E-mail this pageNew Student Advisement & Course Registration - Fall 2009
Welcome New Students, from the Academic Advising Office!
 Download the 2009 Orientation Guide(353Kb PDF) |
We hope that you have found it possible to attend the SUNY Plattsburgh Summer Orientation program. During each orientation session, our office provides a 1-hour workshop for new students on academic planning and facilitates a course advisement session between you and your department just prior to registering for classes.
These summer advising activities assist your understanding about how advisement and registration work, and what General Education courses you need to fulfill. In the end, you will leave with a full schedule for the fall semester!
Whether or not you were able to attend summer orientation, the following questions and answers provide you with basic information you should know as you plan for your first semester at SUNY Plattsburgh. We encourage you to read all of the information on this page, as it does include the appropriate places to contact for questions you might have about courses.
If you are a new student needing to register for or adjust your Fall 2009 courses, come to the New Student Course Advisement & Registration session on Sunday, August 23, at 10 a.m. sharp. Deans, Department Chairs, Registrar's Office and Academic Advising staff will be on hand to personally assist you.
What Kind of College Courses Should I Expect?
Many of your first courses will fulfill requirements exclusively for your General Education program (especially if you are a new freshman). Other courses may get you a jump start on your chosen major or serve as electives courses that you take just for personal interest. Transfer students will have some or most of their General Education courses completed; therefore, more of your courses will fulfill requirements for your major.
General Education ("Gen Ed")
General Education courses are designed to give you critical skills and a general understanding of the world that you will need regardless of the major you select. Even though the General Education program is separate from the curriculum for your major, your department may require you to complete specific General Education courses. These courses help you to gain specific skills or knowledge relevant to your major, AND they fulfill a Gen Ed requirements as well.
Some Subjects You've Studied Before
In your high school or community college, you might have become accustomed to primarily core or common subjects, for example, English, science, history, art, and math. Plattsburgh State has those subjects, too, and our General Education program encourages your continued growth in those areas (e.g,. writing, speaking, foreign language, etc).
Open Yourself to New Subjects, Too
Some Gen Ed categories include subjects you might not have experienced before, such as anthropology, philosophy, gender and women's studies, sociology, ecology, and many more. You will have the opportunity to expand yourself by enrolling in exciting and diverse course offerings. We encourage you not to fear the unknown. Open yourself to new fields, as they may spark an interest you never knew you had (and could possibly become your college major or minor)!
How Do I Get Registered If I Did Not Attend Summer Orientation?
If you missed summer orientation, please download our 8-pg booklet "Important Academic Information," and follow all of the guidance below.
Note: This 353Kb PDF file requires the latest version of Acrobat Reader, which is available as a free download.
Freshmen
- After our summer orientation program has ended, in late July or early August advisors in the Academic Advising Office assist those freshmen who do not have full-time schedules for the fall. It's probable that your academic department has already registered you in a few classes to get you started in your major. Therefore, if we need to consult with you briefly (see Note #1) to discuss your remaining courses, we will attempt phoning you first. Otherwise, we will be able to register you for other appropriate "General Education courses" (see explanation above).
- Note #1: Because we will be corresponding with you, it is important that you have communicated your accurate phone numbers and home address to the Admissions Office. If you do not hear from us by the end of the first week of August, please call 518-564-2080 or e-mail advise@plattsburgh.edu to arrange for a time to talk during regular business hours. Once we talk, we will make sure you have an appropriate schedule for the start of your first semester.
- When we have finalized your schedule, we will send a copy to you by mail. Attached to your fall schedule (see NOTE #2) will be important information about Opening Weekend, and web pages to consult for other assistance. Attached to your schedule will be a letter with a date by which you MUST RESPOND to let us know whether or not you are planning to attend SUNY Plattsburgh. You must respond or you will be removed from your fall courses.
- Note #2: A few of our General Education courses require new students to take placement/competency exams before we enroll you in courses (i.e., Written Expression, Foreign Language). These exams are offered during summer orientation and again during the weekend before classes start. Therefore, if you have missed summer orientation, we might leave certain vacancies in your schedule until we await the results of your placement testing. You may then register for the remainder of your courses by coming to a special, New Student Course Advisement & Registration session on Sunday, August 23, at 10 a.m. sharp. Deans, Department Chairs, Registrar's Office and Academic Advising staff will be on hand to personally assist you.
Transfers & Readmitted Students
- Transfer students who are entering SUNY Plattsburgh this fall may register for courses online starting June 26th. To register, do the following:
- Contact the chairperson of your department for advisement and to get your registration PIN code.
- If you are an Undeclared major, phone the Academic Advising Office, 518-564-2080.
- Refer to the Registration Instructions that were sent to you by the Admissions Office.
- If you failed to register using the above procedures by the first week of August, the Academic Advising Office will register you into appropriate courses and send a copy of your schedule by mail. Attached to your schedule will be a letter with a date by which you MUST RESPOND to let us know whether or not you are planning to attend SUNY Plattsburgh. You must respond or you will be removed from your fall courses.
- If, for any reason, you miss out on the opportunity to register for courses this summer, or if you need to adjust or add to your schedule, come to the New Student Advisement & Registration session on Sunday, August 23, at 10 a.m. sharp. Deans, Department Chairs, Registrar's Office and Academic Advising staff will be on hand to personally assist you.
What Do I Do If I Want to Change My Major?
You should immediately inform the Admissions Office of your desire to change majors (assuming you have not yet started school at SUNY Plattsburgh). Once you change your major, you should also contact the chairperson of your new department in order to ensure you are dropped from introductory courses in your old major and registered for those in your new major. Note: Certain majors are "closed," meaning that they are full and no longer admitting new majors. Consult with the Admissions Office for up-to-date information about open and closed majors.
May I Make Changes to My Fall Schedule after Summer Orientation?
Yes. If there is a course that you absolutely do not wish to take, you may drop it and register for another one using BannerWeb. However, it is not advisable to disturb your schedule by modifying it too much - unless absolutely necessary. When you register for courses without guidance, you might end up in a class that does not fulfill an important requirement while forever losing your seat in the class that did. You might also register for a course that sounds absolutely perfect but is unknowingly not the best choice for a first semester student.
Adding and dropping courses takes place online on BannerWeb, available on your MyPlattsburgh portal. For access, view the Computing & Media Services information on NetIDs and passwords.
I'm in Some Course but I Don't Know What They're About.
We agree that you can only tell so much from the title of a course. If you're registered for a course and you would like to know what you'll be studying, please refer to our College Catalog online that provides brief course descriptions of every class offered on campus!
Reading course descriptions is a useful activity, because it can reduce any uncertainty about why you are in the classes you have. You could be enrolled in, for example, two ENG (English) courses and assume they are the same; in reality, ENG100 and ENG101 foster writing skills necessary for your "Written Expression" Gen Ed requirement, whereas other ENG courses are more literature based and might fulfill another Gen Ed category entirely, such as the Arts or Humanities.
With Whom May I Discuss My Fall Schedule If I Need to?
If you have a question about a course or your overall schedule, first contact the department chairperson of your major. If your department chairperson is unable to assist you within a reasonable amount of time, you may phone our Academic Advising Office, 518-564-2080. If you are an Undeclared major, phone the Academic Advising Office, which serves as the academic home for students who have not yet declared a major.
Does Course Selection and Registration Always Follow This Process?
No. This is the process we follow only for new students, since you are not present on campus and have not yet learned to navigate your way through the College's usual processes. Once you start school in the fall, each semester all students meet with their academic advisor during a well publicized, two-week "Course Advisement Period." At that time, you discuss your course selections for the following semester with your advisor, and she/he provides you with a Registration PIN code. You register for classes on BannerWeb during the designated "Priority Registration" time. Both Course Advisement and Priority Registration occur soon after midterm of each semester.
Other Information about Course Registration (for New and Returning Students)
This information is part of an academic announcement that appears on students' MyPlattsburgh home page:
Registration (on Banner) is available from:
- July 26-August 20 (for course adjustment), and
- August 23-30 (for the first week course add/drop period).
For more information, visit the Registrar's Office website dedicated to undergraduate student registration.
An additional website exists to assist students, faculty, and staff with common registration procedures. Please visit "Help with Registering for Courses at SUNY Plattsburgh" for information including, but not limited to, the following topics:
- Course Add, Drop, and Withdrawal
- Credit Load (Maximum)
- Hybrid Courses
- Mathematics Notes
- Online Course
- PIN Disabled/Reset
- Registration Code
- Registration Error Messages (Definitions)
- Registration Fee
- Registration Holds
- Tuition Liability
- Tuition Refund Schedule
As always, please feel free to contact the Registrar's Office at 518-564-2100 or e-mail them at registrar@plattsburgh.edu.
Contact Information
Academic Advising
Office Location: Feinberg 101-103
Phone: (518) 564-2080
Fax: (518) 564-2079
E-mail: advise@plattsburgh.edu