We’re on the move…. literally!

We’re on the move…literally!

The COSUAC will be closed during the week of May 7^th -11^th for the purpose of moving to a new location. During this time we will not be seeing students for walk-ins or appointments-as stated, our office will be closed.

During the week of May 14^th-18^th, we will be open, but limited to walk-ins only, as we will still be in transition to our new location.

Where we going? Our temporary location will be on the fourth floor of the Multidisciplinary Studies Building, Room 4.03.60. Yes, I said temporary. We are in the process of reviewing and finalizing plans for our permanent space.   More information is to come in the near future regarding our new and permanent location.

In the meantime, the easiest way to find our temporary location is to take the elevators closest to the UC up to the 4^th floor.

This is an exciting time for us as we have been looking forward to our new, permanent location.  Like all moves, this is certainly a transition for our office, so we ask that you please be patient with us!

If you have further questions, feel free to email COSadvising@utsa.edu.

Thank you and good luck on your finals!

So you want to take more than 19 hours this fall? How to petition to exceed max hours.

Fall registration has begun and many students are wondering what the hour limitation is for registration.  In the long semesters (fall and spring), students are limited to 19 hours.  You might be thinking, but I want to take more!  If you feel that you can handle more than 19 hours, you must petition the Associate Dean of the College of Sciences to take over the maximum allowed hours.  The advisor will fill out the petition with you and then go over some very important issues before sending it off.

Here is what we check:

1. Are you a sophomore, junior, or senior?
2. Do you have a minimum 2.5 GPA in your major?
3. Do you have a 2.5 UTSA GPA?
4. Are you in good academic standing?
5. Have you successfully completed 15-18 semester credit hours at UTSA within the recent calendar year?

If you do not meet all these requirements, it is very unlikely that your petition will be approved.  It is good for students to be aware of what the College is looking for, so if it doesn’t get approved, you can have a back-up plan for your following semesters here at UTSA.

If you are on academic probation, you are restricted to 13 hours in the fall and spring semesters and cannot usually petition to take more hours.  That doesn’t mean it will never happen.  If you are graduating that semester and need 1 or 2 more hours, the advisor will most likely send off a petition for you.  But for the most part, the Associate Dean generally will not approve students who are academic probation to take more than 13 hours in the long semesters.

Again, if you are registering in the next couple of weeks and you want to take more than 19 hours, you need to be aware that a petition must be done.  Secondly, it takes at least a week for the petition to go through its process, sometimes longer.  This isn’t something that should be done in an urgent situation because the advisor cannot guarantee an instant answer.  So come in early!  As always, seeing an advisor early to map out what classes you are going to take each semester can help you prepare ahead of time for most academic situations at UTSA.

Writing (WRC 1013) Scholarship deadline extended

The writing program has extended the deadline for the scholarships they offer.

WRC  1013 Freshman Comp I Scholarship deadline is now April 23, 2012

http://utsa.edu/twp/Scholarship.html

Class numbers have changed for fall!

Many of you are registering for fall classes and are probably looking for classes that are on your degree or semester-by-semester plan and cannot find them in ASAP.  A new catalog will be coming out over the summer and the course numbers coincide with it.  This means that many course numbers and names have changed specifically for fall 2012 registration.  See the chart below to see if the class you are looking for is different:

 

Old Course Number	New Course Number
CHE 1122: General Chem I lab	CHE 1121: General Chem I lab
CHE 1132: General Chem II lab	CHE 1131: General Chem II lab
CHE 2802: Q Topics for Chemists	CHE 2803: Q Topics for Chemists
CHE 3213: Analytical Chemistry	CHE 3214: Analytical Chemistry
CHE 3803: P Chemistry I	CHE 3804: P Chemistry I
CHE 3811: P Chem I lab	NO LONGER EXISTS
CHE 3823: P Chemistry II	CHE 3824: P Chemistry II
CHE 3831: P Chem II lab	NO LONGER EXISTS
CHE 3854: Basic Physical Chemistry	CHE 3854: Basic Biophysical Chem
GEO 2012: Mineralogy Lab	GEO 2011: Mineralogy Lab
GEO 3052: Petrology Lab	GEO 3051: Petrology Lab
GEO 3123: Sedimentary Geology	GEO 3123: Sedimentary and Stratigraphy GEO
GEO 3131: Sedimentary GEO lab	GEO 3131: Sedimentary and Strat Lab
GEO 3153: Paleontology and Stratigraphy	GEO 3063: Paleontology
GEO 3162: Paleo and Stratigraphy Lab	GEO 3071: Paleontology Lab
PHY 1983: Physics III	NO LONGER EXISTS
PHY 1991: Physics III lab	NO LONGER EXISTS
PHY 3103: Modern Physics	PHY 2103: Modern Physics
PHY 3823: Mathematical Phys I	PHY 2823: Mathematical Phys I
PHY 4823: Mathematical Phys II	PHY 3853: Mathematical Phys II

 

When the past keeps costing you: Too many Texas public institution hours got you down?

You log into ASAP to pay your tuition and you see:

“Student has exceeded their major’s in-state SCH limit by >45 attempted hours.  They will be billed $121/SCH for each SCH over the limit.”

It doesn’t make sense so you are about to panic because of these expensive charges.  Let me explain:

Students who initially enroll at a Texas public institution of higher learning between Fall 1999 and Fall 2006 may attempt no more than 45 hours in excess of the number of hours required for completion of their degree program. For instance, if your degree requires a total 120 hours, once you attempt 165 hours, you may receive the extra charges. If a student enrolls Fall 2006 or later, the limit is 30 hours instead of 45.  One of the key words here is TEXAS.  Hours attempted at out of state institutions or private Texas institutions are not subject to this limit.

However, students can petition these charges. If you have extenuating circumstances on why you have so many attempted hours, come to the COS Undergraduate Advising Center in SB 2.01.08 and an advisor will assist you with the petition.

- Jayne Gonzalez

Fall deadline looming: The importance of applying for graduation on time

Why is it important to apply for graduation on time? What a fantastic question! Well, it’s very simple. If you want to graduate with your bachelor’s degree and receive your well deserved diploma, then you must apply for graduation. The College of Sciences Advising Center and the Graduation Coordination Office keep a list of each graduating student, but here’s the kicker, the only students on our list are the ones who applied. If you are not on our list, then we will have no way of knowing you plan to complete your degree that given semester.

The other equally important reason to apply for graduation on time is so your advisor has the opportunity to look over your degree. Did you know your advisor completes an audit when you apply for graduation? Do you know what a graduation audit is? Let me address the latter question first.

An audit is a rigorous review of your degree plan to ensure you are meeting all university requirements. As we well know, studying for Biochemistry, applying to field camp, working, taking care of kids, etc. usually takes the front seat to knowing UTSA’s important policies. That’s where your advisor comes into the picture. We make sure you are meeting all requirements to graduate.

The reason why it is important to apply to graduate on time is so that your advisor can review your audit before the last day to register for the semester in which you are graduating. We make this special effort for our College of Sciences students to inform you if you are missing anything so you have time to register for that course. If we see something that needs to be addressed, we have plenty of time to get in touch with you. Many times, students are in need of an additional course or they have planned on clepping out of a course, but are unaware of the clep deadlines. By applying on time, you are ensuring that your audit is reviewed and that you will be contacted early to make necessary changes.

Alright folks: if that does not give you reason enough to apply on time, I don’t know what will. See your advisor once a semester so you can keep tabs on when you will be graduating. The deadlines to apply for graduation are below. Mark your calendars; this is an important date you don’t want to forget! Congratulations to all of you!

Graduation Date	Deadline to Apply**
Summer 2012* walking in May	February 15, 2012
Summer 2012	June 15, 2012
Fall 2012	April 15, 2012
Spring 2013	November 15, 2012
Summer 2013* walking in May       Summer 2012	February 15, 2013 June 15, 2013

*Summer Graduates: Degrees awarded in Summer will state a graduation date of August, regardless of the date of participation in commencement.

Since there is no summer commencement ceremony offered, undergraduate’s students have the choice of participating in the May or December commencement ceremonies.

- Lauren West, Advisor II

Waitlists are coming for Fall 2012 registration!

Do you feel like every class that you plan on registering for has the potential to be closed before your day to register?  A lot of students in the College of Sciences feel that way.  Well, there is a solution coming soon!  Starting with fall 2012 registration (which begins in April), many science classes will have waitlists.  What does this mean for you when you are registering?

Let’s pretend you are trying to register for CHE 1103: General Chemistry I, but it is already closed on ASAP.  You will then have the option of signing up on the waitlist.  The classes that have waitlists attached will have a total of 20 spots.  You opt to sign up on the waitlist and are #3 on the list.  If #1 and #2 get into the class or remove themselves from the list, you will then move up to the #1 spot.  When a spot becomes available in the class you will get an email to your preferred email account.  (Check ASAP to make sure your preferred email is up-to-date and be sure you check it regularly).  Once the email is sent, you will have 24 hours to register for the class.  No one can take that spot from you in that 24 hour time-frame.  If you do not sign up in the 24 hour time-frame, you will lose your spot and the next student on the list will now be able to register for the class.  If you sign up for the wait list again, you will be placed at the end of the waitlist.

Lastly, if you decide that you no longer want to be in that particular class or that particular section, be sure to go into the waitlist and remove yourself.  If you do not, you will waste 24 hours for those students behind you on the waitlist  Remember, there are only 20 spots on the waitlist, so choose wisely!

- Kim Rolf, Advisor IV