Academic & Career Advising Center

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!

• PASS Office (tutoring center)
• Campus Accessibility Services
• The Writing Center
• The Counseling Center
• The Frost House
• Reflection and Spiritual Care Center
• Center for Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice
• Lamson Library

Other Helpful Support Services:

• TRIO Program
• Ascent Program
• Health 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.