In his conversations with alumni about their education at Cornell, Dean of the University Faculty Charles Van Loan sometimes asks: “Do you have any regrets?”

“Often they’ll say, ‘I didn’t use Cornell enough. I didn’t fully tap into it,’” Van Loan said.

That’s a frequent enough comment to warrant a discussion of incentives to help students get the most out of Cornell. An upcoming faculty forum will do just that. “Get Out of Your College!” is set for Jan. 31 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in Rhodes-Rawlings Auditorium, Klarman Hall.

Organized by Van Loan and Rebecca Stoltzfus, vice provost for undergraduate education, the forum is open to the Cornell community, and a reception will follow in the atrium.

The discussion will focus on ways that faculty advisers and college advising offices across campus engage with students on broadening their academic experiences, discussing electives and other options outside of their majors.

“You’re asking students to be adventuresome,” Van Loan said. “Students might be thinking about their GPA or a course’s relevance; and there’s an important role for one-on-one faculty advising, to help them see a different view or the bigger picture.”

A panel of five faculty members and academic advisers was selected to speak from their experiences with these issues. Their brief presentations will be followed by an hour set aside for Q&A and audience comments.

The panelists are Catherine Appert, assistant professor of music; Bonnie Comella, director of undergraduate advising in the College of Arts and Sciences; Mark Cruvellier, professor and chair of architecture; Anna Haskins, assistant professor of sociology; and Jon Kleinberg, professor of computer science and information science.

With variety among the breadth of elective requirements in seven undergraduate colleges, “we don’t have one-size-fits-all, so one of the topics is let’s look at how the seven colleges approach this, and try to understand how the approaches are different,” Van Loan said. “Should there be a requirement that every Cornell graduate be climate-change literate, or diversity literate, or computer literate? People believe in these things, but you can’t realize them through requirements. Perhaps through a menu of options and courses to take, you’re nudging students toward achieving that literacy.”

Existing resources, such as Engaged Cornell, study abroad programs or Learning Where You Live courses “all should be part of broadening your experience,” he said. “We’re thinking of the breadth of education and ways to be more flexible about that.”

Stoltzfus and Van Loan have been reaching out to college advising offices and directors of undergraduate studies in departments across campus, as well as student groups such as a Student Assembly committee on curriculum matters and campus tour guides.

“It will be great to have students there to share their academic experiences,” Van Loan said.