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CLA Faculty Advisor Manual (PDF File)
General Advisement
New Students
Transfer Students
Answers
- How do I use Pipeline for Advisement?
Please review this Pipeline tutorial: http://www.mtsu.edu/records/docs/ssb-advisor.pdf
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- How am I assigned advisees?
The department secretary assigns advisees to faculty advisors based on your department's
policy. Please review your department policy with the chair of your department.
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- What needs to be done for a student to graduate?
Please review the Graduation link. If you have further questions please contact Kathy Jones (the Graduation Analyst for the College of Liberal Arts).
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- A parent has called to ask about their child's progress. What can I tell them?
Students records are private and you are not allowed to release confidential information
to anyone but the student. Please review the FERPA tutorial to find which information is considered confidential. If you are ever in doubt, do
not release any information until you contact the Records Office at 615-898-2600 or
records@mtsu.edu.
You can inform parents of general academic policy or procedures but you cannot give
them any specific information about their child's academic progress. In fact, you
can't even confirm that their child is attending MTSU. Please encourage the parents
to have their child call you and obtain any needed information.
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- My advisee wants career information. What resources are available to them?
The Career Development Center assists students and alumni of the University with
their career planning and job search from resume and cover letter preparation, interviewing,
and networking skills to reviewing and negotiating the job offer. Please contact the
Career Development Center for more information.
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- My advisee has a hold, how can we remove it?
Log into Pipeline, click on RaiderNet, click on Faculty Services, then click on Advisor Menu. If you
need to see if a student has any Holds, you can view these by selecting the "HOLDS";
link. Beneath the hold information will be contact information which will tell you
and the student where the department is located that is responsible for the Hold.
Whoever put the hold on the student's account is the one that should lift it.
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- How do freshmen register for the first time?
All freshmen must attend a CUSTOMS orientation day before registering. At CUSTOMS
they will receive campus tours, meet with an advisor, and register for classes. Please
visit the CUSTOMS website for a list of dates. If a student is unable to attend CUSTOMS they need to wait until
closer to when the current semester starts before they can register for classes (contact
the College Advisor for a list of current dates for freshmen registration). They will still need to meet
with an advisor before registering. If they have declared a major they should meet
with the College Academic Advisor or their faculty advisor. If they are undeclared they can meet with the University College Advising Center.
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- What's the deal with prescribed courses?
MTSU has implemented a new program for ACT/SAT or COMPASS prescribed courses, formerly
designated as Developmental Studies, effective Fall 2006. Students who are admitted
to the University may be required to enroll in these new courses based on ACT/SAT
or COMPASS sub-scores. Remedial courses (DSPR0700, DSPW0700, and DSPM0700) will no
longer be taught.
The new courses are: ENGL 1009K, ENGL 1010K, READ 1000K, UNIV 1010K, MATH 1000K,
MATH 1010K,MATH 1530K, and MATH 1710K. The K indicates these are prescribed courses
with the "K"; denoted in the section number. The ENGL 1010K, MATH 1010K, MATH 1530K,
and MATH 1710K will fulfill General Education requirements. The other "K" courses
will apply toward elective credit.
The ACT/SAT or COMPASS prescribed courses are designed to serve students whose test
sub scores indicate they need additional preparation prior to enrolling in higher-level
courses that require specific prerequisites. Their purpose is to help students achieve
a level of academic competence that will enable them to work successfully in subsequent
courses. Student in prescribed courses enjoy the advantages of classes with smaller
enrollments and frequent interaction between instructors and students. Students in
these courses also receive regular progress reports.
If there are questions regarding the prescribed courses, please contact the University
College Academic Enrichment Program at Ext. 2568.
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- What is UNIV 1010 and why should students take it?
University is a "freshman seminar"; designed to help first semester students adjust
to college life generally and to MTSU specifically. Topics covered include university
resources, academic skills, and personal development. Class size is usually kept small
(approximately 20-25) to foster the growth of friendships among the students and to
allow professors to get to know each student. The course is a three-hour elective
and does count toward the 120 hours needed for graduation. For more information please
visit this site: http://www.mtsu.edu/universitycollege/universitystudies/univ_1010_2020.php.
TIP : This course should especially be recommended to freshmen who are uncertain about
their choice of major or who do not have strong academic preparation for college.
UNIV 1010K is required for students who must take two or more prescribed classes.
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- How do transfer students register for the first time?
The first step for newly admitted students is to complete the online Transfer Student Orientation. In the process of completing this online orientation they will have the opportunity
to schedule an appointment to meet with a college advisor. At the appointment the
college advisor will review their transcripts and show them what courses will fulfill
MTSU's graduation requirements. After meeting with an advisor they will be able to
register for the upcoming semester. Please remember that all holds must be removed
before registration.
If a student meets with a faculty advisor instead of the college advisor please contact
the college advisors so they can clear the student to register.
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- My advisee previously went to a TBR institution. How do these courses transfer to
MTSU?
If the course fulfilled a General Education requirement at the TBR institution it
will also work here at MTSU in the same category.
For example:
SOCI 2010-Marriage and Family , at Motlow Community College is one of the courses that will fulfill the Social &
Behavioral Sciences category. Even though MTSU does not have an equivalent to that
course in our Social & Behavioral Sciences program we will still use it in that category
if a student transfers in with credit for that course from Motlow.
American History: Many community colleges will allow their students to take American History, Western
Civilization or World Civilization to fulfill their General Education History requirements.
We will take any of those courses from a transfer student to fulfill their History
requirements here.
There is now a new "Transfer Pathways" program that the community colleges use to
prepare their students to transfer to a 4 year state institution. MTSU will accept
the courses they have taken under the pathway program towards their degree requirements
here. This program is designed to guarantee that students have 60 hours left at the
university. For more information on this program please go to: http://www.tntransferpathway.org/
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- My advisee previously went to a non-TBR institution. How do these courses transfer
to MTSU?
Course Equivalents - Admissions staff evaluate the records of students transferring to MTSU and produce
an initial transfer credit evaluation for each student. These equivalencies will be
listed on the students' MTSU transcript. If the Admissions staff identifies no equivalent
MTSU course, the course transfers in as elective credit. However, the initial transfer
credit evaluation is not the final word on what will be the appropriate equivalent
course at MTSU. Sometimes courses are transferred in as electives when they might
be considered equivalent to MTSU courses. This is especially true for courses taken
at non-Tennessee Board of Regents institutions. Faculty advisors should use their
own judgment in working with the transfer evaluation form. Sometimes they may need
to ask the student to bring in a catalog description or syllabus for a course in question.
College Catalogs can be found through College Source. The advisor, chair, and the dean - not the Admissions Office - have the ultimate
authority to decide course equivalencies.
Transfer Hour Equivalents - MTSU operates on a semester hour basis; therefore, the credits of students transferring
in with quarter hours are converted to semester hours.
*The formula is as follows:
Each quarter hour = 2/3 of a semester hour
Ex. 3 quarter hours = 2 semester hours
4 quarter hours = 2.67 semester hours
Students do not lose credit when they transfer to MTSU. Transfer hours that do not
apply to general studies, majors, or minors can be counted as elective hours toward
the 120 hours needed to graduate. A few departments do restrict the number of transfer
and /or elective hours that can be applied toward their degrees. Advisors should refer
to the catalog for any such restrictions.
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- How do I complete a course substitution form?
In many cases a class will transfer into MTSU as an elective. For example a student
takes College Algebra (Math 105) at ABC University. When their transcript is evaluated
at MTSU the evaluators identify no equivalent MTSU course so the student is given
credit for MATH ELLD. Since this is a general education course you, as the student's
advisor, have the power to review the course description for MATH 105 at ABC University
and determine if it is a match to our MATH 1710. If you determine that it is a match
you need to fill out a course substitution form (available from your department secretary
or email Judy Albakry). The chair of the student's major will need to sign the form and then it is also
signed by the Dean's office of the student's major. The Dean will then forward the
form to our graduation analyst who will update the student's information. This process
usually takes 1-2 weeks. You do not need to contact anyone in the department in which
the course is offered (in this case the Math department). If you need to substitute
a course that fulfills the major or minor requirements please contact the chair of
that department to determine if the class meets the department's requirements. You
can find most course descriptions for any college at CollegeSource.com. Just type in the name of the institution, select the correct catalog year, and search
for the course description in the school catalog.
*If a student transfers in a course that required a substitution, please be aware
that the computer system does not automatically recognize substitutions for registration
purposes. If they desire to enroll in a course that requires a prerequisite and they
have been granted a substitution for this prerequisite, they will need to contact
a College Advisor or department secretary. They must provide the CRN of the course they would like
to enroll in to gain an authorization before the computer system will allow them to
register for this course.
**If a student changes majors to a different college all course substitutions are
voided and will have to be approved by the advisor, chair, and Dean of their new major.
A new course substitution form will need to be created.
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