Values and Beliefs

Four components provide the organizing framework for our work: students, advising at Penn State, our shared relationships with the University at large, and the academic advising profession. Our values (what we cherish) and beliefs (what we hold to be true) relate to each component.

Serving Students

We Value

  • Individual students and the unique qualities and characteristics each brings to our community and to the advising relationship
  • The quality of being exploratory as a healthy opportunity for students to engage in well-informed educational planning

We Believe That

  • Student educational planning and future involvement as citizens is enhanced by General Education in the Penn State curriculum
  • Most premajor students are exploring curricular goals
  • Students should take ownership of their educations and decisions
  • Students should make well-informed educational plans that maximize academic success
  • Students will have the opportunity to assess their abilities and interests before making curricular choices

Role of Academic Advising at Penn State

We Value

  • The use of state-of-the-art technology to enhance advising programs and practices
  • Ethical and trustworthy practices

We Believe That

  • Academic advising should help shape the intellectual development of the individual student
  • DUS academic advisers will assist students in making well-informed plans, pursuing intentional exploration of academic majors, and being open to unfamiliar experiences
  • Academic advising consultations with individual students are at the core of our work
  • As a professional responsibility, DUS academic advisers will provide formal documentation of consultations with students
  • DUS advisers will provide timely and accurate responses to students' inquiries

Relationships Within the University

We Value

  • Positive attitudes about our work, co-workers, and students. Positive working relationships with faculty and staff across the University enable us to help our students come to know, understand, and appreciate the large, complex, geographically dispersed institution that we are
  • The diversity of our co-workers
  • The collective commitment to embed solutions to diversity issues within the University's educational programs and practices
  • The most accurate informational resources for students and advising personnel across the University
  • Behaviors that engender mutual respect and collaboration, both within and among organizational units

We Believe That

  • Penn State considers academic advising to be integral to the University's educational mission
  • The University will continue to provide a structure that accommodates exploratory students, as it is in the best interests of Penn State
  • Accurate academic information is vital to Penn State's mission. We maintain accurate information about advising and the University's academic programs and disseminate this information to all members of the University community (e.g., students, faculty and staff, families of students, and others)
  • Academic advising is the primary way students learn about the full range of academic opportunities at Penn State
  • Every degree program has important value and we do not favor one over another. Further, we acknowledge that how and why a student selects a major is important
  • Penn State faculty and staff members are of the highest quality, and we respect the knowledge, expertise, and commitment of co-workers throughout the University
  • DUS advisers should be multi-culturally competent

Academic Advising Profession

We Value

  • Study and scholarship, including assessment to evaluate and improve our programs as well as deliberate research to expand our understanding of students and our work
  • Lifelong learning and active citizenship for ourselves, and we teach these values to our students through various means (e.g., General Education, public scholarship, and learning opportunities beyond the classroom)

We Believe That

  • The profession of academic advising will continue to influence the development of exemplary strategies that support student success
  • DUS staff members will contribute to the scholarship of academic advising