Undeclared? You're not alone.

If you're a University of Illinois student who has no clue what you want to do or if you knew what you wanted to do but changed your mind, there's a new space for you on campus.

It's the Campus Center for Advising and Academic Services on the fifth floor of the Illini Union bookstore. There, students can meet with advisers and talk about their future at the UI and beyond.

This is the place you go when you thought you wanted to be a forensic scientist, but have since realized not all forensic scientists have careers like the characters on "CSI: Miami."

You may have heard about the advising center before. It used to be called the General Curriculum Center and was part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. For years, the offices were in a house on Fifth Street near Chalmers Street.

This fall, the center opens with a new name and new location. It has the same mission, said director and assistant provost Julian Parrott, but there will be better services to students. They now have 12 advisers and will be adding two associate directors. Graduate counselors from the Office of Minority Student Affairs will also be housed in the space.

The center's move and expanded focus took shape beginning last fall, when associate provost and English Professor Peter Mortensen chaired an ad hoc group asked to consider the idea of developing a campus advising center.

Under the direction of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the center "really thrived and made it clear it was a resource that could benefit the whole campus," Mortensen said.

The following spring, a group of UI employees began working on the details of expanding the center.

The old house, Mortensen said, was "charming from the outside, but on the inside, it didn't suit the students' needs," he said.

The new offices still provide an open, welcoming space, but when advisers meet individually with students, they can close the door and have private conversations, Parrott said.

Throughout the course of a school year, the advisers will have about 15,000 student contacts, Parrott said. In addition to meeting individually with the students, advisers will touch base with students through newsletters and instant messaging and by updating their personal Web sites. They talk about campus and college policies, procedures and deadlines and may point out various events or speakers coming to campus.

Throughout the year, advisers also set up satellite offices throughout the campus, such as in a residence hall or library. Parrott expects this practice to continue and expand.

"We want to meet the students where they are," he said.

"One of things that excites me is the center gives us a platform now for developing additional programs and services that will help undeclared students make decisions to allow them to realize their dreams," Mortensen said.

This year, the center's staff, along with faculty from the colleges, will examine possible programs for students.

Every student has to declare a major at some point. The college will review the student's application and decide who's admitted. But the Division of General Studies is "instrumental" in grooming the student for the potential college program, Mortensen said.

Academic assistance programs can prepare students "to help them to put their best foot forward." This year, the center's staff, along with university faculty will review what any potentially new programs might look like.

"One of the secrets to success (in college) is for students to major in what they're passionate about, what they're inspired by. We try to encourage them to discover that passion," Parrott said.