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A Message from the Dean of Undergraduate Studies

Dear Member of the Class of 2010,

Welcome to San Francisco State University! Thank you for transferring to this community of scholars. All of us – the faculty, staff, and administration – want to help prepare you to join SFSU graduates who have gone on to leadership in the arts, business, education, public service, science and technology, and other areas.

While you are here, we expect that you will grow in important ways because university study involves much more than preparing for a job. The faculty have identified several areas of accomplishment for recipients of a bachelor's degree:

• Knowledge and skills for lifelong intellectual endeavor.
  Today's college graduate is likely to experience several different careers. You'll need intellectual agility to respond to and participate in these changes. We want you to become an active and purposeful learner throughout your life; to think critically and communicate effectively; to locate, evaluate, analyze, synthesize, and create information; to appreciate creativity; and to understand the role of science and technology in modern life.
• Knowledge and skills to participate in democratic decision making and global civil society.
  No matter what your career, you will have responsibilities within multiple communities. We want you to be well prepared to contribute to civil society, to understand democratic institutions and values, to understand your own civic responsibilities, to better understand the global human community, and to be able to engage in civil and informed discourse with those who hold different views.
• Knowledge and skills for becoming productive members of society.
  We want you to acquire the knowledge, skills, and social perspectives for you to succeed in your chosen career or in advanced study. We also want you to be prepared to accept responsibility, to work collaboratively with others, to understand technology and technological change, and to exercise initiative, creativity, leadership, and mature judgment.
• Systems of values and ethics for using knowledge and skills.
  Finally, so that you can make positive contributions through your work and your participation in global civic society, we expect you to develop a better understanding of values and ethics and a heightened sense of social responsibility.

This is a tall order. You have already grown in many ways since beginning your college studies. To make the most of your next two years, you’ll need to work closely with advisors to develop a graduation plan.

The Division of Undergraduate Studies exists to facilitate your success from the time you enter SFSU until you graduate. We provide services that support your academic, personal, and professional developmental needs and expectations. Advisors at the Undergraduate Advising Center will help you with choosing courses and understanding university regulations. If you've already chosen a major, you should seek out an advisor in that department very soon, to discuss your graduation plan. The Division of Undergraduate Studies includes two tutoring centers, the Learning Assistance Center and the Community Access and Retention Program . If you are having difficulty with a class, talk to someone at one of the tutoring centers to get help – it’s always best to ask for help as soon as you start having trouble, rather than waiting until the problem gets bigger.

Finally, let me offer some advice based on studies of students who succeed. Get connected to the campus – look for a few campus activities outside the classroom that interest you. If you need to work, look first for work on campus . Make a special effort to get to know some faculty members, and plan to work closely with a faculty member in your major on some individual project. Give serious thought to study abroad during your time at SFSU, and to community service learning as well. Studies show that students who do these things are the ones most likely to succeed in college and in their chosen careers after college.