Oregon State University recognizes that quality academic advising is integral to the academic development and well-being of students. Quality academic advising includes both the prescriptive elements of advising (assisting with course selection, maintaining curriculum checklists, tracking degree progress and completing degree audits, etc.) and the developmental aspects of advising (major and career decision making, integration in campus and academic cultures, assistance with and referrals surrounding issues affecting a student's academic success, etc.).
While each college has developed an advising system sensitive to the needs of its academic disciplines and departments, there is consistency in that each also has a head advisor. Undeclared students receive advising through the University Exploratory Studies Program (UESP).
As a collective, the academic advising community at Oregon State University aspires towards providing the highest quality support to both the learning efforts and experiences of our undergraduates.
Oregon State University academic advising promotes persistence, engagement, completion, and advancement through an inclusive and mutually-constructed teaching and learning process centered on each student’s educational, career, and life goals, and we support the institutional opportunities and responsibilities OSU has as the land grant institution for the state of Oregon.
OSU academic advising reflects the institutional goal of providing "transformative education that is accessible to all learners." Our goals are to:
We will be actionable and accountable to our students through timely, accurate and intentional advising.
We will foster inclusivity and belonging and seek to mitigate and dismantle systematic barriers that negatively impact student persistence, degree completion, and well-being.
We will work to establish a reciprocal relationship with students based on an ethic of care, shared responsibility, and accessibility.
We will be stewards of a culture of critical thinking, sustainability, growth, and social responsibility.
We will engage in data-informed practice and support solutions and innovations to meet the evolving needs of our students.
We will create and perpetuate an engaged community of advising practice that will be a collaborative umbrella over our diverse academic colleges, schools, departments, and programs.