Welcome to Penn State Greater Allegheny
Objectives
After completing this module, you will be able to:
- Recognize some of the faces and roles of the people of Penn State Greater Allegheny
- Prepare for the academic advising and scheduling process at Penn State Greater Allegheny
- Take the next steps in connecting with our campus faculty, staff and student leaders
Overview
Your student’s adviser and others in the Greater Allegheny community are here to help your student succeed academically and with your co-curricular activities. The more they interact with their new community members, the better advice they can provide to guide your student on their Penn State journey. In the following pages, you and your student will be invited to Greater Allegheny Welcome activities and to interact with various resources while you’re figuring out all of the possibilities available.
Agenda
- Welcome to Greater Allegheny!
- Meet Us
- Academic Advising at Greater Allegheny
- Department-specific information
- Academic Planning and Entrance to Major
- Course Scheduling and preparing for your advising appointment
- What’s next?
Penn State Greater Allegheny: Meet Us
Greater Allegheny is about building relationships.
Even before your first day at Greater Allegheny, your student will have the opportunity to build the foundation for the many relationships that they will create during their time here. You and your student will have a number of opportunities to connect with all of the people who are here to help you, from our academic advisors, to our student life staff, faculty and our Chancellor Dr. Jacqueline Edmondson.
As we begin to connect you and your student with campus resources, we want to introduce you to some additional people, our “Welcome Team,” which are some of the first faces that your student may need to know right away and some of the folks that will get your student started when they join our community at Penn State Greater Allegheny:
Dr. Jacqueline Edmondson, Chancellor
Chancellor Edmondson will be one of the first people you and your student will meet at Greater Allegheny, either through one of our in-person or virtual open house events later in the summer, or when we kick off the semester at Welcome Convocation. That won’t be the last time you will hear from her! Dr. Edmondson is frequently on campus, connecting with our students and families, either formally as part of class experiences or student involvement, or over lunch in the Cafe in the Student Community Center. Dr. Edmondson is always there to support our Greater Allegheny students and looks forward to getting to know you and your student better!
Chancellor & Chief Academic Officer
Academic Advising – You’ll learn a lot more about Academic Advising in the next section of this module, but we want to start by introducing you to our Academic Advising Team at Greater Allegheny. These will be the first people with which your student will have a chance to connect, and your student will get to have some personal time with them during their initial advising sessions as part of orientation:
Manager, Academic Advising | 
Academic Adviser | 
Assistant Director of Academic Affairs |
There are other members of the Greater Allegheny community that your student will need to know and have the opportunity to meet before they arrive on our campus. These friendly faces may be reaching out to you and your student through phone, email, online video chats, and more over the summer, and certain people we’ll ask your student to proactively connect with in the coming days and weeks. Here are some of the people you may need to know right away and how they can help you and your student:
Campus Registrar | Chip will be a go-to person for your student when creating a class schedule, along with our team of advisers. The Office of the Campus Registrar has responsibility for student registration, academic records, and related processes, including class enrollment, scheduling and publishing of courses, final exams, and classrooms. To connect with Chip, you can schedule an appointment, email him at cdr155@psu.edu or call 412-675-9072. |
Financial Aid Coordinator | 
Financial Assistant |
Bob and Kathy are our dynamic duo when it comes to answering your questions about tuition, financial aid, billing and all the numbers, dollars and cents of being a student. If you have any questions about the financial aspects of your student’s time here at Greater Allegheny, you can learn more about how Bob and Kathy can help you at Tuition And Student Aide, by contacting them at rwh23@psu.edu and kah85@psu.edu, or call them at 412-675-9155. | |
Justin Dandoy
Associate Director of Student Affairs | Justin will be able to support your student as they navigate many aspects of the co-curricular, out-of-classroom experiences and opportunities. Justin can answer questions and help your student with learning about student organizations, campus events and opportunities, leadership opportunities, as well as the on-campus living experience in McKeesport Hall. Especially if your student will be living on campus at Greater Allegheny, Justin is a great person with which to connect. You can connect with Justin by emailing jpd5906@psu.edu or calling 412-675-9493. |
Director of Athletics | Korie is our Director of Athletics. If your student plans to participate on one of our teams, is interested in learning more about our athletic programming, or would like to connect with one of our coaches, learn more on our GA Athletics website. Korie can also be contacted at either krm21@psu.edu or 412-675-9460. |
These are just several of the people that will be here to assist you and your student during your time at Greater Allegheny. In the coming months and weeks, you’ll also have the opportunity to meet a number of other faculty, staff and students who will support you along your Greater Allegheny journey and beyond. In the meantime, if you’re unsure of who you need to be speaking with or who can help answer your question, please reach out to your primary orientation contact: Justin Dandoy, Associate Director of Student Affairs. He is happy to learn more about you and your specific needs and connect you with the people and resources available to you!
Academic Advising at Penn State Greater Allegheny
We are so excited to help your student begin their #BEGREATER story here at GA! Remember that the Advising and Career Services staff are lifelong resources to your student (and one day alumni) of PSU.
The Academic Advising journey here at GA will begin this week with a virtual appointment with a member of our Advising team. The Team and your student will spend about an hour together reviewing their potential program of study and developing a strong set of five classes that will start them on the road to success.
Here at GA, our advising motto is “15 to FINISH!” If every student takes the correct fifteen credits for either 4 (for associates degrees) or 8 (for bachelor's degrees) semesters, your student will complete your PSU degree on time. The only way to ensure this is to work closely each semester with their adviser using the University Bulletin as their guide.
Please make sure your student does not forget to set up their advising appointment TODAY. In addition, it will be helpful if they begin to research the major program that they are intending to complete at PSU. The Undergraduate Bulletin is Penn State's comprehensive source for undergraduate academic information and program requirements.
Greater Allegheny is prepared to offer your student a wealth of academic resources as they make the transition into higher education. From personalized advising and career placement appointments, connection to professional tutors, workshops and programming centered on mindfulness, learning styles, study skills and more - we are here for every step of their academic journey from orientation to graduation.
For more information about our resources, please visit the Penn State Greater Allegheny Advising webpage.
Department-Specific Information at Penn State Greater Allegheny
Here at Greater Allegheny, Academic Advising is a two-prong process. Every first year (or transfer) student begins their journey with a professional adviser from our staff. After your student has settled on an academic major or program, they are then assigned a faculty adviser from that discipline that will continue to work with them on your coursework process. Our team, however, is always available for walk-in meetings, quick questions or program support centered on student academic success. We have specific programs especially for associate degree students, student athletes, those who are first in their families to attend college or those who may be having trouble transitioning to college level coursework.
See below the list of professional and faculty advisers that your student may be working with here at GA:
Penn State Greater Allegheny: Academic Planning and Entrance to Major
The Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) can help your student explore and understand the requirements for the wide variety of majors available at Penn State. Career Services can help your student to examine academic majors as they relate to their career interests. The following resources are also offered by DUS and Career Services to help students explore their specific interests and options. Remember, that these resources and requirements should be reviewed with their academic adviser as well.
- What Can I Do With This Major?
- Exploratory Process - WHO ARE YOU?
- Exploratory Process - Learning Opportunities
- Entrance to Major Requirements
Penn State Greater Allegheny: Course Scheduling and Preparing for your Advising Appointment
It is important that your student take the time and effort to develop a strong relationship with their adviser as they are their first resource for success here at Penn State. In preparation for their advising appointment later this week, we encourage your student to brainstorm four potential questions that they can ask their adviser in their virtual appointment. In addition, make sure that your student records their adviser’s contact information in their phone for easy access, as they may have questions at a later time.
Penn State Greater Allegheny: What's Next?
There are a few “Next Steps” and things that you and your student need to know on their journey to Penn State Greater Allegheny. As we finish this module, we want to make sure that we send you and your student off fully prepared for entering into their academic advising experience, addressing their financial questions and concerns, and learning more about our other campus resources:
Academic Advising - Once your student finishes their orientation course, they will be ready to schedule an advising appointment and develop their first schedule as a college student. If your student has any questions or concerns as they are preparing for their appointment, please have them email us at GA-DUS@PSU.EDU.
Tuition & Financial Aid: In your student’s campus meeting as part of their virtual NSO, they’ll learn more about a virtual session that you and your student can attend with our Financial Aid team, Bob Heyl and Kathy Hill, who you were introduced to earlier in this module. After completing their course, your student will receive an email to their Penn State email and a calendar request with the information on attending your specific Tuition & Financial Aid session.
Finally, and most importantly: Make sure that your student checks their Penn State email! We will be communicating and sharing important resources with your student throughout the remainder of the summer through email, so please make sure that they make it part of their routine to check it regularly.
From our Penn State Greater Allegheny family to you, your student, and yours, WELCOME to Penn State Greater Allegheny!
We look forward to meeting you and your student as we work to #BEGREATER together!
