Plymouth State University is proud to be participating in The Foundations of Excellence, a project sponsored by the Policy Center on the First Year of College and supported by the Lumina Foundation for Education. This national study is seeking to define the characteristics of excellence in institutional programs and services provided to first year students. The College of University Studies commitment to identifying and serving the needs of deciding students is only one of the many measures we've taken to improve the first year -and the entire academic experience- for all of our students.

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College of University Studies

A program for deciding students ...

The Mission of the College of University Studies is to assist deciding students with the resources and personal attention needed to select the most appropriate major and to plot a course of action leading to graduation by the most effective route possible.

What is the College of University Studies?

It's a developmental advising program for first year students who are admitted to Plymouth State University without declaring a major or degree option. All students in this category are invited to join this program (by mail, before summer orientation), but only those who respond to the mailing and agree to participate become members.

This program exists to help students graduate in four years, and offers programs and advising intended to help member students find the right academic major. Briefly, we help students explore their academic options during their first year at Plymouth State—if not before.

The College of University Studies, directed by the Dean of the Academic Experience, has been active since its pilot year in 2005-2006. Each year, University Studies starts work with a group of new, incoming first year students in spring and summer before orientation, long before their first day of classes in the fall. Dedicated faculty, staff, and members of the University administration devote time to getting to know these deciding students, welcoming them to university life, and serving as academic advisors and mentors until each students chooses a major and moves on to a home department.

Handout: "What is the College of University Studies?" (PDF)