DUS News - February 12, 2018
Exploration Series Topic #5
How can General Education (Gen Ed) courses enhance my education?
A third of the courses you’ll take to earn your degree at Penn State are General Education courses. This is because Gen Ed is a cornerstone of your university education, which is intended to prepare you to think, work, and contribute to a diverse and changing world. Gen Ed courses give you the opportunity to develop an important breadth of thinking skills, a well-rounded educational experience, and time to explore areas of potential interest. One of the most important things you can do is connect what you learn in General Education courses to your life experiences, your interests, and your larger goals.
To Do: Reflect on how you’ve used the opportunity General Education provides you and connected those experiences to other aspects of your life. Use the instructions here to identify what you’ve taken so far, and discuss with your adviser how you can best use the remaining courses to enhance your learning.
Last week's topic: How do I make decisions?
Do you have three finals in a row?
If you have three final exams on one day OR three exams in consecutive periods you can file an Overload Conflict Exam Request Form if you are at University Park, Harrisburg, or Behrend campus. If you are at another campus, please contact your campus registrar. The University Registrar explains the Final Exam conflict procedure.
Don’t know when your exams are? Find a tutorial on viewing your exam schedule in LionPATH. Look for “Exam Schedule” under Other academics.
DUS wants to hear from you!
The Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) wants to hear your preferences on receiving advising information. You can give us your anonymous feedback via this quick two-minute survey*. We really value your feedback and hope that you will take the time to share it with us!
*If the hyperlink above is not working, please copy and paste the survey URL into your browser's address bar: https://tinyurl.com/DUSCommunicationsPreferences.
- February 12–March 4
Final Exam Conflict Filing Period - February 13 (Tues)
DUS Group Advising Session - Decision Making - February 21 (Wed)
DUS Group Advising Session - Smeal ETM - February 22 (Thurs)
Study Smarter, Not Harder - February 26 (Mon)
DUS Group Advising Session - Study Abroad - March 5–9
Spring Break (No Classes)
More events at dus.psu.edu/calendar.
With THON 2018 coming to a close this weekend, you may be wondering how to get involved with other leadership and service organizations at Penn State. Check out the DUS page on Student Clubs and Activities for more opportunities!
DUS will be holding Group Advising Sessions throughout the fall semester as a way to discuss popular advising topics with groups of students. These sessions are open to all DUS students and will help you to learn more about the topic and to ask questions in a friendly, open environment. All sessions are held in the Grange Building Lobby.
February 13: Decision Making
February 21: Smeal Entrance to Major
February 26: DUS Students and Study Abroad
March 14: Sophomore Schedule Planning
March 20: First-Year Schedule Planning
Education abroad is an invaluable experience offering personal growth and intercultural development, cultivating strong global citizenship, leadership, and perspective. If you are interested in studying abroad, Penn State's Office of Global Programs is a great place to start. They offer a set of Steps to Study Abroad, which includes information about Study Abroad 101 Sessions, and a Program Search. If you are serious about study abroad, please note that Application Deadlines are approaching quickly! Make an appointment with your Academic Adviser to learn more today.
Smeal Student Mentors would like to encourage DUS Smeal-bound Sophomores to apply to become a Smeal Student Mentor! Applicants need to have a conditional offer to a Smeal major at the time of application (as stated on the application). There have been some great former DUS students in the group. In fact, the outgoing SSM president is a former DUS student! Applications will be available at https://www.smealstudentmentors.org/ starting February 5 with a hard deadline of 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 26. Questions? You can reach out to Alla Hatfield at anh130@psu.edu
Health Promotion and Wellness is now offering free Wellness Services for students. The services are designed to help students increase knowledge and learn new skills that contribute to healthy behaviors and academic success. Services are available for:
- Financial Wellness
- Healthy Relationships and Sexual Health
- Nutrition/Healthy Eating
- Physical Activity
- Sleep
- Stress (Relaxation and Time Management)
Each service includes three 1-hour sessions and are held in the Wellness Suite, Room 20 IM Building. Trained peer educators deliver the services. Schedule an appointment by calling 814.863.0461 or by using the myUHS page. For students who are unable to make it to University Park, call in appointments as well as Skype/Zoom appointments are available.
PA Prep sessions introduce first-year and sophomore students to the coursework, experiences, and skills needed for a career as a physician assistant. The session also introduces the coursework, experiences, and skills needed to successfully apply to physician assistant programs.
Spring 2018 PA Prep session:
- Wednesday, March 21, 6–7 p.m., 216 Thomas.