Portal
Advising Philosophy
Advisors in the College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) serve as facilitators of communication, coordinating learning experiences through course and career planning and academic progress review. Advisors can provide referrals to other campus student resources as necessary and serve as mentors who encourage students to act as engaged citizens in the college community and the wider world around them.
Students are encouraged to schedule an appointment with a STEM advisor for questions or concerns regarding majors, career exploration, or outreach programs and scholarship opportunities.
Late Policy & Cancellations
If you are running late for your appointment, please notify our staff as soon as possible. For 30-minute appointments, you will be asked to reschedule your appointment if you are more than 10 minutes late.
2025 - 2026 Advising Assignments
| AOP, Web & Digital Design, and Professional Office Management | Last names A-Z | Debbie Kucharski |
| BACCMED | Last names A-Z | Brett Kengor |
| ENGR/ENGR TECH | Last names A-G Last names H-O Last names P-Z | Madison Shaftic Taylor Dean Evan Woodruff |
| S, T, M Majors | Last names A-G Last names H-M Last names N-Z | Emily Carnahan Brett Kengor Jim Stipetich |
| Graduate Degree - Computer Science & Information Systems | Last names A-Z | Janeetsa Ortiz |
General Information
Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Schedule an Academic Advising Appointment on Handshake
If you are not able to utilize handshake, please reach out to your advisor via email.
Academic advising is a collaborative relationship between a professional advisor and a student. An academic advisor can help students understand major requirements, general education requirements, help with course planning, assistance in selecting a major based on career aspirations, understanding University policy and procedure, graduation evaluation and act as a resource for a variety of other general questions and concerns as well as a place for referrals to appropriate campus resources.
All students are welcome to utilize academic advising as a campus resource. Students under 60 credit hours, student athletes, veterans are mandated to meet with an academic advisor.
ALEKS is the math placement testing program used by Youngstown State University to gauge a student’s math competency. All students are required to take placement testing if they do not submit viable ACT/SAT scores. Math courses are the bedrock of all majors in the College of STEM, students begin a stronger foundation in their majors if they review work in ALEKS and are placed in an appropriate math level in their first semester. Students who delay beginning their math coursework will often be delayed in beginning their major coursework and this can sometimes lead to an extended graduation timeline.
All students who complete 80 hours will automatically be sent an e-mail saying to request their graduation evaluation. For our STEM students, we like these to be submitted the year prior to the desired graduation date. This is done through your Penguin Portal. Once the request is in, our team will be notified and the paperwork will be started. The student will then be notified via e-mail to set up an appointment with a member of their academic department to finalize the evaluation. If you have questions, please reach out to your advisor.
Debbie Kucharski, Director of Advising
Brett Kengor, M.S.ED. Senior Academic Advisor
Jim Stipetich, MBA. Senior Academic Advisor
Emily Carnahan, M.S.ED. Academic Advisor 1
Taylor Dean, MSW. Academic Advisor 1
Janeetsa Ortiz, BSA. Academic Advisor 2
Evan Woodruff, M.A. Academic Advisor 1
Madison Shaftic, M.A. Academic Advisor 1