MAC Mission Statement

The Mastodon Advising Center fosters personal development and informed decision making by encouraging students to explore, evaluate, and identify their academic and career goals.

IPFW Academic Advising Mission Statement

Advising is one of many aspects of student learning and helps to inform student decision making throughout the college career. The mission of IPFW academic advising is to provide comprehensive and professional advising to all IPFW students with attention to the range of student needs that can be addressed by informing and mentoring students in their academic careers, to the diversity of the IPFW student body, and to the goals of higher education.

Values

Advisors are responsible:

• to the students they serve
• for involving others when appropriate
• to the university in which they work
• to higher education generally
• to the community
• to their professional role as advisors and to themselves personally

Responsibilities to students include:

• Respect for diversity—individual situations, needs, learning styles, and stages in the educational process
• Commitment to encouraging student capabilities to make choices and decisions
• Commitment to providing accurate information

Responsibilities for involving others include:

• Awareness of the range of resources available to students
• Willingness to act as an advocate for students

Responsibilities to the university include:

• Awareness of and respect for university policies
• Awareness of and appreciation for all disciplines taught

Responsibilities to higher education include:

• Awareness of the principles of higher education
• Respect for the goals of higher education

Responsibilities to the community include:

• Awareness of community programs and services
• Sensitivity to the values, mores, and needs of the community

Responsibilities to the advisors themselves include:

• Promotion of what is involved in competent advising
• Rewards for excellence in advising
• Promotion of the possibilities of professional development

Goals

IPFW academic advisors share the following goals:

• To address the range of student needs (e.g., course selection, career advising, personal enrichment)
• To provide the necessary tools to encourage students’ personal growth and self-reliance
• To inform students of available resources on and off-campus
• To communicate student needs to the campus community
• To participate in assessment of student learning and achievements
• To support university standards of competent advising