Academic Advising

Academic Advising FAQs

• How do I know who my advisor is?

   

  Academic advising services are provided based on a student’s programs of interest. Each student has a minimum of one academic advisor that is based on their major. Students may have more than one advisor depending on their program(s).

  Students that are undecided or exploring programs are advised by the First Year and Exploratory Advising team.

  If a student changes their major, it may take 2-3 business days for their advisor to update, but they can always reach out directly to their new major’s advising office.

  Once a student is assigned an academic advisor, they can see the advisor's information in their MyCWU account (In Homepage, look to the left hand side in the "My Advisors" box). If they have not been assigned an advisor yet, they can reach out to the advising area for their major. See "How do I know what advising area supports my major?" FAQ.

• College Advising Contact Information

  College of Arts and Humanities (CAH) – CAHAdvising@cwu.edu or call 509-963-1858
  College of Education and Professional Studies (CEPS) - CEPSAdvising@cwu.edu 509-963-2077
  College of the Sciences (COTS) – COTSAdvising@cwu.edu 509-963-1498
  College of Business (CB) - CBAdvising@cwu.edu 509-963-2930
  

• What do I need to know about getting into my Academic Writing I classes for general education?
  If a student does not have college credit for a class that meets our Academic Writing I area of the general education program (ENG 101, PHIL 110, PHIL 111), they will need to take the Directed Self Placement at CWU. This is a free assessment and students are encouraged to do it at least six months prior to starting at CWU. If they complete it after they are registered for fall classes, we recommend that they connect with their advisor to discuss when to incorporate the course sequence into their plan.

  For more information- please see the Directed Self Placement site.

• What do I need to know about getting into math or quantitative reasoning courses?

  Students may need to take a placement exam to enroll in a math or other quantitative reasoning class if they have not taken or earned credit for a math class at the college level. Placement for these courses can be a little confusing because there are many ways a student can qualify. If you have any questions about your current qualification, please reach out to your advisor or advising area.

  For all acceptable exams or prerequisite courses, please see our University Catalog and click Academic and General Regulations on the left-hand side menu, then Qualifying Minimum Test Scores.

  Math Placement 

  To determine if a student needs to take a placement exam for Math/Quantitative Reasoning, they will review a student's record or ask the student questions to determine the following:

  Did the student take pre-calculus math or calculus math in high school?
  If a student took pre-calculus in high school and earned a C- average or higher, they qualify for a college level math course. If they received a B- or higher, they may qualify for a higher-level math course at the college level.

  Does the student have transfer credit for math or did they take a developmental class at another institution?

  A student’s previous college course work may qualify them for higher level courses at CWU or may meet the requirement completely.

  Did the student take the ALEKS placement exam or Accuplacer exam or another acceptable math placement exam? 

  CWU does not accept SAT/ACT scores for math placement, but we do accept the ALEKS, Accuplacer, Smarter Balance, and Math Directed Self-Placement (DSP) Test for placing a student into courses. If a student has not taken a placement exam yet, does not have previous college credit for math, and did not take pre-calculus or calculus math in high school, we strongly recommend the Math DSP Tool (no fees) or ALEKS math placement option.

  Directed Self-Placement Math Tool

  Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS) 

  The ALEKS exam is provided by CWU and can be done through a student's MyCWU account. Students can either pay directly for the assessment or charge it to their student account

• How do I change my major or drop a program? 

  Students can request or drop a program through their MyCWU account.

• When should I apply for graduation and how do I do that?

  Students should plan to apply for graduation 6-9 months in advance of the end of the quarter they want to graduate. For example, if a student plans to graduate at the end of spring quarter, they should meet with their advisor for graduation check appointment and apply for graduation during the fall term.

  The official deadline to apply for graduation is the end of the second week of classes the quarter before they plan to graduate (i.e., second week of winter quarter if graduating spring term). But if a student waits this long, they may not be able to get in to see their advisor right before applying.

  For specific dates- please view the academic calendar for appropriate school year.

  The Office of the Registrar oversees all final degree evaluations for bachelor’s degrees. Please see their page for application instructions and materials.

• I think I have taken a class that meets a general education requirement, but it is not one of the listed options. Can I petition this?
  Students can petition a general education requirement if they feel they have taken a class that meets the learning objectives of that area. We recommend meeting with an academic advisor to discuss the process and materials needed.

  In general, students must complete this form and provide course descriptions, syllabi, or other helpful information to assist the General Education Committee in determining if the course is eligible.

• What is a class substitution and how do I request one? 
  If a student has taken a class that they think meets the same objectives as one of their major/minor or other academic program requirements (not general education), they can request to use that class for the program requirement as a substitution.

  This is a petition process and there is no guarantee it will be approved. For students considering a substitution request, we recommend meeting with an advisor to discuss.

  Substitution requests are reviewed by the department that oversees the program, not necessarily the department that oversees the classes. For example, if a student would like to request a substitution for the MATH 172 requirement in the Construction Management major, that would be reviewed by the Engineering Technologies, Safety, and Construction Department, not the Mathematics Department.

• When do I register for classes?

  Each student receives an “Enrollment Appointment” during the fourth or fifth week of the quarter before. This is not an actual appointment but is actually a window of time in MyCWU when your registration opens. This is posted in MyCWU and will provide the specific day and time that a student’s enrollment will begin for the next term.

  Students should plan to register for classes within 12 hours of their registration opening. Classes fill quickly and sometimes there are only one or two sections of class.

  Enrollment times are assigned based on the number of credits a student has. This means seniors go first, then juniors, then sophomores and so on.

  New incoming transfer students are provided enrollment times during the window when juniors register, and new first year students are provided times during the first-year window.

  Check MyCWU Guide and MyCWU Scheduler in the Student Registration Handbook.

• How do I contact the Office of Academic Success and Advising?

  Contact Information:
  Academic Success and Advising
  AcademicSuccess@cwu.edu
  Ph: 509-963-2722