Student Advising

For current CS students, advisor assignments and hours are available from the department office. It is very important that you meet with your advisor every semester and make a good plan for the courses you plan to take.

ADVISING STEPS

1. Read the catalog. There many versions. Your catalog is the one in effect when you first started at UTEP. You may switch to a later catalog, but you may not switch to an earlier one. You must complete all the requirements in the catalog under which your degree is completed. You may not mix requirements between catalogs. Catalogs can be found here.
2. Fill out a Plan of Study. Your degree plan lists all the requirements for your degree. Your Plan of Study lists when you anticipate taking courses. To fill out the plan of study, you need three things: a degree plan, a list of course offerings, and a blank plan of study. Fill in all of the courses in the degree plan by semester into the plan of study. Suggested plans of study are available for 2006, 2008 (precalc) and 2008 (Calc I). You must follow the prerequisites. You must put the courses in the semesters they are offered. (For example, CS4375 is only offered in the Fall.) Example plans are available here.
3. Schedule an appointment with your advisor in the CS office; sign-up sheets are kept in a notebook on the front counter
4. Complete an Academic Advising Form prior to seeing your advisor (the form can be changed if needed)
5. Bring an up-to-date transcript to the advising session (non-official). This transcript you can print by logging into my.utep.edu. Select Goldmine from the menu, then select Student Services and Financial Aid. Then click Student Records and afterwards Academic Transcript. On that page select the transcript level and type, and then click Submit.

TIP

• Schedule an appointment with your advisor as soon as the advising schedule starts so you can register early.
  

STATEMENT OF STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY

The student shares the responsibility for developing an advising partnership with the advisor. Over time, the partnership results in increased responsibility for the student. The student will:

• Acquire the information (from the University of Texas at El Paso Undergraduate Catalog and departmental website) needed to assume final responsibility for course scheduling, program planning, and the successful completion of all graduation requirements.
• Make, keep, and be prepared for appointments with your assigned advisor; if you cannot make your appointment, please call the front office to cancel (747-5480);
• Complete and discuss his or her plan of study with the advisor;
• Communicate goals, needs, and concerns to the advisor;
• Seek information on opportunities in the department and university (research, internships, financial aid, scholarships, graduate studies, and student organizations);
• Inform the advisor of changes in plans and/or circumstances that might impact academic performance; and
• Be prepared with accurate information and relevant materials when meeting with the adviser.

CAUTIONARY ITEMS

• Students may repeat courses at most three times. In other words, No more than 6 Ws will be allowed in a student degree plan.
• The first time that a freshman course is repeated, the previously earned grade is automatically excluded from the GPA calculation.
• No more than six drops are permitted during your course of study (including drops from transferring institutions).

Please make an appointment to see your advisor during the advising period. Students will be advised only during the assigned times and dates.

The same information can be downloaded here.

Special cases:

• For pre-engineering students, advising is handled through the Circles program. Students with special concerns may contact Professor Freudenthal. (contact information)
• Students planning to transfer to UTEP Computer Science after taking CS courses elsewhere are encouraged to consult informally with Professor Freudenthal as early as possible. (contact information)