Academic & Career Advising Center

Academic & Career Advising Center
Humanities professor and students in class

Welcome 


 

Academic Career Advising

The Plymouth State Academic & Career Advising Center has three commitments to guide and prepare students for academic success and the world of work. 

Discover – help students identify their unique strengths and qualities, explore their interests and identify academic and career paths.

Develop – provide students meaningful opportunities and knowledge to become academically and career ready.

Distinguish – position students with the confidence to articulate their academic and career readiness abilities and how they can contribute to the world of work.

The Center’s Priorities for Students

  • Formulate a major and career exploration plan to successfully progress towards graduation with a focus on interests, values, skills and personal achievement to support academic and career readiness.
  • Utilize technology tools, including Navigate, Planner, DegreeWorks and Handshake to support your academic and career progression.
  • Identify and utilize appropriate support services and tools to support student success and exploration.
  • Value and engage in co-curricular and experiential engagement opportunities to support academic and career growth. 
  • Reflect and articulate academic and career experiences to help achieve future goals.
  • Develop a career readiness competency action plan that demonstrates and articulates development and growth for future success 
Hours

Monday - Friday
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Speare 108

Contact Us

Academic Advising
psu-advising@plymouth.edu
(603) 535-3065

Career Development
career.development@plymouth.edu
(603) 535-2336

Meet the Team

Leslie Blakney ’07
Director of Career Development

lablakney@plymouth.edu
Briana Bradley G22
Academic & CaReer Advisor
bdbradley@plymouth.edu
Karla Chierichetti
Program Support Assistant
kchieric@plymouth.edu
Kelsey Donnelly ’14, G’16
Assistant Director, Academic & Career Advisor
krdonnelly@plymouth.edu
Meghan O’Toole
Assistant Director for Career Development
motoole@plymouth.edu
Jordan Rosenberg ’17, G’20
Academic & Career Advisor
jrrosenberg@plymouth.edu
Elizabeth Wichland
Degree Completion Advisor
eawichland@plymouth.edu

Academic & Career Peer Ambassadors

Academic & Career Peer Ambassadors (ACPAs) advance and support the services and programs for the Academic & Career Advising Center. ACPA’s engage with their peers in a variety of ways including:  welcoming students to the center, assisting students in developing effective resumes, cover letters, job and internship search skills, utilizing academic and career resources, class registration assistance, connecting to campus resources, provide programming and outreach support, design marketing materials and collateral through graphic and video design and more!

  • Colton Gaudette ’23
  • Grace Gilbert ’23
  • Makenna Horne ’26
  • William Loughlin ’25

Services

The following services are provided to our students, faculty and staff colleagues.

  • Academic Advisor Assignments
  • Academic & Career Advising
  • Academic & Career Best Practice Consultation
  • Academic & Career Resource Library/SharePoint Sites
  • Career & Academic Tool Training 
  • Career Events & Fairs
  • Classroom Visits & Presentations
  • Employer Relations & Engagement
  • Faculty & Academic Advisor Training
  • Faculty & Staff Career Training
  • Four-Year Planning
  • GPA Calculations
  • Internships
  • Major Exploration Events
  • On-Campus Student Employment
  • Student Re-Entry Advising

Student Resources

Once you have committed to attending Plymouth State, you are assigned an Academic Advisor. All students coming in with majors are assigned a Faculty Advisor.

  • Faculty Advisors are assigned based on majors. You can change advisors at any time, but we try to pair you up with someone who has more knowledge of your program so they can make the best recommendations on classes.

All students who come in as Undeclared are assigned an Academic and Career Advisor.

  • Academic and Career Advisors work to help you complete some HoME Experience, first-year, and exploratory classes in your first semester at PSU.
  • You will me with your advisor over the summer, and during the fall semester, to talk about different subjects that may interest you. From there, your advisor can make recommendations on courses.
  • Undeclared students have until second semester of their sophomore year to declare a major.

Whether you have a Faculty Advisor or an Academic and Career Advisor, you can meet with them at any time throughout the semester. They are here to help with academic as well as social and emotional support:

  • They can make recommendations on clubs and events,
  • navigate difficult conversations,
  • act as accountability partners,
  • help get you back on track,
  • help you find other helpful resources on campus, and so much more.

All first-year students, no matter the major, will take Tackling a Wicked Problem and Composition in their first year. *You do not need to take both of these classes in the first semester.

  • Tackling a Wicked Problem:
    • All students who enroll with fewer than 24 credits must take Tackling a Wicked Problem (TWP).
    • This course introduces students to an educational model focused on collaboratively creating projects that reach beyond the walls of the classroom in some way.
    • Students learn about using their education to make a difference in the world.
    • The course introduces the Habits of Mind (HoME) that will be developed over the course of the General Education program at PSU.
    • The course provides students with their first experience with PSU’s Integrated Cluster model of education.
    • Each section of the course focuses on a wicked problem, a societal issue that is difficult or impossible to solve.
      • Ie: Human Trafficking, homelessness, food insecurity, ocean plastics, climate change, etc.
    • Through this experience, students begin to build the repertoire of intellectual skills needed for university-level work.
  • Composition:
    • This course is intended to help students become responsible writers who can take charge of their own writing process.
    • Students learn how to draft, respond to feedback from peers and instructor, revise, and edit successful college prose.
    • Students also learn to read comprehensively and effectively in order to relate to relate ideas and arguments to their writing and thinking.

Other First-Year Recommended Courses:

  • Mathematics Foundations:
    • Students become aware of the importance of mathematics and its application to fields as diverse as art, music, and science.
    • Many majors require specific math courses.
      • Because of this, we recommend undeclared students waiting at least until their second or third semester to take a math class.
    • We encourage all incoming students to take our Math Placement Assessment, so their advisor can make the appropriate math course recommendation.
  • Directions Courses:
    • The Directions component of the HoME Experience program is intended to introduce students to different ways of considering and understanding human experience which they can apply as they seek meaning in their lives.
    • These courses focus on a particular issue or problem or topic of interest within the discipline, especially a topic relevant to students’ own lives.
    • There are four Directions course categories:
      • Creative Thought:
        • Encourages students to recognize beauty in its many manifestations and to become aware of formal elements of creative expression.
      • Past and Present:
        • Encourages students to realize that different times shape different views of the world.
      • Scientific Inquiry:
        • Students investigate the distinctions between rational thinking and anecdotal argumentation and develop an understanding that answers are never final, but always subject to revision.
      • Self and Society:
        • Encourages students to inquire into multiple dimensions of self, including the social, physical, emotional, and cognitive, and to investigate the interactions between individuals and the spatial, temporal, political, economic, and technological aspects of the social environment.

Each semester, students are encouraged to take at least 15 credits. Students can take 12-18 credits a semester. Each year, students will want to make sure they have at least 30 credits total between the two semesters. This keeps them on track to graduate within four years. (15 credits x 8 semesters = 120 credits needed to graduate)

Campus Resources:

We have a number of resources on campus for students at no extra cost. It’s all included in your tuition!

Other Helpful Support Services:

Transferring Credits:

Did you take a class for college credit in high school? Or just transferring in credits from a community college? Did you get a 3 or above on your AP exams?

For AP credit transfers, all you have to do is login into your College Board account, and select Plymouth State as the school you want your score(s) sent to. From there, our registrar’s office will process that and send you an email to let you know what those credits will count towards.

  • Ie: AP U.S. History tends to satisfy the Past and Present direction requirement

For all other transfer credits, see TransferCredit Procedure for more information on our processes.

Academic Advising

All students that come in with majors are assigned a faculty advisor. All students that come in undeclared are assigned an academic and career advisor.

  • Faculty Advisors are assigned based on majors. You can change advisors at any time, but we try to pair you up with someone who has more knowledge of your program so they can make the best recommendations on classes.
  • Academic and Career Advisors work to help you complete some exploratory, and first-year classes in your first semester at PSU.
  • You will me with your advisor over the summer, and during the fall semester, to talk about different subjects that may interest you. From there, your advisor can make recommendations on courses.
  • Undeclared students have until second semester their sophomore year to declare a major.

Whether you have a Faculty Advisor or an Academic and Career Advisor, you can meet with them at any time throughout the semester. They are here to help with academics as well as social and emotional support. They can:

  • make recommendations on clubs and events,
  • help you find other helpful resources on campus
  • navigate difficult conversations,
  • act as accountability partners,
  • help get you back on track, and so much more

Unsure of how to find out who your advisor is? There are a couple of ways to access this information:

  • Navigate (you can use the web browser or download the app)
  • Degree Works
    • Log in to myPlymouth > Services > Student (inside Self Service box) > Student Academic Record/Registration > Degree Works
    • At the very top of your Degree Works, your advisor’s name is listed

Degree Works is a great way to see what courses you need to take throughout your time at PSU. It can be kind of confusing the first couple of times you use it, but your advisor is more than happy to go over it with you. An easy way to book an appointment with your advisor is to send them an email to see when they are free to meet.

The Academic and Career Advising Center

Our website has a lot of useful information for you. You can get to the site by logging in to myPlymouth, and clicking on the Advising tab up at the top.
Academic and Career Advising Center Sharepoint site

What services do we offer?

We work with more than just first-year students! Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors, continuing education, etc are all welcome to come see us. We can help you with:

  • Changing your advisor
  • Degree Completion Audits
  • Declaring/Changing your major
  • Declaring your minor
  • Registering for classes/making sure you’re in the right amount of credits for the semester

Key Information For Success at Plymouth State

Each semester, students should take at least 15 credits. Students can take 15-18 credits a semester. Each year, students will want to make sure they have at least 30 credits total between the two semesters. This keeps them on track to graduate within four years. (15 credits x 8 semesters = 120 credits needed to graduate)

Advice From Advisors

  • GO TO CLASS AND YOU WILL PASS!
  • Check your PSU email regularly
  • Talk to your professors early on
  • Meet with your advisor

 

The Academic & Career Advising Center is dedicated to making sure you’ve got the resources and skills to support your career development and readiness. The team provides a variety of advising, resource and programming support to students. More details about our services and engaging with our office are outlined below.

  1. Advising Appointments & Drop In Hours
  2. Career Exploration
  3. Career Readiness
  4. How-To Programming (i.e. how to write a resume, how to prepare for an interview)
  5. Classroom & Club Presentations
  6. How-To Resources (Guides & Videos)
  7. Job & Internship Resources
  8. Employer Connections
  9. Career & Graduate School Fairs
  10. Handshake – #1 online resource to connect with employers & jobs!

Make an Advising Appointment with Career Development

The Career Development Office provides 1-on-1 advising appointments for all PSU students and alumni. Advising appointments range from 30 – 60 minutes and cover a variety of career development support areas including:

  1. Career Exploration
  2. Major Exploration
  3. Job & Internship Search Strategies
  4. Networking & LinkedIn
  5. Interview Preparation
  6. Salary Negotiation
  7. Resume & Cover Letter Writing
    … and more!

Current undergraduate students can schedule an advising appointment in Navigate:

To schedule an Advising Appointment:

  •    Log into the application using the following URL: https://plymouth.navigate.eab.com/app
    • If you have not downloaded the Navigate Student mobile app, go to Google Play or the App Store, search for ‘Navigate Student’ then download. Once you have the mobile app downloaded to your phone, Enter: Plymouth State University
    • Use your PSU Username and password to access the application
    • Select Schedule Appointment

NOTE:  Advisors or Staff may have specific instructions when scheduling an appointment directly with them that differ from the process outlined below.

  • Select the Reason for your appointment
  • Select a Location
  • Click Find Available Time/Date for your appointment
  • Select the person you want to meet with or just select a time that works for you
  • Schedule the appointment!
  • Graduate Students & Alumni – email career.development@plymouth.edu to request an advising appointment. Include your name, class year, phone number, email address, your availability and 2 – 3 goals for your advising appointment. Specify if you are available for in-person (for graduate students) or for a Zoom or phone appointment.

On-Campus Student Employment

There are many opportunities across campus for students to find employment, whether that’s in their residence hall, one of our support offices, the HUB, within their major, or in the gym. All our on-campus opportunities are posted on Handshake. There are many benefits to working on-campus including gaining skills and experience and working a job that helps put being a student first. If students need help finding a job on-campus, please schedule an appointment with Career Development through Navigate. 

Internships

Students can complete internships on their own (independent internships) or complete an internship and get academic credit for it. Internships for academic credit need to meet a specific definition and criteria to be approved by Career Development and the students’ academic program, and each academic program has varying criteria. For help finding an internship and getting approval for academic credit, students must meet with Career Development and their advisor. Students can find internships through Handshake. 

Career Tools & Resources

Career Resource Library

Coming soon! A robust portal of how-to tutorials and resources to support you in your resume writing, cover letter design, searching for internships and jobs, interview preparation, networking tips and more!

Handshake

Student Login: https://plymouth.joinhandshake.com/login

Handshake is the #1 way students find employment!

Through PSU students have the opportunity to create an account, build their profiles, network with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and employers, as well as apply to the right jobs for them.

It’s your one stop shop for all things career related!

ONET Online

ONet is a useful tool to determine what your future job may be and what it entails. ONet‘s database of professions contains information on a vast array of fields and specializations within those fields, including salary, skill requirements, and rate of growth.

What Can I Do With This Major?

What Can I Do With This Major?

This up-to-date resource brought to you by Career Development in partnership with the University of Tennessee, can help you and your advisor think about your academic major in new ways and help you examine the connections between majors and careers.

For Employers, Faculty & Staff, and Alumni

Engagement Opportunities

To learn more about opportunities to engage with Plymouth State University’s Academic & Career Advising Center, please see details below on joining Handshake. Plymouth State University partners with Handshake as our manage portal to post and promote employment opportunities, host and promote virtual or in-person events for your company and more. By joining Handshake you will also be added to our employer listserv to learn about additional opportunities to engage with our students.

1. Join Handshake

Become an approved employer – the following criteria needs to be included in your Handshake profile:

  • Organization/Company Name
  • Organization/Company Description
  • Contact/Staff Member Name affiliated with the organization/company
  • Official organization/company website — Careers/Hiring Information must be included on your Handshake profile and/or on your company website
  • Official organization/company phone number
  • Official organization/company email domain – personal email addresses (i.e. Gmail, Yahoo, AOL) will not be approved
  • Full Business Address – personal/home addresses will not be approved

Standard positions and employers that will not be approved or posted in Handshake:

  • International (address) employers – exceptions and additional screening is required for domestic organizations providing international employment opportunities
  • Qualifications that do not align with our institutions academic programs (unless looking for all majors) or exceed 5+ years of experience alongside education level (i.e. Bachelors, Masters, PhD programs)
  • Home-based, independent-contractor, and multi-level marketing based employers and position (not associated with an established company) – examples include but not limited to: baby-sitter, tutor, care-taker, nanny, landscaper or painter
  • Third-party positions that do not meet and follow the criteria as set by NACE and Handshake Third-Party Requirements and do not disclose the name of the company they are recruiting and hiring on behalf of
  • Positions that require deposits or fees for participation – there may be exceptions given what the fee covers and will be inquired further with the individual employer
  • Cannabis/Marijuana companies and positions

For further guidance on posting jobs in Handshake, visit the robust Help Center for Employers.

2. Request a consultation to expand your brand with Plymouth State University Students

  • If you are interested in expanding your presence and brand on campus, request a 30-minute consultation to discuss your goals and develop a customized plan with a Career Development team member. To request a consultation, email career.development@plymouth.edu

3. Attend an Employer Event 

  • Each semester, the Career Development team will send key updates and engagement opportunities via our Handshake employer listserv. This includes career fairs, employer engagement & education opportunities and resources to advance your hiring needs.

The Academic & Career Advising Center serves as a central hub for academic and career development services for our faculty and staff partners.

Services & Resources

  • Academic Advisor Assignments
  • Academic & Career Best Practice Consultation
  • Academic & Career Resource Library & SharePoint Sites
  • Career & Academic Tool Training
  • Classroom Visits & Presentations
  • Faculty & Academic Advisor Training
  • Faculty & Staff Career Training
  • On-Campus Student Employee Hiring
  • Partnered Events – Academic & Exploratory Events
  • Partnered Events – Career Fair & Employer Events

Request a Class or Program Visit

Faculty, staff and student organizations can request a visit from the Academic and Career Advising Center. Example topics can include:

  1. Resumes
  2. Job Search Strategies
  3. Major & Career Exploration
  4. Interviewing Strategies
  5. LinkedIn
  6. Internships
  7. and more!

Request a class or program visit
Please request a visit a minimum of two weeks prior to the selected date to allow for adequate scheduling and session preparation.

Post On-Campus Student Employment Opportunities

Step 1: Create New Employer Account  

Start Here:  New Employer Registration

**Please note Handshake is Plymouth State University’s centralized career platform for on-campus and off-campus student employment opportunities. When creating your profile, you will be following steps like an off-campus employer.

Employer Profile Setup Guideline:  

  1. Email Address: Utilize either your general office/program email or the hiring manager/supervisor email. The email must be @plymouth.edu 
  1. Select Create a New Company (it will try to have you select Plymouth State University as the employer by default), located on the right of the screen. 
  1. Employer Name: University Name: Department Name – i.e. Plymouth State University: Academic & Career Advising Center 
  1. Link to School: Select Plymouth State University (this will put you in pending status to post on-campus student employment jobs for Plymouth State University students)  

**You will go into a pending status for approval from Career Development. You will still be able to post a job (for approval) before your employer account is activated.   

Bookmark https://app.joinhandshake.com/login for future access to Handshake.  

Step 2: Post an On-Campus Student Employment Job  

  1. On homepage of Handshake select “Jobs” on left hand navigation bar.   
  1. Select “Create Job” in upper right-hand corner   
  1. Follow prompts to complete your student employment job posting   
  • Select “Apply through external system” if you have a separate website or form for the student to complete to apply. Select “Apply through Handshake” if you want students to submit their application through Handshake. If you select “Apply through Handshake,” you can choose to receive email notifications when you have an applicant (located in later options when creating a job posting.) Provide instructions on how you want students to apply for positions, what application materials to submit, and your office/department website.   
  • Select “On Campus Student Employment” for Job Type.  
  • Select “No” if you are looking to hire for Work Study students, even if the position is Work Study only. Include in the position description if you can only hire Federal Work Study and/or Student-Hourly.   
  • Complete as many fields as possible including optional fields in the job posting. Be sure to provide a clear position description that provides responsibilities and tasks, requirements and qualifications and any other details a student should be aware of when applying. 
  • Provide instructions on how you want students to apply for positions, what application materials to submit, and your office/department website. 
  • At the end of the posting, DO NOT post as a “global” position – this will post across all of Handshake’s 1000+ University partner schools – just select Plymouth State University.  
  1. Submit position request for approval; you will be alerted that you aren’t an approved employer, this is normal as we default all employers to pending status for Career Development to review and approve employers and job postings.   
  1. Employer and job postings are reviewed and approved within two-business days. Please contact us should you run into an issues or have an extended wait time.  

The Academic & Career Advising Center provides the following services for Alumni

  1. Career Advising for life!
    • Alumni are provided access to career advising session for life. The Center commits a minimum of three one-hour advising sessions per calendar year. Advising options include: resume and and cover letter feedback, job search support, interview preparation, career transition support and graduate school application review and support.
    • To request an advising session, please email career.development@plymouth.edu with your availability, Monday – Friday between 9:00 AM (EST)  – 4:00 PM (EST) and preference of an on-campus or Zoom appointment.
  2. Handshake
    • Alumni who have graduated in the last five years retain access to Plymouth State’s Handshake portal as a key tool to search for job opportunities.
  3. Career Events 
    • Alumni are able to attend all relevant career events and job fairs hosted in campus. Events that are open to alumni are posted in Handshake or shared through Alumni Relations communications.