to entering your note, you can use the on-line file to record any exception you have allowed to a concentration requirement. Departmental advisors, for example, commonly can choose to allow some transfer credit to count toward the concentration in a general or a specific way.