Academic Advisement

Associate Deans’ Perspective

General Tips

• Always use advisement slips as official proof of advisement– Keep a copy in the student’s file

• If you recommend a specific general education course, always add a “category” option– e.g., “COM 103 or U course”

• Student records should not be kept full-time in adviser’s office– Locked central storage site is needed for FERPA and

accreditation purposes

Upper-Division Courses

• All students must complete a minimum of 42 credits of upper division courses– Temporarily reduced (thru May 06) because of

college-wide reduction to 120 credits to graduate

• Upper division courses are generally 300 or 400 level

• Foreign Language 201 and 202 count as UD• If a course from a two-year school transfers in

as 300/400 level, it is considered upper division• UD requirement is a bigger problem for transfers

Repeating Courses

• Students can repeat courses in which they earned E, D, D+, C-– But TAP does not cover D, D+, C- repeats

• Cannot legally take a course for a third time without an approved petition– Course appears as “illegal repeat” on

transcript and does not count in GPA without petition

Drop vs. Withdraw

• Dropping occurs during the one-week drop-add period– Course never appears on transcript– No financial liability– No effect on financial aid or satisfactory academic progress

(SAP)

• Withdrawing occurs from Week 2-end of semester– W appears on transcript, financial liability, counts against SAP– Course withdrawal deadline around 10th week– Can withdraw from college (all courses) until Study Day– Leave of Absence deadline also Study Day (results in W grades)

• Change of deadline newly effective Fall 2005

– Medical leaves can be granted retroactively with documentation-forms are processed through Weigel Health Center

Writing Intensive Courses

• Students must take 6 credits (usually two courses) designated Writing Intensive (W)– Some departments use portfolio review to

satisfy requirement

• Course must be designated “W” the semester it is taken

• W courses must be taken at Buffalo State

Transfer Credit

• Maximum of 88 total transfer credits– From 2 and/or 4 year institutions

OR– From 4 year institution

• Maximum of 66 credits from two-year institutions

• Maximum 15 credits each from proprietary schools, military service, noncollegiate institutions

GEC Gen. Ed. Requirements for AA /AS Transfer Students

• The “old” Gen. Ed. core requirements apply if students matriculated in college PRIOR to Fall 2000– GEC students who “stop out” for more than one semester are

now automatically placed in GE2K upon return—must petition to return to GEC

• Get a “blanket” waiver of all 5 primary gen. ed. categories (CT, CA, CH, CS, CM)

• Must still satisfy diversity, global, Writing intensive, basic math, English

• Waiver does NOT apply to AAS degrees

GE2K Gen. Ed. Requirements for AA /AS Transfer Students

• For GE2K students, ONLY LIST B courses are waived with AA or AS degree

• Waiver does NOT apply to AAS degrees

• The seven List A courses cannot be waived, even by petition

• Very helpful to alert students to look for the codes for List A courses: R, U, N, O, V1, V2, V3

General Education Requirements for ALL AA /AS Transfer Students

• Associates degree must be verified by Admissions– Ask if most recent transcript (showing degree) has

been sent to Admissions– If advisee states he/she had the most recent

transcript sent to BSC (and the “ASSOC” course is not showing in DN under “student transcript”), student should contact Admissions first

– If the response from Admissions is delayed or none, can then e-mail audit: audit@buffalostate.edu

• Remind transfer students to send to Admissions their HS transcript to verify Foreign Language

What is a G.E.T.A.?

• G.E.T.A. = General Education Transcript Addendum– Applies to transfer students—sent by another (usually) SUNY

institution indicating which trustees’ requirements are finished

• If Admissions has received the GETA, there should be a note placed at the bottom of the DN "full report" waiving specific general education requirements. 

• Understanding the G.E.T.A. can help students avoid taking unneeded coursework

• Questions or concerns regarding specific students: contact the Admissions office or email audit@buffalostate.edu

“Two Prefix Rule” for General Education Categories

• Courses must come from at least two disciplines (prefixes) for these GE2K General Education areas:

Arts RMath/Science NHumanities USocial Science OCivilizations V1, V2, V3Applied Science and Technology CT

Note. Codes for GEC are CA, CM, CH, CS and 2-prefix rule also applies.

List A/List B

• List A courses are approved in Albany to satisfy the SUNY Trustees’ requirement

• Student MUST have at least one List A course in each category

• List A requirement cannot be waived by petition– Only the Provost can approve an exception

• List B courses are BSC general education• Mnemonic:

A = Albany, B = Buffalo

Comparison of List A and List B GE2K Codes

General Education CategoryLIST A Code LIST B Code

Technology -- CTArts R CAHumanities U CHNatural Science (Math/Science) N CMSocial Science O CSAmerican History V1 --Western Civilization V2 --Other World Civilizations V3 --Diversity -- DBasic Communication B --Basic Mathematics Z --Foreign Language F --Writing-Intensive Courses -- W appended to course

number (e.g., PSY 450W)

Note. The List B codes are also used for GEC: appear in printed schedule in column labeled ADV CD (Advisement Code). G is code used for GEC Global courses.

Confusing Codes

• Degree Navigator uses the codes V1, V2, V3, V4, etc. to refer to “Visual” requirements—those represented by the island model– “Non-visual” requirements are such things as overall

GPA, major GPA, residency credits, etc.

• Course schedule uses V1, V2, V3 to refer to GE2K Civilizations categories– V1 = American History, V2 = Western Civ., V3 =

Other World Civ.

Double-Dipping

• Diversity courses can be double-dipped with ANY other requirement (major, minor, general education, W, etc.)

• W courses can be double-dipped in ANY way (major, minor, gen ed, diversity)

• ONE course from the major can be double-dipped into gen. ed. for GE2K students– But not for GEC students

• NO double-dipping is allowed between gen. ed. categories – e.g., FAR 250 can be either an R course or a V2

course but NOT both

ENG 101 and 102

• Now graded A, B, C, E– No grades of C-, D+ or D are supposed to be

assigned– Occasional mistakes occur

• Students should follow college E-repeat policy to retake if necessary

Basic Math Requirement (Z)

• Only GEC students can take the basic math exam– Can get tutoring in Academic Skills Center, SW 330.

• For GE2K students:– Requirement may be met through approved coursework or appropriate

high school mathematical proficiency at the pre-calculus level—evaluated by Admissions from student-submitted HS information.

– MAT103– MAT122– MAT126 AND MAT311*– MAT270– MAT301– MED383– MAT161 AND MAT311*

*Both courses must be satisfactorily completed to fulfill requirement.

Foreign Language

• New requirement in Fall 2006 of 2 semesters for both BA and BS students

• Placement exams are NOT given in MCL department any more– Recommendation is for students to take the

CLEP exam instead

• Sign language is allowed to substitute for Education students. – Not yet approved for all BSC students

Satisfactory Academic Progress and Financial Aid

• Both TAP and Federal financial aid are contingent upon “Satisfactory Academic Progress” Requirements

• Students must be accepted into a major no later than completion of 57 credits

• Federal aid will cover a maximum of 185 credits attempted– W, E, I, U, F, N count as attempted credits– Adviser may see “high hours” questionnaire from FA office

• TAP will cover a maximum 8 semesters (except for EOP students, who get 10 semesters)– TAP does NOT cover D, D+, C- repeats

• Financial aid is affected by GPA– A one-semester appeal is often possible—students should follow

instructions in letter from FA office• Alert students that academic level (class level) is determined, not by

how many years they have been in college, but the number of credit hours successfully completed. (F = 0-28 hrs.; Soph = 29-56 hrs., etc.)

• More information at: http://www.buffalostate.edu/financialaid/

BSC 101/301 Issues

• Offered as “189” courses in Spring 2006 on a trial basis

• These 189 sections can be used to satisfy the GE2K List B requirement in any of 4 categories: Arts, Humanities, Nat Sci, Soc Sci (CT not included)

• Can be used to satisfy GEC requirement in CA, CH, CS, CM

• Regular offerings of BSC 101/301 begin Fall 2006

Questions?