How Penn State Student Affairs Organizes Resources by Who You Are

Updated

Penn State Student Affairs groups its site navigation around audience identity, not just service type. The "Explore by Who You Are" section lets you pick your role—Commonwealth Campus student, employer, faculty or staff, first-year student, graduate or professional student, or parent or family member—and jump to the resources built for that group. Use it when you already know your status at Penn State and want to skip general pages. If you are unsure where you fit, the department directory and the "We're Here to Help" section are better starting points.

What "Explore by Who You Are" actually does

The section is a routing layer. Instead of browsing every Student Affairs department, you select the category that matches your relationship to the university, and the site surfaces the relevant services, contacts, and next steps for that audience. The same underlying departments—health, counseling, basic needs, student organizations—appear across categories, but the entry point and framing change with the audience.

The audience categories and what each one gets

Audience Typical use of the site
Commonwealth Campus students Find support and involvement options tied to campuses outside University Park
Employers Connect with Student Affairs for recruiting, partnerships, or student-facing opportunities
Faculty & staff Locate referral paths, department contacts, and support resources for students they work with
First-year students Get oriented to involvement, well-being, and community before or at the start of the first year
Graduate & professional students Find services framed for students beyond the undergraduate experience
Parents & families Understand what support exists and how to help a student navigate it

Each category is a starting point, not a separate system. From any of them you can reach the same core areas: joining a student organization, volunteering in the community, and the department directory.

How to use the site by audience

  1. Identify which category matches you. If you are a parent, use the parent and family entry even if you are also an alum.
  2. Open that category and read the linked services before searching the site manually—the category page is curated for your situation.
  3. For involvement questions, go to "Join a Student Organization." Penn State lists more than 1,000 student organizations across campuses, so the category page narrows the field before you browse.
  4. For well-being or basic needs, use "We're Here to Help," which covers financial challenges and unexpected life events through a network of professionals and services.
  5. When you need a specific office rather than a category, use the Department Directory.

When the audience navigation is not enough

The "Explore by Who You Are" paths are broad. If your question is about a specific department, a named service, or a contact person, go straight to the Department Directory. If your situation is a life event rather than a role—a financial shock, a health concern, a housing issue—the "We're Here to Help" and basic needs resources are more direct than any audience category. The site also maintains a hotlines and contact page for urgent contacts.

Verifying you are in the right place

After choosing a category, confirm the page addresses your actual question: does it name a service you can contact, a process you can follow, or a person or office you can reach? If it only restates general support language, move to the department directory. Student Affairs frames its purpose as creating a community of support, success, and wellness, so pages that stay at that level are orientation, not instructions.