Academic Advising

Students study notes in class

Vision and Mission

The Penn State Mont Alto Academic Advising community aspires to provide students with resources and tools to make informed academic decisions. Through professional and faculty advisers the campus seeks to support students in identifying and achieving their educational goals.

Students are guided to make well-informed academic plans and create a meaningful Penn State education in collaboration with professional and faculty advisers. The campus provides advising resources and tools, accurate and timely information, individual attention, and referrals when appropriate.

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Meeting with Your Academic Adviser

It is each student’s responsibility to contact, and meet with, their academic adviser regularly. The contact information for each student’s adviser is located at the LionPATH Student Center and can also be found in the campus directory.

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Responsibilities: Take Control of Your Education

While both the academic adviser and the student have a number of responsibilities, the student must assume final responsibility for course scheduling, program planning, and the successful completion of all graduation requirements.

University Faculty Senate Advising Policy 32-00

 

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Academic Planning

  • Suggested Academic Plans: Find the requirements for any major at Penn State broken down by semester in a table format. The plans show one possible path to complete a particular degree. Suggested academic plans are especially helpful to consult when interpreting a degree audit.
  • Accessing an Audit: Degree audits are available for all major(s) and minor(s) in which the student is currently enrolled. Detailed instructions are provided in LionPATH help. "What-If Reports" are available to help student evaluate the requirements of majors and minors that they are considering. Students should run a new audit every semester before meeting with their academic adviser to discuss courses for future semesters.
  • LionPATH Class Search:  View the courses offered by any Penn State campus as soon as they are posted.
  • Entry to Major Requirements: All Penn State majors have entrance requirements. Most majors have just a few entrance requirements while others are very specific and tightly controlled. Find the entrance requirements for any major through this link.
  • Academic Calendar: Find the drop/add deadline, the late-drop deadline and other important dates during the semester you choose on this page.
  • Starfish: Starfish offers the Penn State community—including faculty, staff, undergraduate and graduate students—access to a robust student success system that can flag students at risk, pinpoint areas of concern, and connect students with valuable services and early interventions.
  • Penn State Webmail: Important messages from a students’ adviser, faculty, and others throughout the University will be sent to a students’ Penn State email address.