SPSU 1001
Hitchhiker’s Guide to SPSU
Advising and Plan of Study
Copyright © 2010 by Bob Brown
Your Academic Advisor
• Someone to answer questions about
navigating college, including policies and
curriculum.
• Someone to help you think about your
future at college and in your career.
• Someone who may be able to help you
succeed and help when things go wrong.
• Not someone to plan your course schedule
for you. (That’s your job!)
You Are Responsible
• Your advisor advises.
• You are responsible for your academic
(and other) decisions.
Who is Your Advisor?
• Check BANNER.
• Student services and financial aid
• Registration
• My Advisor
• If that doesn’t work, check your
department office.
Trouble!
• Registration holds:
• Financial
• Advising
• Other
• Academic problems
• Other problems
Tutoring
• Tutoring is available to get you over rough
spots:
•
•
•
•
•
English
Mathematics
Chemistry
Physics
Computer Science
• The tutoring center is located in Howell
Hall
Developing a Plan of Study
• Goal: Plan what courses to take each
semester from now until you graduate.
• Why?
• It will help keep you on track to graduation
• You’ll be able to see progress toward the goal
of graduation
Thinking About Your Schedule
• Degree requirements: What courses must I
take to graduate?
• Prerequisites: What courses must I take in
order to qualify for a course I must have?
• Suggested order: Will my life be easier if
I take courses in a particular order, even if
they’re not prerequisites? (Your advisor
can help with that.)
• When are courses offered? (Each
department has a long-range schedule.
Not all course are offered every term.)
About Your “Catalog”
• In general, the requirements for you to
graduate are those in effect when you
enroll. That is, we won’t change the rules
on you.
• If it is to your advantage, you can elect to
be evaluated under any subsequent catalog.
That is, if we do something that makes
things easier for you, you can change to
the newer catalog. (But you cannot then
change back, so be sure.)
“Losing Your Catalog”
• If you change majors, you “lose your
catalog” and the requirements for
graduation change to those for the new
major at the time you make the change.
• If you are out of school for two or more
consecutive terms (including summer)
your requirements for graduation change
to those in effect at the time you return.
Don’t Kill Yourself!
• 12 semester hours is “full time.”
• For most students, 15 hours is a pretty
good maximum. (That’s 12-1/2 hours in
class and perhaps 24-28 hours outside
class, or about a 40-hour week.)
• Try not to take multiple “killer” courses in
the same semester. (You have to know
what kinds of courses seem hard for you.)
• Mix core and major courses.
• Keep your other obligations in mind.
About the Summer Term
• Summer classes can speed you on your
way to graduation.
• They can also help you catch up from
rough spots.
• However, summer is very intense. (We
“do” 16-week courses in eight weeks.)
• 6 – 8 hours is quite enough for a summer
term.
Failure to Plan…
• Leads to taking classes you don’t need
• Because the schedule is convenient
• Because a friend is taking the same class
• And missing classes you do need (not all
courses are offered every term, especially
for upper-division classes)
• You can take years longer to graduate
• And perhaps run out of financial aid, so
that you don’t graduate at all!
The Program Flow Sheet
Using the Flow Sheet
• Check off the courses you have completed.
• Check off the courses you are currently
taking.
• Using the prerequisite information and the
long-range schedules, plan your courses
for Fall semester, 2012. Write “F12” by
those courses on the flow sheet.
• Now you know where you expect to be at
the end of Fall, 2012!
Finishing Your Plan of Study
• With Spring term planned, you can plan
for Spring, 2013.
• Plan semesters one at a time until all the
blocks are filled in. This is your plan of
study and your roadmap to graduation.
Is this Set in Stone? (No)
• You may not complete the courses exactly
as you plan them.
• Long-range schedules can change.
• Planned courses may be offered at
conflicting times.
• So, every term, verify that the next term
can go according to plan. Adjust as
necessary. (And see your advisor.)
• You will always have a current roadmap to
graduation!
Homework
• Check over the undergraduate student
advising page:
http://www.spsu.edu/home/academics/stud
entadvising.html
• Complete a plan of study leading to
graduation.
• Find out who your advisor is, make an
appointment, and get your plan of study
initialed.
Questions