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Academic Advising

Undergraduate Students

Vision

Academic advising at CSU inspires students to pursue their academic and professional goals.

Mission

Guided by CSU’s Principles of Community and the Land-Grant mission of access and equity, we achieve our vision through an integrated community of advisors who engage in intentional, holistic, and relationship-centered interactions to empower all students to navigate their unique paths and foster learning, development and academic success.

Academic Advising Structure

University Academic Advising provides central coordination for the Advising Network through the Provost Office to enhance the campus-wide student experience with academic advising in collaboration with colleges and departments who provide the oversight and delivery of advising services. This framework benefits from university-wide institutional structures synergistically collaborating with departmental and disciplinary approaches to advance academic advising on this campus. 

Student Advising Goals and Learning Objectives   

Goal 1: Students will understand connections between themselves, their choices, and their experiences at CSU. Students will be able to:

  • Articulate how academic and career goals tie to their identities, values and experiences.
  • Plan holistic educational experiences in partnership with advisor. 
  • Analyze the impact of their behaviors on academic success. 

Goal 2: Students will build reflection, critical thinking, and navigational skills. Students will be able to:

  • Identify the relevance and connection of course content to long term career goals.
  • Demonstrate the ability to consider multiple viewpoints.
  • Connect to CSU and community resources to encourage personal and academic growth. 
  • Ask purposeful questions in advising interactions and determine the appropriate next steps. 

Goal 3: Students will progress toward their academic and career goals. Students will be able to:

  • Define academic and career goals. 
  • Utilize academic and career planning tools (General Catalog, CANVAS, DARS, RAMweb, check sheets, GPA predictors, Career Center, etc.) 
  • Engage in strategic academic course and career planning discussions with their advisor. 
  • Track progress toward goal benchmarks. 

Where Do I Find My Academic Success Coordinator/Academic Advisor?

  • Each undergraduate student has an Academic Success Coordinator/Academic Advisor in their academic major(s). Undergraduate students can locate their Academic Success Coordinator/Academic Advisor in RAMweb. If there are questions, the student can contact the appropriate academic department. Students will have more than one Academic Success Coordinator/Academic Advisor if completing a double major, or minor. For minor advising please use the search function in the General Catalog. Exploratory Studies students (students exploring majors and/or working toward entry into a competitive major) can contact the Exploratory Studies Unit. 

  • In addition to the Academic Success Coordinator/Academic Advisor, students may work with an additional staff member if pursuing a professional program such as medicine, law, veterinary medicine, or teacher licensure; or are involved in education abroad, athletics, the Honors Program, or the Community for Excellence. To locate contact information please use the A-Z or the search function on the CSU homepage. 

Advising and Career Resources

In order to get the best from the academic advising experience, students are encouraged to utilize the many advising tools that are available. 

  • The All-University Core Curriculum (AUCC) outlines the general education requirements for graduation. 

  • Major Completion Maps are available for undergraduate majors, concentrations, and options. These Maps show a sample semester-by-semester coursework plan, and identify critical courses and requirements that are essential for timely graduation. Major Completion Maps can be found under each academic major in the General Catalog.

  • The Degree Progress Audit (DARS) is an undergraduate degree audit that shows what graduation requirements a student has completed and what requirements still need to be completed. This audit can be found on RAMweb under Academic Planning and Progress and viewed at any time after admission. 

  • The CSU Career Center empowers students to pursue satisfying careers through the development of individualized careers plans.

  • Major/ Minor/ Concentration/Certification Changes: Current students can use the Academic Program Change tool. They must contact the department offering the academic program. Academic departments manage the Change of Major process in different ways. Some departments will schedule an individual appointment, while others will create group advising sessions. Newly admitted and readmitted students can change their primary major through the Office of Admissions.   

Exploratory Studies Advising 

  • “Exploratory Studies” is a special designation for students who have a rich and diverse set of interests that span the CSU curriculum and want to explore all their options.  “Exploratory Studies” also designates students who are seeking admission to majors with competitive entry requirements. Through the exploratory studies advising process students are able to learn about various academic opportunities while keeping their options open as they begin their college experience.
  • Professional Academic Success Coordinators (ASCs) in the Exploratory Studies unit are knowledgeable about the full breadth of academic requirements so as to assist students in the process of selecting a major. These advisors help students explore their values, interests, and skills, plan their class schedules strategically, provide information on academic and career options, and refer students to other resources.
  • The Exploratory Studies framework for major exploration and course selection involves 8 “Major Tracks”.  Each of the Major Tracks contains majors with similar academic and industry themes.  The Major Tracks also have curriculum guides to assist students in strategic course selection. Explore potential major tracks by visiting the Exploratory Studies website. 
  • The vast majority of exploratory studies students declare an academic major by 45 credits.  Timely major declaration promotes graduation within four years and allows students to remain eligible for financial funding without reaching the maximum allowed credits.
  • Students seeking to change their major to Exploratory Studies should contact the office through our Call-In/Drop-In Advising service.  

Advising information for graduate students is available in the Graduate and Professional Bulletin.