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Undergraduate Advising at Penn State

From Senate Policy 32-00 Advising Policy:

“Academic advising plays a central role in enhancing student success at Penn State and is integral to the teaching and learning mission of the University. Through active engagement with academic advising, students can identify and challenge their assumptions while developing thoughtful academic plans to meet their educational and career goals. Advising programs across the University promote intellectual discovery, help advisees articulate the value of higher education, and encourage students to take advantage of both curricular and co-curricular learning. Advisers also advocate for students, as needed, and empower them to be self-directed learners. ... Overall, academic advising is a collaborative relationship among academic advisers, students, faculty, and the many other units that support student success at Penn State.”

From Senate Policy 32-10 / AAPM B-1 The University’s Advising Program:

“Academic advising programs at Penn State will create opportunities for students to actively engage with academic advisers so that they are able to: (based on CAS Standards, 2015)

  • Articulate their educational decisions and plans in the context of their interests, abilities, and values;
  • Synthesize information from various sources to set goals and make decisions;
  • Assume responsibility for meeting academic program requirements;
  • Articulate the meaning of higher education and the purpose of the curriculum;
  • Cultivate the intellectual habits that encourage life-long learning;
  • Function as global citizens who engage in the world around them;
  • Demonstrate integrative learning by making connections across all parts of their educational experience;
  • Identify and participate in engaged scholarship opportunities.”

Advising Student Learning Outcomes developed by the University Advising Council

What we want students to DO 
Students will...

  • Consult with an academic adviser
  • Clarify and discuss interests, abilities, values, and goals
  • Access and utilize official sources of academic information
  • Gather information on and engage in co-curricular opportunities and community involvement
  • Connect interests, abilities, values, and goals to the university curriculum 
  • Evaluate and incorporate information to construct academic goals and make decisions on their educational plans

What we want students to KNOW 
Students will…

  • Articulate their personal decision-making process
  • Articulate an understanding of entrance to major requirements and program requirements
  • Identify relationships of individual courses to others in the overall curriculum and co-curriculum
  • Identify challenges in learning and how to mitigate them
  • Identify strengths in learning and how to build on them 
  • Have awareness of opportunities that promote engagement in global concepts and ideas
  • Evaluate appropriateness and fit of engaged scholarship opportunities to overall goals

What we want students to APPRECIATE/VALUE
Students will…

  • Take ownership of their academic outcomes
  • Articulate personal motivations and reasons for participating in higher education
  • Question individual assumptions and articulate the value of every learner’s unique perspective
  • Articulate ways in which they can contribute to, and impact, their communities 
  • Reflect on the personal and academic value of participation in engaged scholarship

Undergraduate Advising at the Capital College

Aligns with Senate Policy 32-20 / AAPM B-2

Mission Statement

Undergraduate advising at Penn State Harrisburg supports students in making well-informed educational plans, achieving academic goals, participating in the life of the college, and effectively navigating the academic environment of the University.

Learning Outcomes

Through regular engagement with an academic adviser, students will be able to:

  • Navigate the Bulletin to find information on course sequencing, major entrance requirements, major learning outcomes, and career opportunities.
  • Run and interpret a degree audit (What If Report or Academic Requirements) to monitor their progress in meeting degree requirements.
  • Utilize scheduling tools such as Class Search, Schedule Builder, and the Enrollment Shopping Cart.
  • Identify where to get information concerning university policies and procedures.
  • Identify support resources for meeting their personal, academic, and career goals.
  • Identify opportunities for involvement in student engagement activities, education abroad, research, internships, community service, and employment.

Structure

Academic Year

  • Professional academic advisers from the Lambert Undergraduate Advising Center serve as assigned advisers to each of the following Harrisburg student groups:
    • First and second year students in pre-major status
    • First and second year students approved for major at a campus other than Harrisburg
    • Transfer students who plan to graduate from a campus other than Harrisburg
    • Non-degree regular students
    • DUS conditional students
    • Non-degree high school students
  • Full-time faculty serve as academic advisers to each of the following Harrisburg student groups:
    • Students approved for a Harrisburg major
    • Transfer students who plan to graduate from Harrisburg
  • The Lambert Undergraduate Advising Center provides general advising assistance to all undergraduate students.
  • The Lambert Undergraduate Advising Center provides regular programming to support major and minor exploration, academic success, and navigating university policies and procedures.

Summer

  • Professional academic advisers from the Lambert Undergraduate Advising Center are available to support first- and second-year students throughout the summer.
  • Faculty advisers from academic departments/schools are available to support third- and fourth-year students throughout the summer.
  • The Lambert Undergraduate Advising Center provides general advising assistance to all undergraduate students.

New Student Orientation (NSO)

  • NSO Advisers are a highly trained group of professional advisers and faculty members who focus on advising first year students during NSO.
  • All schools are encouraged to have some of their faculty serve as NSO Advisers.
  • All new incoming first year students are required to meet with an NSO Adviser to review academic placements, explore academic plans, and enroll in an appropriate schedule for the upcoming semester.
  • All new incoming transfer students are strongly encouraged to meet with:
    • An NSO Adviser if planning to graduate from a campus other than Harrisburg.
    • A faculty adviser if planning to graduate from Harrisburg.
  • All academic departments must have a representative available to support new transfer student advising during the summer.

Recommended Advisee Loads

The advisee loads listed below enable advisers adequate time to meet with advisees and regularly assess their academic progress.

  • Full-time professional advisers: 250 advisees
  • Part-time professional advisers: 150 advisees
  • Faculty advisers: 30 advisees

Proactive Advising

  • All advisers are expected to document advising interactions in Starfish.
  • All advisers are expected to respond to Starfish progress reports directed at the adviser.
  • All advisers are expected to provide regular reviews of advisees’ progress towards degree completion.

Professional Development

  • Customized advising training and development programs are available to academic departments through the Lambert Undergraduate Advising Center.
  • Periodic faculty development sessions are offered by the Lambert Undergraduate Advising Center in conjunction with the Center for Teaching Excellence.
  • Multiple courses in the Excellence in Academic Advising series through Online Faculty Development at World Campus are offered regularly.
  • Training for faculty and staff who participate in NSO advising is provided by the Advising Center each fall semester and in May prior to summer NSOs.
  • The Penn State Conference on Academic Advising is offered annually each fall at University Park.
  • Several journals and professional organizations are available to support development of advising practice:

Resources

Recognition

  • Penn State Harrisburg Faculty Award for Excellence in Advising is awarded annually to full-time faculty to recognize and encourage excellence in academic advising. 
  • The Director of Academic Support and Advising Services provides a letter of recognition to faculty who serve as NSO Advisers.

Assessment

Students may have a variety of advising experiences and needs depending on their major, their year, their personal and professional goals, and their own advising knowledge. Each fall semester, all undergraduate students are surveyed on their advising experience and personal advising knowledge to assess if the college is providing the high quality advising necessary to support academic success and retention.  

Periodically, focus groups may also be held to discuss students’ experiences with advising. These focus groups may be representative of the campus at large or focus on specific demographics (semester standing, major, first-generation status, gender, ethnicity, etc.). 

The Director of Academic Support and Advising Services administers the survey, coordinates focus groups, and analyzes the results, in consultation with college institutional research staff. The Director of Academic Support and Advising Services presents the results to the Chancellor’s Council each spring semester.

University Advising Council

The University Advising Council “provides oversight of the University’s academic advising program … [and] has authority to aid all academic units in improving the delivery of their advising systems in accordance with the criteria for effective advising set out in the advising policy.” (UAC) The Director of Academic Support and Advising Services sits on the University Advising Council and regularly shares updates with college leadership and professional and faculty advisers.

Assignment of Advisers

Aligns with Senate Policy 32-40 / AAPM B-4

  • The Director of Academic Support and Advising Services assigns professional academic advisers to each of the following Harrisburg student groups:
    • First and second year students in pre-major status
    • First and second year students approved for major at a campus other than Harrisburg
    • Transfer students who plan to graduate from a campus other than Harrisburg
    • Non-degree regular students
    • DUS conditional students
    • Non-degree high school students
  • Each academic department assigns faculty advisers to each of the following student groups:
    • Students approved for a Harrisburg major
    • Transfer students who plan to graduate from Harrisburg
  • The Director of Academic Support and Advising Services notifies program coordinators and administrative staff of students in the above groups who need assignment of a faculty adviser.
  • The Director of Academic Support and Advising Services regularly monitors advising assignments throughout the college to identify students without an assigned adviser and determine if advising assignments should be adjusted.
  • At the request of the academic department, specific first- and second-year students can be assigned to both a professional adviser and a faculty adviser.

Adviser and Support Staff Access to LionPATH and/or Starfish

* Faculty who are given LionPATH adviser access through IdentityIQ will automatically receive Assigned Adviser access in Starfish which allows them to see Starfish records of their assigned advisees. Thus, Assigned Adviser access to Starfish does not need to be requested. 

** General Adviser access is only appropriate for faculty or staff who regularly advise students beyond their assigned advisees.

Resources

College, Campus, and Administrative Advising Information and Communications

Aligns with Senate Policy 32-10 / AAPM B-6

College Contact Persons (CCPs) responsibilities include developing and disseminating advising information related to that college's majors and any requirements related to entering the majors and changing location assignment. College Contact Persons (CCPs) for the Capital College are available here.

College Contact and Referral Representatives (CCRRs) exist for each Penn State college. The CCRR provides current advising information about requirements for that college's majors and for change of location assignments. Contact and Referral Representatives (CCRRs) from Penn State Harrisburg are available here.