Liberal Arts Voices

Read the perspectives of our current students

Now is the Perfect Time to Update Your Information on the Paterno Fellows Database

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At home enjoying a well-deserved “long winter’s rest?”  Please take some time over break to update your information on the Paterno Fellows Database.  It’s a fast and easy way to be certain your hard work for the Paterno Fellows Program is officially documented.  Moreover, we use this information not only to track your eligibility into the program (if you are an aspirant), but also to certify you for Fellows standing when you graduate.

Follow the instructions below:

  • Login to http://laus.la.psu.edu/current-students and select “Check my Status” under the section labeled Paterno Fellows. You sign-in to the database with the same information you use to access eLion.
  • If you completed any requirements upon the conclusion of the fall 2011 semester or earlier, change your status from “In Progress” to “Claimed Satisfied.”  Your adviser can then review what you’ve done and mark the requirement “Satisfied.”
  • For requirements you are working on next semester, select the status, “In Progress,” and describe what you are doing in the “Comments” box the follows. For example, if you are studying abroad in Italy next semester, you might write “Studying abroad in Rome SP 12” under the Study Abroad/Internship requirement.  When you return, your adviser can easily check your transcript and mark the requirement satisfied.
  • New!  A non-credit internship for the Study Abroad/Internship requirement and the Service/Leadership requirement must be documented before they can be marked satisfied. Documentation forms now can be found online at http://laus.la.psu.edu/current-students/paterno-fellows-program.  Look for “Documentation of a Non-credit Internship” or   “Documentation of a Service or Leadership Experience” in the menu on the left-hand side of the page.  Complete the appropriate form and submit it to your academic adviser, who can then mark the requirement satisfied.

Problems using the database? E-mail Christine Meyer at cjh32@psu.edu for help.

Updating Requirements in the Paterno Fellows Database

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The Paterno Fellows Database enables students to view and edit their Paterno Fellows Program requirements. The first time you likely logged into the database was when you accepted the Paterno Fellows Program challenge during FTCAP. Aspiring and admitted Paterno Fellows should continue to access the Paterno Fellows database to update their records as they progress through the program to ensure the database reflects timely and accurate information.

Fellows and aspirants can access the database by visiting the following link: https://pfp.la.psu.edu. Students can also visit the “Current Students” section of the Liberal Arts Undergraduate Studies website and click on the “Check my Status” link in the Paterno Fellows box to enter the database.

The database contains information (name, ID, address, etc.) that is pulled directly from eLion. However, students are able to update Paterno Fellows Program progress requirements in the database, including:

  • Ethics Course Status
  • Communication Excellence/Foreign Language Status
  • Study Abroad/Internship Status
  • Service Leadership Status
  • Capstone Research/Creative Project Status

If you believe you have completed one of these requirements, you should log into the Paterno Fellows database, change the status of the specific requirement to “Claimed Satisfied,” and leave a brief description of the activity/requirement. Your adviser will receive an alert and mark the requirement complete after verifying it.

The database is designed to allow students to keep track of their own progress in the Paterno Fellows Program and to communicate clearly with advisers and program administrators. Updating your records in the database is a critical step toward fulfilling the Paterno Fellows Program requirements. This will ensure that your progress in the program is being tracked effectively and efficiently. Junior and senior Admitted Fellows are particularly encouraged to make sure their records are accurate.

If you have any concerns or need assistance, please direct an e-mail to PaternoFellows@la.psu.edu.

L A101H Spring 2012

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I am very happy to remind all Freshmen Paterno Fellows and aspirants that you are required to take L A 101H “Rhetoric and Civic Life” this spring 2012 semester.

This honors course offers comprehensive training in oral, written, visual, and digital communication for the twenty-first century. It unites these various modes under the flexible art of rhetoric and uses rhetoric both to strengthen communication skills and to sharpen awareness of the challenges and advantages presented by oral, written, visual, and digital modes. 
In the course, students read about and discuss rhetorical concepts and situations and put their knowledge immediately to use by: 
  1. analyzing civic rhetoric on campus and in their communities (including their networked communities),
  2. researching current issues, and 
  3. developing and presenting arguments in oral, written, visual, and digital form. 
LA 101H has been so successful that we are working on turning it into a 6 credit, full year honors experience for freshmen Schreyer Honors scholars and aspiring Paterno Fellows beginning in the 2012-3 academic year. 
Students can visit Penn State’s Schedule of Courses for course listings. Students should meet with their academic adviser if they have questions about their spring 2012 schedule.
I leave you here with some first hand testimony from students about the value of LA 101H:

RCL from debra h on Vimeo.

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