Welcome to the
Department of
Computer and Information Sciences
Christopher Urban
SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Department of
Computer and Information Sciences
Welcome to Our Departmental Family
•All of you have selected one of the following majors/programs
• Computer and Information Science
 Commonly referred to as CS
• Computer Information Systems
 Commonly referred to as IS
• Network and Computer Security
 Commonly referred to as NCS
• BS/MS in Computer and Information Science
 Commonly referred to as BS/MS
Distribution of Information Packages
•We have a personalized info package for each of you
•We will distribute them now
Information Package Contents
• Program of Study/Transfer Evaluation (POS/TE) that is
tailored specifically for you
• SUNY Poly Catalog information for your specific major
• CS Department's Transfer Student Enrollment Guide
• Instructions for Using Banner and Forwarding E-mail
• SUNY Poly Gen Ed Courses
• A copy of this presentation
What Are We Covering Today?
•
•
•
•
Technology and Your Future
CS Department Faculty and Staff
Important Academic Topics
Your Courses for this Semester
–- We will help you select courses and register
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Technology and Your Future (1)
•"The number one benefit of information technology is that it
empowers people to do what they want to do. It lets people
be creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people learn
things they didn't think they could learn before, and so in a
sense it is all about potential."
- Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft
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Technology and Your Future (2)
•"… everything we called the 'IT revolution' over these past
20 years was just the warm-up act. It was just the
sharpening and distribution of the tools of horizontal
collaboration. Now you are going to see the real IT
revolution."
- Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP
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Technology and Your Future (3)
Technology is going to be hugely
important to EVERYONE
in the future.
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Technology and Your Future (4)
You are here to prepare to take part in
the continued IT revolution as a contributor.
We are here to help you attain the
knowledge and skills you'll need to
contribute to the continued IT revolution.
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Meet the CS Department Faculty
I will introduce you.
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Computer Science Department Faculty (1)
Computer Science Department Faculty (2)
CS Department Network Administrator
•
Nick Merante (Kunsela C107) will help you with:
• CS network (DogNet) accounts
• Free software ( http://www.cs.sunyit.edu/ )
• Paid DogNet internships (if you’re good
enough… suggest you see Nick and learn
more)
•Nick is the NCS Club advisor
CS Department Location
• This figure also shows new
construction!
CS Department
in Kunsela Hall
Academic Topics of Importance to You
• Academic Topics:
• Important dates
• Academic standing and course load
• Academic polices
• Changing major
• Transfer of credits
• General Education (Gen Ed) requirements
Important Dates for Spring 2015 Semester
• Important dates for Spring 2015 include:
– Jan. 20:
Classes begin… drop/add is free until
Jan. 27
– Jan. 27:
Drop/add fees begin
– Feb. 2:
Last day to add (register) for classes
– Feb. 10:
Last day to drop without academic
record
(W grade begins)
– Apr. 6:
Withdrawal deadline
–
(W grade does not impact GPA)
– http://www.sunyit.edu/calendars_events/cal_spr15
Student Course Load
• Full-time course load is 12 credits
• Dropping below 12 credits may jeopardize financial aid
• Consider starting every semester with 16 to 18
credits…this allows you the flexibility to drop a course
–Need permission to take more than 18 credits
Academic Standing
• Overall GPA must remain over a 2.0 (C average)
• GPA of 2.0 required for graduation (all SUNY Poly programs)
• Academic warning: first semester with GPA < 2.0
• Academic dismissal: 2 consecutive semesters with GPA <
2.0
• Readmission is possible
Course and Program Requirements
• CS and IS Majors
– MAT 115 or 413….. minimum grade of C
– CS 108…………….. minimum grade of C
– CS 240…………….. minimum grade of C
• NCS Majors
– Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 in professional
coursework required to graduate
• All other courses: you need a passing grade
Academic Integrity
• See Student Handbook (pg 39) for polices and
procedures relating to academic integrity and
misconduct:
• www.sunyit.edu/pdf/student_handbook.pdf
• What is integrity? Doing the “right thing” when no one is
looking.
• What is the “right thing?” Anything you’d be proud to tell
your parents, grandparents, or someone your really,
really respect and admire.
Academic Misconduct
• Academic misconduct is a very serious matter
• NEVER paste text from the Internet into a document
you will submit for a grade
• NEVER copy code from anywhere and submit it as
your own work
• DO collaborate to help understand concepts, BUT do
your own work on anything you submit for a grade
• DO NOT collaborate when it is not allowed
• Penalties determined by each instructor… first offense
may result in an "F” grade for the entire course
What Do You Need to Graduate?
–Generally:
• satisfy all Gen Ed/Arts and Science requirements
• satisfy all major/program requirements
• attain a 2.0 GPA overall
• attain a 2.0 GPA in "major" courses
• attain 124 or more credits… about 16 credits per
semester
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Program of Study/Transfer Evaluation (1)
–Each of you has a Program of Study/Transfer Evaluation
(POS/TE) in your folder… the POS/TE:
• contains the latest information we have about your
academic work at other institutions
• shows how courses at other institutions are applied
toward satisfying specific SUNY Poly program
requirements
• is composed of three major categories
 General Education/Arts and Sciences Requirements
 Program/Major Requirement
 Open Electives
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Program of Study/Transfer Evaluation (2)
–Let's look at a few examples:
–http://web.cs.sunyit.edu/~urbanc/CS_XFER_POS.pdf
–http://web.cs.sunyit.edu/~urbanc/IS_XFER_POS.pdf
–http://web.cs.sunyit.edu/~urbanc/NCS_XFER_POS.pdf
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General Education (1)
• SUNY-wide requirements that specify minimum Arts and
Sciences coursework for all degree programs
• Currently the requirement is one course from 7 of 10
categories such as Social Sciences, American History,
Humanities, etc… and a total of 30 credits
• Gen Ed requirements are determined by SUNY
matriculation date
• It is possible to petition for the current (7 of 10
categories) Gen Ed requirements
General Education (2)
• Some of major program requirements also satisfy Gen
Ed requirements (so called "two-fers")
• Your Program of Study/Transfer Evaluation (in your info
package) helps you track your Gen Ed progress
General Education (3)
• See catalog page for SUNY
Poly courses that satisfy
various Gen Ed
requirements
• SUNY Master List of Gen Ed
courses/transfers:
– http://www.sunyit.edu/regi
strar/general_education
General Education (4)
• Special Rules:
• Some courses like HIS 306 and HIS 370 satisfy
two Gen Ed requirement categories like "Western
Civilization" and "Other World Civilizations"
• You can double-count requirements, however you
cannot "double-count" credits
• Humanities courses can never be double-counted
with one exception: the "Freshman Gen Ed Core"
SUNY Poly Degree Requirements
• SUNY Poly writing requirements:
• All students must take ENG 101 (or equivalent)
• All students must take an upper division writing course
• SUNY Poly CS Dept Science Course requirement:
• All CS Dept students must take 2 science courses, one
of these must incorporate a lab
– Note: NCS students must satisfy this requirement with
PHY 101 and PHY102
Degree Programs in the CS Dept
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
BS Computer Science (CS)
BS Computer Information Systems (IS)
BS Applied Computing (AC)
NS Network and Computer Security (NCS)
MS Computer Science (MS/CS)
MS Network and Computer Security (NCS)
MS Telecommunications (MS/TEL)
BS/MS Computer Science (BS/MS)
Changing Majors
• Changing majors is generally easy
• Complete and submit a Change of Major form
• Form available online or at CS Dept office
• Low grades may prevent admission into a new
program
• For example, GPA < 2.0
• Another example: Low GPA in professional
coursework in new major
Program Information: CS, IS, NCS
Common Core
During the first
year or two,
there is a large
overlap in
required
coursework for
all three
programs – it is
relatively
painless to
change majors
in your first two
years
CALC
Accelerated Program: BS/MS (1)
• Get a BS-CS degree and an MS-CS degree in just 3
years
• How? Overlap of 3 courses during senior year!!
• Those in the BS/MS Program must maintain a 3.0 in all
courses and in major
• Admission requires 3.0 in all courses and 3.2 in major,
and you must have less than 94 total credits earned
Accelerated Program: BS/MS (2)
• If you are interested in the BS/MS program
• Talk to to your advisor
• Seriously consider taking MAT 413
 You don't need to be interested in the BS/MS
program to take MAT 413
 Talk to Dr. Cavallo
Advisement
• You should meet with your advisor each semester
• Plan your next semester
• Make sure you’re signing up for the right courses
• Make sure you’re not signing up for the wrong
courses (that don’t apply to degree requirements)
• NOTE: Final responsibility rests with the student to
assure that all degree program requirements are
satisfied for graduation.
KNOW the College Catalog
The SUNY Poly College Catalog is tremendously
important because it contains academic requirements,
policies, guidelines, descriptions, details, etc…
It’s a GREAT advantage to be knowledgeable of the
catalog's contents
Our Catalog is found at this link:
http://www.sunyit.edu/apps/catalog/undergrad/
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Registering for Fall 2015 Classes
• Online registration opens in April (13 - 17) for the Fall
2015 semester
• Seniors get to register first so they get courses
needed for graduation
• Add classes required by your major first, then add
in Gen Ed courses that (1) you need, and (2) fit
your schedule
Common Registration Problems
• In the future you may experience registration
problems.
• E-mail your advisor the following:
 the error code you received (like "test score/
prereq error"),
 the CRN of the course (like "2365"),
 the course number (like "CS 240")
 your "U" number
• Your advisor will help you resolve problem and
reply to your e-mail
Registration for This Semester (1)
• Courses that must be taken during Spring 2015 OR
transferred-in from another institution (if transferred, it
should be on on your POS/TE… if not: talk to us to
avoid repeating a course)
• For CS, IS, and BS/MS students
 CS 108, MAT 115 or 413, and two other
courses
• For NCS students: see your Program of Study
(which includes a 4-Year Plan)
Registration for This Semester (2)
• Use your POS/TE to guide you in selection of courses
• CS, IS, and BS/MS students have Transfer Registration
Worksheets
–http://web.cs.sunyit.edu/~urbanc/CS_XFER_RW.pdf
–http://web.cs.sunyit.edu/~urbanc/IS_XFER_RW.pdf
• NCS students should use their 4-Year Plan
Registration for This Semester (3)
• Please think about your schedule… if you have taken
college or AP courses that are similar to the courses
we help you select, please tell us (we don't want you
to take duplicate courses)
•
Registration for This Semester (4)
• As you attend the first week of classes, you may
decide that you want to change a course (see advisor
about this) or move from one section to another of
the same course (no need to see an advisor about
section changes)
• Be aware: a full course/section can be a challenge to
enter… you need permission from the instructor of
that specific course/section
Registration for This Semester (5)
• Select Courses for the Fall 2014 Semester
• Use your Program of Study
• Use the SUNY Poly
• You must use a course's CRN to register for a course
• Read the notes column (far right) for important info
• We will help you select the correct courses and answer
questions
Welcome to The SUNY Poly CS Department
• That wraps up my presentation
• Access an on-line copy of this presentation at this
link:
•http://web.cs.sunyit.edu/~urbanc/
• If you have questions, especially about your Fall
2014 course schedule, your POS/TE, or your
XFER_RW, please talk to us
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