Step 2: Ensure Academic Success

• Interact with Faculty
• Know Your Academic Advisor
• Tutoring
• Writing Center
• Know the Requirements for Your Basic Undergraduate Degree
• Maintain Academic Integrity
• Know Your University Libraries

Interact with Faculty

It’s important for you to get to know your professors. All professors have office hours and you should utilize these times for clarifications and questions on class material or assignments. It’s particularly wise to visit your professor and get advice before taking an exam or handing in a paper. Don’t be intimidated by them; professors are here to assist and educate you, and welcome the opportunity to meet with students who show initiative in learning about the topic. They have insight in their fields and know how to provide academic and career advisement. They want you to be successful in their courses and to be a resource for your future.

Know Your Academic Advisor

The Advisement Services Center is an important resource during your years at UAlbany. As you begin to explore your educational path and identify your interests, strengths, and abilities, an assigned advisor from the Center will be helping you match your aspirations with the resources and opportunities at UAlbany. Once you decide upon and gain entry to your major, your official advisor will be someone from that academic department. However, the advisors in the Advisement Services Center will continue to be available to you to address any questions you may have and to help with any academic changes you want to make. To assist you with your academic path, Major Academic Pathways (MAPs) have been developed for each major offered at UAlbany to present one way that the major can be accomplished in four years. Although many students do not begin at the University in the major that they ultimately select, MAPs can be used as a guideline for creating your own personalized pathway. To learn more, visit the Advisement Services Center on the Web at http://www.albany.edu/advisement/.

Tutoring

Tutors at the Writing Center can provide one-on-one feedback on academic, creative, and personal writings. For more information visit http://www.albany.edu/oass/support_services.htm.

Writing Center

Tutors at the Writing Center can provide one-on-one feedback on academic, creative, and personal writings. For more information visit http://www.albany.edu/writing.

Know the Requirements for Your Basic Undergraduate Degree

The University awards the degree of Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or Bachelor of Science (B.S.) to those matriculated students (students who have been admitted to a degree program) who have completed an approved sequence of courses and study totaling a minimum of 120 credits and who are certified as having fulfilled all degree requirements. Matriculated students may fulfill their degree requirements while classified as either full-time or part-time students for individual academic semesters. For detailed information on a B.A. or B.S. degree, refer to the Undergraduate Bulletin on the Web at http://www.albany.edu/undergraduate_bulletin/requirements.html.

Maintain Academic Integrity

It is essential to pursue knowledge in a truthful and ethical manner. That’s why the University at Albany demands standards of integrity from all our students, faculty, and others who make up this outstanding academic community.

Types of behaviors defined as “academic dishonesty” include plagiarism, cheating on examinations, multiple submissions, forgery, sabotage, unauthorized collaboration, falsification, and bribery. Even failed attempts to commit such acts fall under the category of academic dishonesty and therefore are unacceptable and subject to penalty.

Of course, no set of guidelines can define all possible types or degrees of academic dishonesty, and so these terms should be understood only as examples of infractions rather than an exhaustive list. Cases regarding violations of academic integrity will be judged by individual faculty members and the Judicial Boards of the University. You can find full explanations of these terms in the printed Undergraduate Bulletin or on its Web version at http://www.albany.edu/undergraduate_bulletin/regulations.html.

There is also an important section on “Examples of Academic Dishonesty” located in the University’s official student code of conduct, Community Rights and Responsibilities, in Appendix C. The print version is handed out to you as an incoming student, but you can always find it on the Web at http://www.albany.edu/judicial.

It is your responsibility to become familiar with UAlbany’s standards of academic integrity. Claims of ignorance, unintentional error, or of misjudgments due to academic or personal pressures cannot be accepted as reasons for violations of this code. To learn more about plagiarism — what it is and how you can make sure that you avoid it — you can visit the University Libraries’ tutorial at this Web site: http://library.albany.edu/usered/ncplaga/index.html.

UAlbany views its association with each student as originating from a basis of honor and mutual respect. That’s why it expects each of us to perform honorably and to assist the campus by reporting suspected violations of academic integrity to an appropriate faculty member or to the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at (518) 442-3950.

Know Your University Libraries

UAlbany has three libraries to accommodate the needs of students, faculty, and staff. The University Library and the Science Library are located on the main (Uptown) campus and the Dewey Library is located on the Downtown Campus. Each library houses unique collections, an Information Commons area — set up with public PCs pre-loaded with UAlbany-licensed software for your use — and group study rooms. In addition, each library offers an extensive list of resources to help you to research, write papers, or get through a class project. Be sure to get help with whatever you need by stopping by the Reference Desk at any of the libraries.

Also, check out the Interactive Media Center, located in the University Library, where you can use hardware and software available for Web design, digital recording and editing, image editing, and much more. Explore all that your University at Albany libraries have to offer at University Library website.