This page is for students for whom I am the designated academic advisor. Students should check Banner to find/confirm their advisor details.

Please carefully read and follow the information in this page. As much as I want to, I am unable to reply to individual mails seeking information already provided here (or is elsewhere on the university site), or information that is reasonably obtained in a meeting.

General

• No appointments for advising. Advising is during office hours and certain hours set aside just for advising (see below). Please do not send a mail asking when we can meet. Hardship exceptions are made.
• PIN only after advising. No advising or PIN by mail or phone. Please do not ask to just get your PIN without advising: The purpose of advising is “advising”; not PIN issuance.
• Advising only for CS department’s majors. Students changing majors should meet the chair of their next/new department. Students without a declared major should visit the Advisement Center.
• Advising only for students who arrive fully prepared. See the list below on information to bring.
• Advising means advising. Do not expect to look up schedules and find courses/sections during the meeting. Do not expect the advisor to work out your schedule.
• Set aside 15-20 minutes for advising. Do not rush the advisor, because the advisor is expected to update certain documents before/during/after each advising session.
• First come, first serve. Multiple advisees waiting should resolve priorities among themselves.
• Check for holds. Meet the registrar and figure out how to clear holds.

Information to bring

All information should be on paper. No advising without all the information listed here. (Bringing all the information listed leads to a productive meeting.)

1. DegreeWorks audit sheet printed in color. The DegreeWorks For Students manual describes how to view and print the audit sheet.
2. A summary of where you are in the program. You should be prepared to state the summary and share academic concerns in the meeting.
3. Mid-term grades for the current semester. You should know the course number, title, instructor name, and the mid-term grade for all your current courses.
4. List of 5-8 courses to sign up with specific sections and the reason you are interested in those courses/sections. Do not list exactly 3 or 4 courses, because sections may be closed, or you may not meet prerequisites. See the notes below on choosing courses.
5. Completed schedule grid showing planned courses: Fill the grid with course number and section you wish to take (for example, CS170-01). If you have multiple options, prepare a grid for each schedule combination. Use an online schedule maker or this schedule grid.
6. Optional list of questions to ask the advisor.

Choosing courses and sections

• Consult the DegreeWorks audit sheet to determine the courses you need.
• Consult OpenClose to determine what courses are offered. Also see which sections of the course are still open.
• Check the prerequisites for each course and make sure you meet them. Also see if there are any constraints on sections. For example, a section may be set aside only for certain majors.
• To meet general-education requirements, check the competencies each section satisfies. It is possible only some sections of a course satisfy a competency.
• Choose courses based on program requirements. It is nice if those courses also coincide with your interests, but advising is primarily concerned with program requirements.
• Choose sections that give you at least 30 minutes between classes on different campuses.
• Add yourself to waitlist if class is full, instead of mailing the instructor.

Advising hours (Fall 2019)

Aside from office hours (which are shared with other students), I provide advising at the following  additional times. I have hard cut-off in these additional slots, as well as in any slot that is only 30-minutes long.

• 1:30pm to 2:30pm: 10/28, 10/31, 11/4, 11/7, 11/18, 12/2, 12/5, 12/13
• 5:30pm to 6:30pm: 11/6, 11/20, 12/4
• 4:30pm-6:00pm: 12/12