Guiding Principles

The following Guiding Principles are intended to provide a broad foundation for advising, career services, and learning support practice as well as a vision toward which we can strive while doing our part to support the undergraduate experience at UW–Madison. The Guiding Principles were created in 2009 and revised in 2023.

You can also download a PDF version of the Guiding Principles here.

Advising, Career Services, and Learning Support Staff will:

1. Support and guide students and stakeholders in achieving their goals.

3. Create learning environments where students and stakeholders can reflect on their unique personal experiences, values, aptitudes and goals.

5. Advocate for students and stakeholder needs through the ethical and effective use of data.

7. Foster community connections and work collaboratively, consult with one another, and give and receive feedback to support and mentor each other.

9. Take care of themselves and prioritize their own well-being, to both better support students and stakeholders and their own success in career and life.

2. Positively contribute to holistic student and stakeholder development.

4. Help build and nurture communities of differing identities, experiences, approaches and perspectives.

6. Recognize, reflect on, dismantle, reimagine and rebuild systems and structures so all students, staff and stakeholders can thrive.

8. Be reflective and thoughtful in their decision-making.