Patty Pedersen

Video Transcript

Hi, I'm Patty Pedersen, I'm the student services coordinator at Carbon County Higher Education Center in Rawlins, Wyoming, and I'm a Wildcat!

I realized I needed to go back to school after two years of working in my job as an academic advisor or student services coordinator in the Outreach, here, when I felt that I didn't have enough knowledge to do my job as well as I wanted to do it.

When I began the academic advising certificate program, I was absolutely amazed at the information I learned from them. It was the best information I had ever heard about my job, and was giving me such good information to back up the services that I offer my students.

The delivery method was great. It was online, so I could do it during the day or during the night. My favorite study time is 4:00 in the morning. I'm not bothering anyone, and they're not going to call me. Even though you didn't see your fellow students in the classroom, you got to know them through the discussion boards and the chats that we had in every class.

Using the K-State library was very helpful. I would call the librarians – just because you're online doesn't mean you can't talk to people. They were available all the time, and they were so kind and helpful, I really appreciated their service.

Since I've taken these classes online and obtained my master's, I have much more confidence in what I'm doing. The information that I gained from those classes was invaluable to me. It was so helpful. I know that my service to my students has improved greatly; they like it, they've mentioned it to me, and I think it's improved my ability to help them through their education.

This is a wonderful program, and I would recommend it to anyone who has concerns or needs more information about academic advising.

I believe that K-State's knowledge and the academic background that they've provided me is just stupendous. To me, it was such a privilege to attend Kansas State University. That's a huge university, and it has a lot of moxie behind it. So I felt like I was getting some of the best education in the country that's available. I was very proud to be a Kansas State Wildcat.

Quick Facts about the Academic Advising Certificate Program

Degree: Graduate Certificate
College: College of Education
Description: Issues and skills for delivering effective academic advising
Course delivery: Online
Application requirements: Bachelor's degree with 3.0 minimum GPA
Admission to K-State Graduate School
Completion requirements: 15 credit hours

Quick Facts about the Academic Advising Master's Degree Program

Degree: Master of Science
College: College of Education
Description: Issues and skills for delivering effective academic advising
Course delivery: Online
Application requirements: Bachelor's degree with 3.0 GPA
Admission to K-State Graduate School
Completion requirements: 30 credit hours plus electronic portfolio

Master's Degree and Graduate Certificate in Academic Advising
Rawlins, Wyoming

Patty loved her job as an academic advisor but felt like in order to really help her students, she needed to know more about her field. She enrolled in the academic advising graduate certificate program at K-State after learning about it at a National Academic Advising Association conference. Patty was so impressed with the program and the knowledge she gained that once she finished the certificate, she enrolled in the master's degree program. Now she has confidence that she has the best information to guide her students through their education.