Vision

DUS aspires to lead the continuing development of the academic advising profession at Penn State and across the nation. We will demonstrate our leadership by contributing to the scholarship of advising, guiding the continuing development of professional standards, and providing the advising community with the most exemplary advising practices and the most sophisticated assessment models.

Mission

As a creation of the University Faculty Senate, DUS serves as an exemplary model of academic advising for students, advisers, the University, and other institutions nationally. Through interactions with DUS academic advisers, students are guided to make well-informed educational plans and create the most meaningful educations for themselves by using Penn State's many resources. DUS provides systematic decision-making tools, accurate and timely information, individual attention, and referrals when appropriate. This mission is accomplished through five principal responsibilities:

• Enrollment in DUS: For students who want to explore the University's academic offerings before deciding on a field of study and for students in transition from one college or major to another. DUS encourages students to meet their academic potentials through well-informed educational planning, as well as through meaningful experiences such as internships, education abroad, public scholarship, research, and student organizations.
  
  
• First-Year Testing, Counseling and Advising Program (FTCAP): The first stage of academic advising for all entering first-year students and their families, actively engaging students through a campus visit as well as through preparatory and follow-up programming to set the stage for academic planning during the first year.
  
  
• Academic Information: A network of DUS programs coordinators affiliated with the University's commonwealth campuses and academic colleges supports the University's academic advising programs through the coordination, development, and dissemination of up-to-date information about academic programs, policies, and procedures.
  
  
• Academic Advising and Educational Planning: Consultation and academic information for University students, prospective students, and others requesting advising assistance.
  
  
• Support of advising programs at Penn State and nationally: DUS practices sustained intellectual inquiry and produces publications to help shape and define the dynamic and evolving field of academic advising. Within Penn State, DUS regularly publishes monographs, minigraphs, the University Undergraduate Advising Handbook, The Mentor (an electronic journal), and several informational Web sites, as well as oversees eLion advising modules.
  
  DUS also promotes excellence in faculty advising throughout Penn State by providing professional development experiences for faculty advising colleagues and maintaining the Center for Excellence in Academic Advising Web site.
  
  At the national level, DUS contributes to the scholarship of advising and plays a leading role in the National Academic Advising Association.

• 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.

• 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.

• the use of state-of-the-art technology to enhance advising programs and practices;
• ethical and trustworthy practices.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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).

• 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.