Course Enrollment

Advising and Selection of Courses

Academic placement, course selection forms, academic program progress sheets, and class availability determine the initial semester schedule for incoming students. After check-in day, students must meet with their assigned academic advisor to review program requirements and career goals. The name of the academic advisor is printed in the upper right-hand corner of the student's semester schedule.

All students are assigned an academic advisor in the student's selected program of study. Students who want to change their degree, major, concentration, or advisor should obtain a 'change of curriculum and advisor' form from the University Registrar's office. Since the academic advisor is an integral part of the student's educational program, it is important for students to establish an ongoing relationship with their advisor. The academic advisor provides the student with assistance in the following areas:

1. Reviews general academic practices and policies of the university.
2. Discusses employment, transfer, and degree completion.
3. Explains assessment.
4. Distributes and reviews copies of program requirements and recommended course sequence. Points out specific credit and course requirements.
5. Shows student how to draft a semester schedule and tentative degree completion schedule, using the master schedule and the recommended course sequence as a guide.
6. Meets with each student individually to plan, review, and approve semester schedules.
7. Answers questions and refers student for help as needed.
8. Discusses course substitution requests as needed. Students should meet with their advisors on a regular basis. Students must see their academic advisors after mid-semester to obtain a copy of their grades. The advisor's signature is required on all drop and add, change of advisor and curriculum, and registration cards.

The progress sheet is a valuable guide to chart the student's progress toward a degree. Progress sheets for all academic programs are available in this publication and at the University Registrar's office. The sheets list course requirements on one side and the suggested course sequence on the reverse. They are updated yearly with any program changes. Students follow the progress sheet for the academic year in which they entered Finlandia University.