​Transfer Student Newsletter: February 2017

 

Welcome to the College of Arts & Sciences!

This newsletter provides you with some important information to help you succeed in your transition to the College. We hope that you will read it, bookmark it, and refer to it as you need. We know that successful students are well informed about opportunities and policies in the College, that they are in frequent touch with their advisors and their Association Dean, and that they both formulate and keep to an academic plan.

Academic Advising in the College

If you are new to the College of Arts & Sciences and haven't already met with your faculty advisor, you should contact him or her to schedule a convenient time to confer. If you are a third-year student and you haven't declared your major yet, you should have conferred with the undergraduate director in the department in which you plan to declare.

New Third-year students have until March 1 to declare a major OR to complete a petition to defer declaring. Forms for declaring or deferring are in 101 Monroe Hall. Both require a visit to the undergraduate director of the department in which you plan to declare. If you are a third-year student and you miss the deadline, you will be blocked from selecting courses for the fall semester until you submit one of these forms. If you miss the deadline, you will be unblocked but will lose your priority for fall course selection. Don't let this happen to you. Declare or defer your major soon. Remember also that no student may continue to the second semester of their third year without having declared a major in the College.

Second-year students should explore different majors by finding out about the prerequisites for declaring, the minimum GPA for acceptance or minimum grade accepted in courses toward the major; the number of credits required; whether or not a thesis is required; and how many courses are required and how many are electives. Talk to the Directors of the Undergraduate Major Programs and ask about career opportunities; who does major advising; and what previous graduates are doing now.

All students should consider studying abroad. Visit the ISO home page for more information.

Ms. Ozment hopes as well that all Spring mid-year transfer students will make an appointment to see her to introduce yourself and to let her know about your academic plans at U.Va. You may set up an appointment to meet with her by calling 924-3350 or visiting 101 Monroe Hall. Her office is in Monroe Hall 204.

Area Requirements

Clarification of Requirements:

One course (including cross-listed courses such as AAS 1010 and HIAF 2002) may simultaneously meet NO MORE THAN TWO AREA REQUIREMENTS. It may also satisfy the Second Writing Requirement and/or count toward a first major, second major, or minor.

Plan to check your requirements and the accuracy of your records on SIS. If you have any questions or concerns, consult the College Registrar, your advisor, or your Association Dean.

Remember too that once you begin your studies here, you may not fulfill remaining area requirements with additional transfer credit. You must fulfill all remaining area requirements here at U.Va. The only exception is that students may complete the foreign language requirement by studying the language in a country where that language is the native language.

Degree Credit

Students may count no more than 60 non-UVA (transfer and advanced standing) credits toward the College degree. While we will transfer over 60 credits, 60 will be the limit that may be applied toward the degree. Please make an appointment with your Association Dean if you have any questions regarding the total number of non-UVA credits that you may apply toward your degree.

Additional Transfer Credit

If you have transfer credit which we have not already posted, please have an official transcript sent to Ms. Meredith Burke, P.O. Box 400133, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904. Although there is no deadline for transferring credit, it will be to your advantage to have any additional credit posted prior to course selection in April. Try to resolve any remaining transfer credit questions by the end of February. Please see Ms. Burke in Room 201C Monroe Hall if you have any questions.

College Deadlines

The College takes very seriously our deadlines for dropping, adding and withdrawing. Each semester the University Registrar sends your schedule to you over e-mail about three days before the drop deadline (which is also the day by which you should verify your enrollments). It is your responsibility to read it carefully and make any necessary changes (i.e., drop any courses you are not attending and add any courses you are attending). Additionally, you may call or log onto SIS at any time to verify your enrollments. A second e-mail will be sent to you about 5 days before the withdrawal deadline.

  1. Should you sign up for a class you subsequently do not attend and fail to drop on time, you will have to use a withdrawal form to withdraw from the class which will result in a "W" on your transcript.
  2. After the withdrawal deadline passes, should you find yourself in a class you never attended, you will need to fill out both a withdrawal form and a Late Schedule Correction Form to correct the error.
  3. You may not withdraw from a class that you have been attending if you miss the withdrawal deadline. You are in the class and will receive a grade, even if it is an F.
  4. Should you find yourself after the ADD deadline NOT enrolled in a class that you have been attending, you will need to complete a Late Schedule Correction Form to add into the class and you will lose your enrollment priority–meaning that you will enroll last for next semester's courses.

To avoid penalties, you should always:

  • verify your enrollments on SIS BEFORE THE DROP DEADLINE, and
  • carefully read the e-mail sent to you by the University Registrar with your complete schedule.

If you have a HOLD on SIS from Student Accounts, the Dean of Students, the College, Student Health, or the Registrar, you will not be able to perform any transaction on SIS. You should (1) check SIS a few days before the end of the drop and ADD deadlines to make sure you can drop or ADD, and (2) bring a signed Course Action Form to Monroe Hall before these deadlines pass.

March 14 = Last day to WITHDRAW from a course (W entered on records).

Check the online calendar for spring academic deadlines.

University Career Center (UCC)

Still searching for a major or career path that fits your personality and values?

The goal of University Career Center is to help students make rational decisions about educational and career options. They have several trained counselors on their staff who assist students with any career and job search concerns.

There is a new Transfer-Specific University Career Center website:  http://career.virginia.edu/specific-populations/transfer-student-support

The UCS office, located at Bryant Hall (@ Scott Stadium), is open 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., Monday through Friday. Inquiries for information or appointments can be made by calling (434) 924-8900. 

 

Useful Links

Other resources can be found on the College of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate web site, where we have tried to compile information that will be helpful for all students.

Please feel free to call 924-3350 to arrange for a convenient time to discuss any questions you have with Ms. Ozment. Alternatively, you may contact Ms. Ozment by e-mail at [email protected]. Her office is located in Monroe Hall, 204. We hope to see you soon.

Best of luck for the semester.