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Welcome Newly Admitted Students (Fall 2009)

Welcome to the College of Science and Mathematics

You are a College of Science and Math student if your major is one of the following: Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Kinesiology, Liberal Studies, Mathematics, Microbiology, Physics, or Statistics.

Students outside the College of Science and Mathematics: If you are a major other than Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Kinesiology, Liberal Studies, Mathematics, Microbiology, Physics, or Statistics and are interested in changing into the College of Science and Mathematics, consult directly with the Advisor for your current major regarding your options at Cal Poly. Because of Cal Poly's "Graduate on Time Initiative" your options for changing your major may be limited.

Fall Quarter Registration - Incoming Freshman

For Fall Quarter 2009 at Cal Poly, a class schedule has been assigned to you.  Since Cal Poly is committed to helping you Graduate On Time, you have been registered in a specific set of classes - required for your major - for your first quarter.  Here’s why...

  • We want you to start off on the right path. 
  • Registering for the right courses during your first quarter is crucial to making progress in your degree and completing prerequisites in the right order.  
  • Registering for classes can be very competitive at Cal Poly and somewhat overwhelming for new students, so having a schedule automatically generated for the first quarter will help ensure that you get the correct courses that you need.
  • If you did not receive a Fall class schedule, it was because you were admitted late or you had HOLDS on your account for not completing the Entry Level Math or Entery Level English exam. You will need to register for all of your classes during the New Student Registration Enrollment Period. See information below:

 

Accessing your Fall Schedule:

  • Course schedules were first available for viewing from your Cal Poly Portal when you attended SOAR (Summer Orientation, Advising & Registration Program). 
  • If you did not attend SOAR, you may now access your schedule through the online portal via your Student Center. Click on "Class Schedule" 
  • If you need to make changes to your schedule, you can do so during the New Freshman Student Registration Enrollment Period Aug 18-20. Check the Office of the Registrar's website for your specific date/time to register. First, you must plan your schedule on PASS and then you can ADD, SWAP or EDIT your existing schedule through CPREG in your Student Center. It is strongly recommended that you first watch the PASS and CPREG demos in your portal to learn how to efficiently use these tools including the Waitlist process.
  • It is strongly recommended that you consult with an advisor before making any changes to your Fall schedule.
  • If you change your schedule we can’t guarantee that you’ll get courses needed to keep you on track for graduation. DO NOT RELY ON THE WAITLISTING PROCESS TO BE ADDED TO CLASSES! THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL BE ADDED TO THE CLASS!
  • If you do change your schedule, be sure to print a copy of your class schedule for your records every time you adjust your schedule!

 

How to register for Winter quarter and beyond...

At SOAR, students will learn about the registration process and the critical components to consider when they are registering for future quarters. 

If you did not attend SOAR...


The College of Science and Mathematics Advising Center Staff will be available for academic advising to students during Fall quarter to help prepare them for Winter Quarter registration. Additionally, each student will also be assigned to a faculty advisor from their major department who can assist with future course planning. Visit the College of Science and Math Advising Center in Building 53, Room 219 or your major department in Fall to find out your faculty advisor. Course registration for Winter quarter begins around the fifth week of the Fall quarter. Plan accordingly.

  • Check out the Majors page of this website for information on your curriculum requirements and to access four year flowcharts to assist you with planning for future quarters.
  • Review your "Degree Progress Report" (DPR) quarterly to determine how the courses you are taking are being applied to your curriculum/degree. You can access the DPR in your Student Center. Click on "Degree Progress" Once has finished processing, click on "expand all" to see detailed information. Your AP test scores (if they have been sent to Cal Poly) and any previous college level credit will be reflected in your DPR by the end of Fall quarter. More information detailed below:

 

Fall Quarter Registration - Incoming Transfers

At SOAR you will be registering for classes. During SOAR, you will be given additional information and guidance regarding the scheduling of courses and how to register. Any questions or concerns regarding courses can be discussed at SOAR as well.

Do YOUR part...
In order for us to give you the right courses, Cal Poly needs to have all of your educational information on file.

  • Be sure that you have submitted all official transcripts from other high schools and colleges you have attended.
  • Make sure you send all AP Exam scores to the Cal Poly Admissions office:

                  Admissions
                        Cal Poly University 1 Grand Ave, Bldg. 1
                        San Luis Obispo, CA  93407      

If you are not attending SOAR....

If you cannot attend SOAR, refer to your major page of this website for information on your curriculum sheet, flowcharts and course offerings. Also, be sure to scroll to the bottom of this page and read about the Degree Progress Report (DPR). This online tool is available to you through your portal -via your Student Center. Click on "Degree Progress." Next, click on the '"expand all" button. By the end of Fall quarter, this tool will indicate how your transfer credit has been applied to your major. Until then, you will need to avoid taking classes in the areas that you believe you have fulfilled. Use ASSIST.org to determine specific course articulations or to determine General Education credit. In conjunction with these tools, you will need to use PASS to plan your schedule and CPREG to register for your courses available via your portal page. If you cannot attend SOAR, your first opportunity to register will be on August 14 at 2pm. New Transfer Student registration will remain open through Monday, Aug 17. After that date, you will have to wait till Aug 24 during the Open Enrollment period to make any changes to your schedule. It is essential that you try and register on Aug 14 during the new transfer student registration period. Beginning Aug 24, ALL students will be able to make changes to their schedule and course availability may be limited. Please visit the Office of the Registrar's Registration Rotation information at: http://www.ess.calpoly.edu/_records/registration/RegistrationRotations2098_newstu.html.

How to register for Winter quarter and beyond...
At SOAR, students will learn about the registration process and the critical components to consider when they are registering for future quarters.  If you do not attend SOAR, you are encouraged to meet with your faculty advisor or the College of Science and Mathematics Advising Center in Fall quarter to discuss course planning for future quarters. Course registration for Winter quarter begins around the fifth week of the Fall quarter. Plan accordingly. Be sure to view your Degree Progress Report (DPR) on a quarterly basis to see how your course credit taken at Cal Poly and previous transfer credit is being applied towards your degree requirements. When meeting with an advisor, it is best to print out your DPR beforehand and bring it with you to your advising appointments.

Academic Success Prep

Prepare for Academic Success

Don’t get dropped from your classes. Students are required to attend the first class meeting and to be on time. If the class has a lecture and a laboratory (or activity) you must attend the first class meeting for both the lecture and lab. If you do not attend the first class meeting, your enrollment in the class is not guaranteed and you may be dropped by the instructor. You should confirm with the instructor if you intend to remain in the class. Do not assume that you will be dropped automatically because you did not attend the first session, and do not assume your instructor will drop you because they told you they would.

The following suggestions will help with your transition Cal Poly.

  • Plan to spend 25-35 hours/week studying and preparing for class/lab of class.
  • Go to faculty office hours; each faculty member is required to hold 5 office hours/week.
  • Plan ahead. Keep up with your studying and assignments. Cramming is not effective.
  • Do not drop the schedule you have been given. We cannot guarantee you will get other classes.
  • Use Supplemental Workshops for Math and for Science.
  • Get help early when experiencing trouble.
  • Visit your advisor(s) regularly and go prepared with your Academic Portfolio.
  • Utilize tutoring services in your department or other campus resources.

 

Advising Resources

We encourage each student to take responsibility for their academic success. The first way to do this is to take time to learn about the academic and advising resources that Cal Poly has in place to assist you in your path to "graduate on time".

Academic Advising


Faculty Advisors

Students in the College of Science and Math are encouraged to seek academic/career advising from their department faculty. Each student is assigned to a faculty advisor in their department. However, students are usually at liberty to request a different faculty member from their major program, providing it is mutually agreeable between the student and the faculty advisor. If you are attending SOAR (Summer Orientation, Advising & Registration Program) , you will be provided the name of your faculty advisor at that time. If you are not attending SOAR, you should contact your major department or the CSM Advising Center in Bldg. 53, Room 219 to obtain the name/contact information of your faculty advisor. Note: Liberal Studies students do not have faculty advisors assigned to them. Please consult with the CSM Advising Office or the Liberal Studies Department for academic advising.


College of Science and Math Advising Center

The College of Science and Mathematics Advising Center has trained and knowledgeable staff who empower all students in the CSM community to achieve their unique educational goals by providing timely and effective support in a professional, welcoming environment. Our center provides academic advising and related services to all students in the college.

Our areas of specialty include:

  • Academic advising and schedule planning
  • Interpretation of college and university policies and procedures
  • Interpretation of articulation agreements, including major, support and general education requirements
  • Academic intervention/probation/disqualification/readmission advising
  • Change of major advising and administrative progress contracts
  • Assistance with student-related procedures such as major/support substitutions, course withdrawal, graduation evaluation/concentration forms, etc.
  • Referral to other campus support services such as tutoring, study sessions, financial aid, study abroad, counseling services, etc.

.Additionally, our office provides the following:

  • Tracking academic and administrative progress of each student
  • Special programming to facilitate student success
  • Assists faculty and staff wtihin the college with various student -related issues.

For more information, please refer to our home page.


Degree Progress Report (DPR)


The Degree Progress Report (DPR) is an interactive advising tool that will provide you with an up-to-date assessment of your academic progress to graduation. It will indicate if you have met specific University degree requirements such as:

  • Units (minimum and upper division) required to earn your degree
  • GPA requirements (excluding major gpa) required
  • Residence unit requirement
  • The United States Cultural Pluralism (USCP) requirement
  • The Graduation Writing Requirement

It will also indicate what courses that you have completed or have yet to complete in the following areas:

  • General Education coursework
  • Major coursework
  • Support coursework (if required)
  • Concentration coursework
  • Minor coursework (if declared)
  • Course credits not used are courses that will count for elective credit or courses that have not yet been applied to any of the above categories*

You can access your DPR through your Student Center via your Cal Poly portal. "Single Click Access" channel. To learn more about the DPR including an access guide and FAQ's, visit: http://www.ess.calpoly.edu/records/Degree_Progress/degree_progress.html

 

To declare your concentration and/or minor:

*Note: The DPR will not reflect information that has not yet been provided to the Office of the Registrar - Academic Records unit.  Once provided to them, allow at least a week for the information to be reflected in your Degree Progress Report.

To declare a concentration, send an email to evaluations@calpoly.edu with a Subject line of "CSM Concentration."  In the body of the email, provide the following information: Name, Empl ID, Major, Catalog Year (i.e., 07-09, 09-11), the concentration you wish to pursue, and any applicable emphasis or track for that concentration. (i.e. Kinesiology -Exercise and Health Promotion -clinical track or Liberal Studies - Child Development Emphasis). Make sure your concentration is available for the catalog you are following by going to http://www.catalog.calpoly.edu/ for the current catalog or to http://www.catalog.calpoly.edu/priorcatalogs.html for previous catalogs.

For a minor, obtain the form and appropriate signatures from your minor department before sending the form to the Office of the Registrar - Academic Records Unit.


Academic Portfolio

Another way to graduate on time is to maintain an Academic Portfolio that includes important documents such as advising plans, petitions/forms and other information that is needed to maintain timely progress towards graduation. If you plan to attend SOAR, you will receive an academic portfolio that is designed to be utilized for this purpose. If you do not attend SOAR, please come to the Advising Center to learn about the contents that should be kept in an academic portfolio. You can also go to the Cal Poly Advising website for additional information about maintaining an academic portfolio.