College of Basic & Applied Sciences Advising

The mission of the MTSU academic advising process is to provide a quality, student-centered environment that promotes intellectual growth. This process is dedicated to fostering a collaborative and mentoring relationship between advisors, students and the university community. Students are encouraged to think logically, critically and creatively in order to assume ownership of their lifelong educational goals. Advisors guide students through a variety of support services that enable them to make a successful and holistic transition in the MTSU and global community.

Although advising students is one of the most critical functions of any college or university, it also tends to be one of the most overlooked. Advising is usually performed by faculty members as one part of their overall workload; the College of Basic and Applied Sciences also has five full time advisors that serve as support to the faculty advisors.

 Jennifer Danylo JH 119 494-7874 * all majors, last names A-L  Travis Tipton JH 115 898-5087 * all majors, last names M-Z  Andrew Symonds BAS S236 898-2055 * Aerospace  Jennifer Hendrix KUC 316 898-5465 * pre-professional Health Science  Susanna Wassom KUC 316 898-2672 * all majors fulfilling prescribed sequences

In the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, the College Advisors typically see students when they are first admitted, whether they are freshmen or transfer students. This is done through CUSTOMS, Transfer Orientation Days, and requested individual advising appointments. Faculty often play roles in these orientation programs.

Once a student nears the end of the freshman year and completes any prescribed course requirements, they will be instructed to begin seeing their assigned Faculty Advisor. The role of the Faculty Advisor is to remain knowledgeable and familiar with all the information associated with their assigned major(s). Each department assigns Faculty Advisors using their own method. This faculty member will work with students to make sure they are on track with course selection, specific major requirements as well as other additional opportunities.

Faculty Advisors can help students make the most of their time at MTSU. They sign off on Upper Division forms as well as recommend and approve course substitutes within the major requirements. Faculty Advisors work closely with their associated College Advisors in order to stay aware of changes and updates to MTSU policies and procedures. Their office hours should be posted on their door, and students can find their assigned advisor on RaiderNet under the Student tab.

Academic Advising Timeline for Students The following timeline represents a standard chronological order of operations to the advising process. Use this timeline to better understand specific objectives during your preparation for and interactions with students.

Freshman:  Establish contact with advisor 0-29 earned hrs  Get familiar with campus resources  Investigate majors of interest  Explore student organizations  Review college and departmental scholarship opportunities  Will have an advising hold and must be advised before next semester’s registration Sophomore:  Complete General Education requirements and lower-division courses (1000-2000 level) 30-59 earned  Explore student organizations related to major hrs  Consider Experiential Learning Opportunities  Begin networking with peers and faculty in major and/or minor  Make tentative plan of classes to prevent prerequisite issues  Explore the Career Development Center's services and resources Juniors:  Begin upper-division courses (3000-4000 level) 60-89 earned  Research career options and graduate programs hrs  File intent to graduate and upper division form with advisor (three semesters remaining)  Will begin looking at hold placed at 75 earned hours to get graduation paperwork completed Seniors:  Finalize career/postgraduate plans 90+ earned hrs  Take graduate exams (LSAT, GRE, MCAT, GMAT)  Complete appropriate exit exams (graduating semester) - see Testing Services Ongoing  Be familiar with the academic calendar and important dates and deadlines  Stay involved with social/professional student organizations  Seek information regarding study abroad, departmental internships, and research opportunities  Attend campus events & guest lectures, music/theatrical performances, career days, etc. Here are some common tools/shortcuts that are used daily by the full-time professional advisors…. We hope you find this information useful! When preparing for advising responsibilities, you may want to go ahead and bookmark some of these sites, or create shortcuts on your desktop. It’s also a good idea to maintain ALL Upper Division forms and Academic Maps for your department; please contact your Department Chair or professional advisors for location of files.

 Raidernet: This is the primary tool used in Academic Advising. RaiderNet is a student-centered portion of our website that is used in conjunction with Banner when researching student records and information. This is a great place to find your student's contact information and academic transcripts. RaiderNet can also be used for degree evaluation, releasing of holds, access to advisee lists, and much more. Advisors have backdoor access to all of your students' RaiderNet information via the faculty services tab. Use RaiderNet when you are planning for your advising appointments or to point out specific policies or procedures to your students during your meetings. RaidnerNet is an exemplary tool in the advising process. It is in your best interest to spend some time familiarizing yourself with the various functions and capabilities available through RaiderNet.

 MTSU Degree Evaluation in Raidernet: Raidernet>Faculty Services>Advisor Menu>16th link from the top o Degree Evaluation is a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ Audit of courses that have been fulfilled and those that have not. After viewing degree evaluation, it’s a good idea to re-visit Transfer Evaluation to see if any ELLD courses could be substituted in. If so, please complete substitution form and route for signatures.

 MTSU Transfer Evaluation in Raidernet: Raidernet>Faculty Services>Advisor Menu>7th link from the bottom o Transfer Evaluation takes the ‘mystery’ out of how courses transfer to MTSU; general education courses are marked with attributes; direct equivalencies are equated; in-direct equivalencies are marked as ‘ELLD’. (ELLD courses could need additional follow-up to determine if they could be substituted, ie. review course description with student the possibly follow up with a substation form)

 MTSU Admissions TEAM evaluation – http://www.mtsu.edu/admissn/team_admissn.php o Useful tool to use to see how coursework that is being taken (or has been taken) at another institution will equate to MTSU courses.

 TBR link for all Transfer Paths – http://www.tntransferpathway.org/ o When a student completes their associate’s degree designed for a transfer to a TBR, UT, or participating TICUA school, every effort was made to maximize the credit transfer and to minimize the need of having to repeat courses.

Pertinent topics likely to be encountered when advising:

Academic Fresh Start - Academic fresh start is designed for people who went to college, did poorly, left school, and want to come back to college with a clean slate. To qualify, the person must have not attended any college or university for FOUR years prior to starting over. After re-enrolling and successfully completing 40 hours of class work, the student may petition the dean to have the earlier courses disregarded in the calculation of the student’s cumulative GPA. The down side: If the request is granted, the earlier hours DO NOT count toward graduation.

Catalogs - Students generally follow the catalog in effect when they first attend MTSU. Students may elect to meet the requirements of any one catalog published while they are in attendance at any TBR school provided graduation is within seven (7) years of the first academic term covered by the catalog elected. In addition, students are allowed to graduate under any MTSU catalog in effect while they attended any Tennessee Board of Regents institution. For instance, a student who enrolled at Columbia State Community College in the fall of 2000 and came to MTSU in the fall of 2003 could choose to use the 2005-07, 2007-09, 2009-11 MTSU catalog (or any later MTSU catalog published during his or her stay here). Students who transfer from a non-TBR school must use the MTSU catalog in effect when they arrive here (or later MTSU catalogs published while they are enrolled here).

The MTSU catalogs now in effect are: 2007-09 Good until August 2014 2009-11 Good until August 2016 2011-12 Good until August 2018 2012-13 Good until August 2019 2013-14 Good until August 2020

** Remember that a student must have been enrolled at MTSU or another TBR institution during a catalog period in order to use that catalog. Catalogs always begin in the fall of the first year listed and continue through the summer semester of the last year listed.

Change of Major - A student who wants to change his or her academic major can do so in Raidernet. A student receiving Veteran’s benefits must also notify the Records Office of any change in major.

Degree Requirements - Requirements for undergraduate degrees are spelled out here: http://catalog.mtsu.edu/content.php? catoid=10&navoid=455. Students are required to have a total of 120 hours for most majors, although some require more than 120; 60 of the total amount of credits must be earned at a four year institution; 42 upper division credits (3000-4000 level) are required; and a minimum of 30 upper division credits of the 42 total must be earned at MTSU. Credit earned by special examination or work-based experiential learning is not considered to be earned at MTSU. All of these degree requirements are clearly outlined in the Degree Evaluation tool in Pipeline.

* Note that NOT all major programs have sufficient upper division credits built in and upper division electives must be chosen. Courses transferred in from community or junior colleges may be equated to a 3000 or 4000 level course at MTSU, but DO NOT carry UD credit. Advise students to study these requirements carefully. Also stress to them that they—not their advisors or anyone else—are ultimately responsible for seeing that they understand and meet the requirements for graduation.

Dropping/Adding Courses – During the first four days of the semester students may add courses. Enrolled students who wish to add a class after the deadline to add must process a drop/add form through the Scheduling Center. Both the instructor and chairperson’s signatures are required on the drop/ add form. Students who cease attendance but do not officially drop or withdraw will receive a grade of “F.” Students will be allowed to drop or add courses provided they do so within the course drop/add period. See the Registration Guide and Course schedule for specific deadlines. Students with holds on their records may not add or drop courses until the holds are cleared.

1. During the first two weeks (14 calendar days- CENSUS date) of a term, no grade is assigned if a class is dropped. 2. During the third week (15th calendar day) through the seventh week (49th calendar day) of a term, a grade of “W” will be assigned if a class is dropped. 3. After the seventh week (49th calendar day) of a term, courses cannot be dropped via RaiderNet. The drop dates for courses that meet for a shorter time period than the normal term beginning and ending dates will be prorated based upon the course drop dates for the full term upon notification to the Scheduling Center.

Tennessee Board of Regents policy prohibits students from dropping courses in the University Studies Program (prescribed courses). Under extenuating circumstances a course may be dropped with the approval of the University Studies chair. No student may drop a prescribed course without written approval of the University Studies department chairperson. A student desiring to drop a prescribed course must contact the University College Advising Center at 898-2339 (McFarland Building) to begin the process. Failure to comply will result in an automatic grade of “F.”

English 1010 and 1020 - A grade of D will no longer be awarded to students in English 1010 and English 1020. To receive credit for these writing courses, the student must earn at least a grade of C-.

The grade of N will be awarded to students who complete the first attempt of the course(s) but fail to meet minimum standards. The grade of N will be assigned only once in English 1010 and 1020; in subsequent semesters the student will be assigned a grade of F if minimum writing standards for the courses are not met. The grade of N is not punitive; that is, it will calculate into Hours Attempted but not Quality Hours. For GPA purposes the N will be used the same way as an I or W.”

The policy will also affect students who are enrolled in freshman composition courses at other institutions and who later transfer to MTSU. Any such student with a D in the appropriate freshmen composition course(s) will be required to repeat the course(s) at MTSU. This will apply both to transfer students with and without associate degrees.

MTSU will accept transfer credit for English 1010 and 1020 from students with D’s in equivalent freshman composition courses taken elsewhere ONLY before academic year 1995-96.

General Education Requirements - All students at MTSU must satisfy general education requirements in order to graduate. The requirements are listed here in the on-line catalog. MTSU’s policy is that all full-time, degree-seeking students should be enrolled each semester in the appropriate general education English course AND either 6 additional hours of general education or 3 hours of general education and 3 hours in their major until they satisfy the university’s general education requirements.

Some courses are listed as general education requirements and as requirements in majors or minors. For example, CHEM 1110/1111 and PHYS 2010/2011 are required of all Engineering Technology majors. By successfully taking such a course a student DOES satisfy both the general education requirement and the major or minor requirement. Any course that fulfills a specific major requirement and is transferred in but does not exactly match the course description of an MTSU equivalent course will need to be evaluated for equivalency by the department of the student’s major. A substitution form can be filled out at the time of the advising appointment. Students who are required to take prescribed courses are not allowed to take selected general education courses before passing certain prescribed courses with a C or better.

General Education; US History requirements - Up until Summer 2009, it was required of ALL MTSU graduates that every student completes six credits of U.S. History in the area of general education (choosing from HIST 2010, 2020, or 2030). If a student was pursuing a second Bachelor’s degree, it was assumed that all general education was complete, with the exception of U.S. History – that had to be checked specifically and substitution forms filled out if needed. If a course came in as an elective and was not a direct equivalency to one of our U.S. History courses, then all substitution proposals had to be reviewed and approved by a designated faculty member in the History department.

The State of Tennessee changed the ruling/law on this policy. Here is how the current policy affects currently enrolled MTSU students, transfer students from TBR schools, transfer students from private or out-of-state schools, transfer students from the UT system, transfer students from International Institutions, and students pursuing a second Bachelor’s degree. • Current student at MTSU (starts and finishes at MTSU): This student will be confined to completing the six credits of U.S. History, choosing ONLY from HIST 2010, 2020, or 2030

• Transfer student from TBR School: ALL general education categories will be honored. There are some courses offered at other TBR schools that we don’t offer in our general education categories – they will ALWAYS be accepted in their designated categories (excluding History), whether we offer the course or not. If a student took six credits of World or Western Civilization at their TBR School and transfers to MTSU, then that student will have a choice as to whether that credit counts in the area of U.S. History OR Fine Arts. If a student took three credits of World or Western Civilization at their TBR school and transfers to MTSU, then that student will have a choice as to whether that credit counts in the area of U.S. History OR Fine Arts – BUT – if they choose to have that credit be applied towards U.S. History, then the remaining three credits must be chosen from HIST 2010, 2020, or 2030.

• Transfer student from private or out-of-state school: ALL general education categories will need to be checked for transferability of coursework. If a course is not a direct equivalency then course descriptions will need to be produced and verified for substitution forms to be completed. There is a lot more flexibility in the areas of general education than before. If a student took a course titled ‘History of the Blues’ at Colorado State University and this fulfilled a general education requirement there then it is acceptable for you to substitute this course here at MTSU for MUS 1030. With verification, we can usually make the course substitute for something appropriate in one of our areas of general education. If a student took six credits of World or Western Civilization at their school and transfers to MTSU, then that student will have a choice as to whether that credit counts in the area of U.S. History OR Fine Arts. If a student took three credits of World or Western Civilization at their school and transfers to MTSU, then that student will have a choice as to whether that credit counts in the area of U.S. History OR Fine Arts – BUT – if they choose to have that credit be applied towards U.S. History, then the remaining three credits must be chosen from HIST 2010, 2020, or 2030. HISTORY SUBSTITUTIONS CANNOT DEVIATE FROM WORLD OR WESTERN CIVILIZATION.

• Transfer students from the UT system: ALL general education categories will be honored, even though their categories are different from ours. There are some courses offered at UT schools that we don’t offer in our general education categories – they will ALWAYS be accepted in their designated, or most appropriate categories (excluding History), whether we offer the course or not. If a student took six credits of World or Western Civilization at their UT school and transfers to MTSU, then that student will have a choice as to whether that credit counts in the area of U.S. History OR Fine Arts. If a student took three credits of World or Western Civilization at their UT school transfers to MTSU, then that student will have a choice as to whether that credit counts in the area of U.S. History OR Fine Arts – BUT – if they choose to have that credit be applied towards U.S. History, then the remaining three credits must be chosen from HIST 2010, 2020, or 2030. HISTORY SUBSTITUTIONS CANNOT DEVIATE FROM WORLD OR WESTERN CIVILIZATION.

• Transfer students from international institutions: ALL coursework from an International Institution must be evaluated course by course. Detailed course descriptions MUST be provided by the student (usually accompanies official evaluation) and substitution forms filled out accordingly.

• Students pursuing a second bachelor’s degree: ALL areas of general education are considered fulfilled, INCLUDING U.S. HISTORY, unless the chosen major requires a specific course (Math, Science, etc.). If there is a specific requirement that has to be fulfilled then the transcript MUST be checked to see if that course or an equivalent has been completed. The Admissions Office does not upload transcripts of students who have previous Bachelor’s degrees. The student will have to provide a copy for the faculty advisor, or you can contact a College Advisor for assistance.

• Students whose first degree is from an international institution: ALL coursework from an International Institution must be evaluated course by course. Detailed course descriptions MUST be provided by the student (usually accompanies official evaluation) and substitution forms filled out accordingly

Grade Point Average, Degree Requirements – In order to graduate, a student must have a 2.00 minimum GPA overall AND a 2.00 minimum GPA in the major, AND a 2.0 minimum GPA in the required UD credits. Also, some minors require a 2.00 GPA—check the catalog under specific minors to be sure.

Graduation Requirements - Students cannot participate in the Graduation Ceremonies unless they have been enrolled in ALL required courses. If a student fails a course their last semester, they will still be allowed to participate in the ceremony, but will not receive a diploma until ALL classes are passed. If a student still has remaining credits to take in a following semester they will not be allowed to participate in the Graduation Ceremonies.

o Students must complete a minimum of 120 cumulative hours with at least a 2.0 GPA in order to graduate. This requirement is NEVER waived.

o Students must earn 42 upper division hours (hours in 3000 or 4000 level courses) with at least a 2.0 GPA in those hours. Transfer students must earn 60 senior college hours (hours awarded by a four-year institution, not including any developmental hours), 42 of which must be upper division hours. 30 of the 42 MUST be earned at MTSU.

TIP: When helping a student determine his or her cumulative hour totals, be sure not to count any hours the student takes in a course he or she has already passed (i.e., earned a grade of D or higher) and is repeating. For example, consider a student with 100 cumulative hours currently enrolled in 12 hours, 3 of which are in a course the student has already passed. Assuming the student passes all 12 of the current hours, the cumulative total at the end of the semester would be 109, and not 112 hours since 3 of the current hours are from a repeated course.

TIP: When counting upper division hours for transfer students, be sure not to count any hours from lower division courses taken at other institutions that transferred in as equivalent to upper division MTSU courses. No course work from a two-year institution counts toward the upper division requirement. It can fulfill the course material requirement without yielding Upper Division credit. MTSU Graduation Requirements, to include CBAS permissible waivers -

60 credits Up to 9 of must be the 60 120 TOTAL credits senior credits with a MINIMUM 2.0 college have GPA hours been (earned at waived. a four- GPA year requireme school). nt is NEVER waived.

25 % of the credits This is required for the NEVER degree MUST be waived. earned through instruction at MTSU.

Up to 9 of the 42 have 42 total credits must Of the 42 been UD credits, be earned at the 30 must be waived. upper division earned at Up to 6 of MTSU. the 30 (3000/4000) level with have a 2.0 GPA. been waived.

9 UD credits in the major This is must be NEVER earned through waived. instruction at MTSU

3 UD credits in This is the minor must be NEVER earned waived. through instruction at MTSU

2.0 GPA is required in This is the major. NEVER 2.0 GPA is required for waived. MOST minors. “Incomplete” Grades - The grade ‘I’ indicates that the student has not completed all course requirements because of illness or other uncontrollable circumstances, especially those which may occur toward the close of the term. Mere failure to make up work or turn in required work on time does not provide a basis for the grade of ‘I’ unless the extenuating circumstances noted above are present for reasons acceptable to the instructor. When a student fails to appear for the final examination without known cause, the grade to be reported should be determined as follows: If the student has done satisfactory work to that point, the grade ‘I’ may be reported on the assumption that the student is ill or will otherwise provide sufficient reason for official excuse; if the student has attended irregularly and has not done satisfactory work to that point, the grade ‘F’ should be reported.

The ‘incomplete’ must be removed during the succeeding semester, excluding summer. Otherwise, the grade of ‘F’ is entered. A student should not make up the ‘incomplete’ by registering and paying again for the same course. The ‘I’ grade carries no value until converted to a final grade.”

Intent to Graduate Form - Prior to graduation each student must file an Undergraduate Notice of Intention to Graduate form with the Graduation Analyst in Jones Hall, room 115. The form should be filed with the Upper Division form three semesters prior to graduation. It is to the student’s advantage to file at that time since it gives the graduation analyst time to re-check the student’s file. If the analyst finds any problems, the student can be contacted before the last semester and can change his or her schedule as needed. The forms are available at the Records Office, Cope 102 or from the College Advisors and are also available on the Records website.

Previous Degree – If a student has a previous Bachelor’s degree from a US Institution of higher learning, his/her General Education courses are considered complete with the exception of General Education courses specifically required in the major. For students whose first degree is from a non-US institution of higher learning, the General Education requirements will apply and course equivalencies with MTSU’s General Education program will be determined by the Dean of the college of the student’s major of the second degree.

If a student has a previous degree, it is noted in Banner, but the transcript is not entered course by course. A copy of the transcript must be requested from Admissions or College Advisor so the major advisor can see if specific general education courses or major courses have been completed. Such courses should be noted on the Upper Division form by number so the Graduation Coordinator will know which courses(s) to apply toward the requirement and the student knows that these courses have been completed.

A minor is not required of a student with a previous degree unless the major requires a specific minor that is not the same as the previous degree. For example, a Concrete Industry Management major must have a minor in Business Administration. If the student has a former degree in Music, the minor must be completed. If he/she has a degree in an area of Business, the minor could be waived at the discretion of the major advisor and department chair.

Repeating Courses – Students may repeat courses to try to raise their GPAs subject to the following restrictions:

1. No course should be taken more than twice (i.e., repeated more than once) except on the advice of the faculty advisor. If a student does repeat a course more than once, the course grades earned in all repeat attempts are factored into the cumulative GPA. If a student repeats a course only once, only the course grade earned in the repeat is factored into the cumulative GPA. Grades for excessive course repeats (the 3rd attempt or thereafter) will no longer be taken into account when calculating major, minor, or upper division GPAs, just in the overall GPA..

2. The last grade earned counts as the grade for the course even if the last grade earned is lower than a grade previously earned. For example, if a student earns an F in a repeated course in which he or she earned a C in the initial attempt, the F counts as the final grade. All repeated courses remain on the student’s transcript with appropriate notation.

3. Veterans receiving financial benefits may not receive such benefits for repeated courses they have previously passed.

4. Students may not repeat courses in which they have previously earned an A, B, P, or I without the approval of the department chair in which the course is offered. Raidernet will not allow students to register for any class which carries the previous grades of A, B, P, or I. If students wish to repeat a class with a previously earned A, B, P, or I he or she should contact the department which houses the course in order to have a ‘Request to Repeat a Course’ form filled out and approved (can be accessed via the Records Office website). Once the form is approved the form is taken by the student to the Scheduling Center for registration.

5. ENGL 2020, ENGL 2130, ENGL 2230, ENGL 2330, and HUM 2610 are interchangeable for the purposes of repeating courses.

6. Courses attempted prior to Fall 1981 are subject to a different repeat policy. Contact the Records Office at extension 2600 for information on that policy.

Substitutions – All substitutions in the major must be approved by the major faculty advisor, the department chair of the major and the dean of the college of the major, and submitted on a substitution form. All substitutions in the minor must be approved by the minor faculty advisor, the department chair of the minor and the dean of the college of the minor. Substitutions may be proposed/approved before the course the student is substituting for the required course has been taken. When the approval is secured prior to enrollment, the student knows that it will be worthwhile to take the course because he/she is assured it will “count”.

Transfer Course Equivalents – Staff members of the Admissions Office evaluate the records of students transferring to MTSU and produce a “transfer credit evaluation” for each student. This can be found in Raidernet and lists the courses taken at other institutions and the equivalent MTSU courses. If the Admissions Office identifies no equivalent MTSU course, the course transfers in as elective credit; that course would be identified as ‘ELLD’. The transfer credit evaluation is extremely helpful in advising transfer students. The Department may advise Admissions to bring in a course in that department’s major differently, and the equivalency form could be changed. (See note)

Transfer equivalencies are also found on the Admissions website under Transfer/TEAM Transfer Equivalencies at MTSU.

NOTE: The transfer credit evaluation is not necessarily the final word on what the appropriate equivalent course at MTSU is. Sometimes courses are transferred in as electives when they might just as properly be considered equivalent to MTSU courses. This information is also available for faculty through Raidernet Faculty Services. This is especially true for courses taken at non-Tennessee Board of Regents institutions. Use your own judgment in working with the transfer evaluation form. Sometimes you might need to ask the student to bring in a catalog description or syllabus for a course in question. The faculty advisor, department chair, and the dean—not the Admissions Office— have the ultimate authority to decide course equivalencies in their college.

Transfer Students - Advising transfer students can be a tricky endeavor. It requires a thorough knowledge of MTSU policies and the patience to apply those policies in specific cases. Even then issues usually arise that must be addressed. Because MTSU has so many transfer students, most advisors—even those who do not specialize in advising transfer students— will probably encounter questions about the process.

Transfer Students from TBR Institutions -

If a student transfers from a TBR school, and has completed a category of general education at that school, we have to accept those courses as fulfilling the general education category here ----unless the major has specific courses required in that category and they don’t match. MTSU is the only school that insists on different rubrics in the gen ed categories. If a transfer student took ECON 1050 and ECON 2210 at ETSU, and their major has a wide open requirement for social/behavioral sciences (students can choose any on our list) MTSU would consider that category fulfilled. If, however, the major requires a student to take ECON 2410 and PSY 1410 as their social/behavioral science courses, the student would still have to take PSY 1410.

Upper Division Forms - The upper division form is a student’s degree plan outlining the courses, especially major and minor courses that the student needs to take in order to graduate. The Records Office asks that students file upper division forms three semesters prior to their anticipated graduation date. It is required that the Intent to Graduate accompany the Upper Division form when they are submitted to the Graduation Coordinator.

In helping students with these forms, pay particular attention to which catalog the student is using. Departments have upper division forms specially tailored to each catalog edition. Faculty advisors in other departments need to be especially careful to check that students are meeting all requirements for the catalog they are using. Advisors in departments using upper division forms not tailored to specific catalogs should note on the form which catalog is being used.

In the event that there is not a “perfect match” between major/minor courses taken elsewhere and courses required at MTSU (either because of credit hour or subject matter differences), the advisor will use his or her professional judgment and course descriptions in making appropriate recommendations on a Substitution Form.

The faculty advisor (major advisor) and all minor advisors must sign the upper division form. Students DO NOT need to get the Chair’s nor the Dean’s signature on their upper division forms unless the upper division form is from the 2005- 2007 catalog or earlier. Be sure that the student has obtained the proper signatures—and that they have entered their ‘M’ number—before they take the form to Deborah Phillips in JH 115. Students should take the completed forms to the Graduation Coordinator in Jones Hall, room 115. Encourage students to keep copies of the form for their own records.

After the form is submitted, the graduation coordinator goes over it and then sends an electronic letter to the student at the MTSU email address (with copies to the faculty advisor and dean) specifying what coursework the student needs to complete to qualify for graduation. If the advisor and student have done their jobs right, there should be no surprises in this letter. Encourage the student to pay attention to the highlighted sections of this letter.

Waivers – A course in the major, supporting/auxiliary area or minor can be waived by the major or minor advisor if approved by the major or minor chair and dean. A substitution form can be used. The required course should be listed on the left and “waive” on the right. An explanation for the waiver should be included, such as “student proficient due to work experience”. If a course is waived in the major or minor, a note should also be placed on the substitution form also waiving that number of credits in the major or minor.