Academic Information for First Year Advisors

Resources:

• 1999-2000 College Catalog, Academic Information, pp. 138-155
  (all page numbers on this document refer to the 1999-2000 College Catalog)
• College calendar
• Gen Ed Record of Progress form (sample)
• Degree Record of Progress form (for major programs)

Areas of Concern:

• Degree requirements, p. 141
  • Minimum of 122-127 credit hours, depending upon degree program (more than 8 semesters of 15 hour loads)
  • Minimum of 42 upper division credit hours (14 three-credit classes), some exceptions are listed in the catalog
  • For BA degrees, a maximum of 48 credit hours in a single discipline
  • A minimum 2.00 GPA for all coursework applied to the degree
  • A minimum 2.00 GPA for all coursework applied to the major program (core, cognates, electives, learning agreements)
  • Complete General Education requirements, including advanced writing, pp. 140-143
  • See Table III, Summary of Graduation Requirements for more details, p. 143

    Students should create an eight-semester plan of study as the basis for their academic planning. This keeps them on track and enables them to be proactive in arranging for internship/study abroad opportunities in their junior and senior years.

• Academic load, p. 144
  • A student must carry a minimum of 12 credit hours to be considered a full-time student.
  • A typical load for an undergraduate is 15-17 credit hours per semester.
  • Students may not pre-register for more than 17 credit hours; they may add coursework to bring them above 17 credit hours during the add/drop period, but must have the signed approval of their academic advisor.

• Timeline for the Fall, 2000 semester
  [dropping/withdrawing may have financial aid implications]
  • Instruction begins: Monday, August 28, 2000
  • Final date to ADD: Wednesday, September 6, 2000
  • Final date to DROP: Friday, September 15, 2000
  • Final date to WITHDRAW: Friday, October 27, 2000
  • Final date to LATE WITHDRAW: Friday, December 8, 2000

• Timeline for the Spring, 2001 semester
  [dropping/withdrawing may have financial aid implications]
  • Instruction begins: Monday, January 22, 2001
  • Final date to ADD: Wednesday, January 31, 2001
  • Final date to DROP: Friday, February 9, 2001
  • Final date to WITHDRAW: Friday, March 30, 2001
  • Final date to LATE WITHDRAW: Friday, May 4, 2001

• Forms
  [a complete set of forms will be provided late in the summer]
  • Program Adjustment form (drops, adds, overload), may or may not be needed as adjunct to NICE or Web - students, not faculty, are responsible for dropping or adding a course; students should verify their schedules and correct (drop/add) it as needed. Signing an attendance list, sitting in a classroom, getting forms signed but never submitting them (in person) do not substitute for registration for a course!
  • Course Withdrawal form (WN, WP, WF grade assignment), p. 149
  • Late Course Withdrawal form (documentation needed), pp. 149-150
  • Declaration and Change of Major/Minor form, pp. 139-140
  • Off-Campus Study Approval Form, p. 152

• Scholarship standards, pp. 145-146
  • Good Standing, Academic Warning, Disqualification
  • DQ standards change as cumulative registered credit hours increase.
  • It is the responsibility of students to ascertain their status in each course at mid-semester. It is the responsibility of each student to notify parents or guardians and academic advisors of midsemester deficiencies.
  • Grading system, incompletes, repeating D or E grades

• All courses will involve some form of comprehensive evaluation, the newspaper contains the schedule for final exams, p. 146

• Students should know that they can change advisors, and how.

• Students should keep a folder with ALL their records in it until they graduate!