Understanding The PACE Center

by Mason Murphy

The creation of the Personalized Academic and Career Exploration (PACE) Center will provide an exciting opportunity for the faculty, staff, and students of Texas State University - San Marcos.  Having a convergence of career counselors, academic advisors, mentors, and other specified staff backing will create a synergy of support for incoming students.  Texas State University - San Marcos is embarking on a journey to both change and enhance the level of services offered to students. 

As a freshman student begins their college experience, having the PACE Center will make things practical and efficient.  Students will meet with an academic advisor to schedule classes for the first semester.  Naturally, students and parents will have questions about choosing a major.  In fact, some of those students will have trouble making a decision about what major to choose.  With the creation of the PACE Center, these students will not have to go to another office to get assistance.  The student can make an appointment with a career counselor to discuss if there any difficulty he or she has in choosing a major.  Career counselors will help the student explore their options, based on the student’s values, interests, goals, skills, and personality.  Students will have the opportunity to discover new ideas, options, majors, and career paths that they might have never considered before. 

The academic advisors and career counselors will be able to communicate with each other more affectively about the needs of students.  For example, if a first semester freshman is considering dropping out of the university, those students usually have additional questions about what courses to select and how this will impact their major choice.  Academic advisors will be able to address the short-term concern of course selection.  And career counselors will be able to address the long-term concern of major selection.  Through both entities communicating and collaborating to assist the student, both the retention and graduation rates of students will increase.

The faculty will also benefit from the creation of the PACE Center.  For example, if faculty members volunteer as a University Seminar instructor, they can engage freshman about their various fields of expertise.  Through the combination of faculty interaction and the students’ process of self-discovery, the student will be exposed to a field of study they might not have considered pursuing.  Hence, the student will develop a passion for research and study through an examination of a cross section of disciplines. 

The PACE Center will be the hub for innovation and change in the delivery of services for freshman students.  Students will receive quality and caring insight from trusted professionals.  The faculty and staff of Texas State University - San Marcos will create a mosaic of energy and ideas that will impact and influence the next generation of leaders and thinkers.  Together we will all be living out this university’s motto of being the rising star of Texas.