Good Monday to you all…we are in the home stretch now…only 3 more weeks of classes.
A couple of items for you to be aware of as you continue to plan for summer and fall registration.
1. In order for a course to make (and not be cancelled due to low enrollments) I strongly urge you to pre-register for courses.
a. For summer, I will make decisions about small classes by end of finals week in May. In cases where a class is in jeopardy, I will contact ALL students currently registered. Courses that are currently at risk include COM 315 and COM 209. If you plan to take one of these classes, PLEASE REGISTER NOW.
b. For fall classes, we give it more time. The decision to cancel a class will likely occur in mid to late July. So, please check your campus email accounts and postal mail HOME this summer for information about this.
c. If we cancel a class due to low enrollments I will work with students directly to find adequate substitutes for their programs. For example, I note that COM 360 has only 4 students currently registered. If we cancel that course and it’s required in your program and you graduate in December, we will make a substitution. If not, we will offer it in Spring 2010 and you’ll need to make schedule adjustments.
2. Consider taking an online course or special topics class this fall. These courses can count in your programs, but check with your advisor:
a. Organizational and Interpersonal COM majors----COM 511/611 Online: Conflict and Communication, Charlene Berquist
b. All COM Studies majors---COM 513/619 Online: Ethical Issues in Communication, Susan Waters
c. Health COM majors---COM 597/698 Live: Health Communication and Culture, Heather Carmack
3. Banner enforces pre-requisites. These are pre-requisites set by the department and agreed to by the COM faculty. Permission to waive a pre-req is always an instructor decisions. A few other things to consider:
a. If you are taking the pre-req this summer on campus, you need to register for it first. Then you should be able to go into Banner for the fall and add the course you want. Banner should recognize you as being In Progress with the pre-req. If it does not, contact the Registrar’s office directly and they’ll get it fixed for you.
b. If you plan to take a pre-req this summer off campus, you’ve got to contact the instructor directly and inform him/her of this and request an override due to completing the pre-req this summer.
c. If you are not currently eligible for admission to the major, but will be by the end of the summer, again, you can contact the instructor and request permission to waive the pre-req.
d. By departmental policy, if you will be in progress with it this fall, you are NOT eligible to take that course, and the instructor will not give you permission to take the course.
4. Admission to the major: If you are eligible right now for admission, please see your advisor immediately to complete the paperwork to clear the “admission” pre-requisite so you can register. At the same time you need to make plans to get admitted to your minor as well. Please make a separate appointment for that to happen before or right after we complete your paperwork in COM.
a. If you will be eligible for admission by the end of the semester, then in most cases, you will not be given permission because we cannot guarantee that you will complete the course or get the necessary grade in the course that is necessary for admission. So, you may have to plan for another course and if you meet the requirements after grades are posted, you can contact the instructor directly and request permission now that you’ve met the admission criteria.
b. We just want to be sure that you are eligible to be in the course and that you have a proper course sequencing plan for taking the course.
5. Remember to request permission DIRECTLY from the instructor. Requesting does not mean automatic permission is given.