This document attempts to refresh and prepare advisees on progression through their university course experiences at S&T to make it as easy as possible for both advisees and their advisors. With any good relationship there is a balance and investment from both parties. I expect you to be invested in the process of learning and working toward your degree(s), and I, in turn, will invest in assisting where and when I can - starting with this overview in preparation for future interactions.

The general layout outlines major areas which may or may not pertain to your current situation. While the entire content might be a good refresher, you may be able to skip over any sub-categories that do not align with your current status.

INITIATES

In your PRO/Transfer day you may/should have seen JoeSS and the Schedule Planner. If you missed it, you likely also had a FE1100 assignment on it. If you are still unclear, ask your roommate or check out the link under resources to become familiar with its operation.

Within your JoeSS student portal you can track your degree progression using what some might call DARS (Degree Audit Reporting System?) which I simply call your degree audit. Find your degree audit ("run degree audit" using the defaults) and confirm that the resulting section which lists all transferred courses matches with what you thought transferred in. There should be a one to one correspondence, but the courses might be named differently than what you took/transferred. Note any issues for our next meeting.

Double Majors - you should have been setup at some point with both majors. If you are thinking about a double major and do not know if you are "officially" a double major, (and if you've never talked to someone in the department of the non-CS degree) see me ASAP.

CLASSES

(Everyone should be reading somewhere in this section.)

I typically start off asking how many semesters a student has left at S&T. If you've just arrived, you might not quite know (so you're in the first category below). Around the halfway point (2^6 credit hours) you should be mapping things out and thinking about when you'll be departing. The ideas below will help you keep on track through this process.

Total Credit Hours generally < 45

Your next semester's classes should roughly be prioritized in the following manner:

Next available Required CS courses (see chart below)
Next available Math courses until at least Calc 1 is complete
[Any course requirements for double majors]
Any "heavy" classes you might want to get out of the way (e.g., Calc 2, Physics, Lab Science)
Any other potential/eventual required courses
Any electives

Notes:

Be aware that CS 1200 requires a math prerequisite as well (moving CS1200 forward (right) one semester will not impact other prerequisites' timing)
CompE 2210 can be taken earlier if desired

Closing in on ~4 semesters or fewer

Your next semester's classes should roughly be prioritized in the following manner:

Next available Required CS courses (see chart)
Other Required CS courses NOT on the chart (2300, 3500, 4090, 3xxx or 5xxx electives)
[Any course requirements for double majors]
Next available Math/Stats courses, CompE 3150, Ethics Elective
Remaining Lab Sciences/Physics (unless discussed previously with me)
Any other potential/eventual required courses
Any electives

Notes:

You need to have a plan for Experiential Learning (preferably communicated to me)

Final semesters

Experiential Learning requirement should be completed well in advance to avoid any last-minute snags to graduation. The "Senior Assessment" portion of the Degree Audit can only be done after you have registered for graduation (i.e., the semester you will actually graduate). At this point you should have a plan for all remaining semesters and may only slightly need to tweak things - for example to grab an available 5xxx level elective you didn't know was going to be available, or adjust due to a new experimental course you want to take. In most all cases, CS courses should take priority over any remaining classes (I'd rather have you taking Eng 1160 your final semester than being stuck with a 5xxx class you despise). Be sure to review the notes on 5xxx classes below.

EVERYONE

Enter next semester's courses into Schedule Planner prior to contacting your advisor.

Review your Degree Audit in JoeSS and bring any questions/concerns to a 1-on-1 meeting.

Notes:

Be aware 5xxx CS Electives are usually not offered every class every semester (carpe diem)
Be aware the upper level CS classes can be demanding (so spreading out 5xxx electives is advised)
Be aware that school regulations require the last 60 credit hours of coursework to be taken on S&T's campus. There are provisions that up to 15 hours of the last 60 can be waived by the department (best to talk with your advisor about any plans which would majorly deviate from these requirements).
Be aware that running Schedule Planner takes into account the current enrollment status of the class at the time the schedule is created. This means even though you picked an amazing schedule and spent hours tweaking your lunch breaks, when your enrollment period opens those classes might be full. As opposed to spending time sifting through >1000 possible schedules, it might be best to hold off trying to narrow down a schedule until a day (or hours) before you can actually enroll.

FUQOF (Frequently Unasked Questions and Other Facts)

Q. It looks like there may be some challenges ahead since my catalog year says I need to take 3600/3100/4096 and these course numbers may be changing to 4610/4090/4091 which will have other prerequisite structures, etc. What's up with that?

As tech and industry changes, we attempt to keep the curriculum tuned as best as we can to align to our stakeholders (students and their eventual employers). Recent adjustments have resulted in some new courses and numbering which the department will transition into. It's understood there will be a transition period and all students will be accommodated as best as makes sense given the courses and timing within their respective programs (See FAQ above).

Q. When can I register for classes.

Once your holds have been removed and your registration time has arrived. The most important holds are the advising holds (as they appear every semester). Additional holds might include immunization holds (if Student Health does not have your records), Cashier holds (if you owe money for previous semesters' tuition, parking fines, etc.), and Title IX (or other mandated training) holds. Under your main Student Center within JoeSS look for the "Holds" area ("No Holds." is ideal) and "Enrollment Dates" which will show your exact day and time at which you can register for the upcoming semester's classes. Enrollment is opened to students based upon accumulated credit hours (the closer you are to graduating, the earlier you can register for classes).

Q. Does a Missouri S&T Distance Course count as "on campus" (for the purposes of the "last 60 hours" requirement, for example)?

Yes, but be aware they may require "distance fees" (which may be a substitute for "athletics/activities/IT" fees which you pay for on campus courses). Check with the cashier/registrar/financial aid for all the current data.

Q. Are new incoming freshmen Fall 2022 and beyond immediately Computer Science majors?

Pretty much. From 2019-2022, as with other College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) majors, all incoming freshmen entered the Freshman Engineering program from which they could officially join a department upon meeting the entrance requirements https://advising.mst.edu/courses/degree-program-entrance-requirements/ Following some restructuring and the addition of a full time advisor within CS, incoming students will likely immediately become "official" CS majors from Fall 2022 and beyond.

Q. You say CS majors are part of CEC yet in JoeSS I see "UA&S - Ungrad College of Arts & Sci." What's up with that?

When I'm in charge of maintaining the JoeSS software, I'll be sure to update that.

Q. Do I really have to take CS xxxx? (Alternatively: I heard it is possible to change catalog years and that doing so changes the required/elective CS courses. Can I do that to avoid taking xxxx?)

Sort of. Missouri S&T allows you to switch the catalog years that your degree program must comply with, but only under certain caveats. You are only allowed to move forward in catalog years (e.g., FS 2018 instead of FS 2017) and the change is irreversible. A rough outline of the catalog year curriculum was online (maybe see) https://cs.mst.edu/academic-programs/undergraduate-degree/advising-faq/ and you can likely run a "what if" report when you're running your Degree Audit (choose the option where it allows you to switch which catalog year your coursework is applied to). This activity is not actively encouraged; and at the very least, you better have a very good understanding of the ramifications of switching catalog years.

Q. Do I have to take Chemistry?

Missouri S&T's CS BS degree program requires a Lab Science component, which includes, but does not require, chemistry as one option. If you are considering a double major, you should take chemistry (as most engineering programs do require chemistry). If you are definitively only pursuing the CS BS then we also allow certain biology, geology, and astronomy lecture/lab courses to fulfil this requirement (see http://catalog.mst.edu/undergraduate/degreeprogramsandcourses/computerscience/#bachelorstext ).

Q. Do you recommend taking xxxx with Professor pppp?

Choices of electives and instructors are often best addressed through personal preferences. If you desire insight into subjective issues (is this instructor "good" or "hard" or ... ""), it is best to ask your friends or attend peer-advising events and attempt to restructure your questions in the form of something more quantifiable (e.g., "how much time did you spend on assignments" or "what is their teaching style" ...). There is also mandated reporting of the end-of-semester questions for certain evaluation criteria which is made available to students through JoeSS when registering for courses. If data is available from previous semesters, when you have selected an instructor for a given course you can click a link and find the evaluation results. (See https://www.facebook.com/MSTstuco/videos/303156797174299/ for an example.)

Gosnell's Advisor/Advisee Notes