Academic Advising
Registrar Responsibilities
The office of the registrar is responsible for several administrative tasks related to advising.
The registrar is the only one able to decide if a transfer course will be accepted by the college and determine its value (1 or .5 credits typically).
The registrar maintains updated copies of student transcripts and provides these each semester to advisors.
The registrar monitors students' completion of General Education requirements.
The registrar provides copies of course offerings and arranges the time period during which students are to meet with advisors before their registration dates. Students will receive notices in the mail of their registration dates midway into each semester.
The registrar maintains all forms pertaining to transfer credits, add/drops, and changes of majors, minors & concentrations.
The registrar performs final credit hour evaluations for graduation. Letters indicating credits toward graduation are mailed to seniors.
Advisor Responsibilities
Your advisor will contact you, usually via email, to inform you of available advising meeting dates and times and how to sign up for an appointment. Upperclassmen (over 16 courses) register before lowerclassmen (under 16 courses).
Your advisor will review your course progress with you, including the completion of General Education and major requirements and the fulfillment of other graduation requirements (e.g., electives, field studies, internships, labs).
Your advisor will recommend courses and sequences of courses to best meet your graduation requirements. However, your advisor cannot guarantee your ability to enroll in the courses suggested.
You will receive your pin number from your advisor during your advising meeting which will allow you to register for courses online. Your advisor is the only person with this number. Don't lose it! It is also the number needed to change your schedule during the Add/Drop period!
Two to three semesters before you complete the 32 credits required for graduation, your advisor will review any specific course deficits indicated on your senior audit.
As needed, your advisor will consult with the department chair when course waivers or substitutes seem appropriate.
Student Responsibilities
It is the student's responsibility to make time to meet with your advisor at least once per semester. Do not expect to drop in during advising weeks. Make an appointment!
Review the course offerings, your course needs, and fit of the course times/dates with your other responsibilities. It is a good idea to bring a copy of your DegreeWorks audit with you to your advising appointment. To access your Degreeworks audit, go to myFramingham and log in.
Be aware of course prerequisites. When class lists are checked, students will be removed from courses for which prerequisites have not been completed with a passing grade.
As appropriate, be aware of requirements for fulfilling minors. It is the students' responsibility to check with the chairs of appropriate departments if unsure of their progress toward completing a minor.
Arrive for your advising appointment on time and prepared with at least 2 acceptable course schedules. Courses frequently close and alternatives must be considered. Course time blocks must not overlap.
Don't lose your pin number!
Commonly Asked Advising Questions
Your Advisor:
Who determines which advisor I must see?
The department chair assigns newly accepted majors to advisors. The process is largely based on availability as students graduate or otherwise leave the psychology department.
Is it possible to request a specific advisor?
Maybe. If a specific advisor is wanted, the student should meet with the chair and discuss why. Should the desired advisor have an opening, it may be possible for a change of advisor. However, given the number of psychology majors, most advisors have very full loads. Advisors may not make switches themselves.
As an evening student, do I have an advisor?
Yes. You may get general information about the programs and course offerings of Graduate and Continuing Education by calling (508) 626 - 4550. To speak to a general advisor or to schedule an appointment during advising periods with an academic advisor, ask for Bill Irwin. If you need specific advising about the psychology major, the assigned advisor is Dr. Ludemann. Contact her at (508) 626 - 4868 or pludemann@framingham.edu
Recommended Course Sequences
Is there a "best" sequence for completing the psychology courses?
100- & 200-level courses should be taken before 300- & 400-level courses. Many upper-level courses have prerequisites, are reserved for juniors/seniors, and have fewer seats. These features make upper-level courses difficult to get into until the end of your college years.
During the first two years, students should complete General Psychology and the non-psychology requirements (statistics, a lab science course, and an introductory philosophy course). Students should also make progress on completing one 200-level psychology course from each of the following domains: biological, developmental, learning and cognition, and sociocultural.
Sophomores should enroll in Research Methods I. Note that the statistics course (MATH 117) must be completed before enrolling in Research Methods I.
Second-semester sophomores and first-semester juniors should enroll in Research Methods II. Note that successful completion of Research Methods I is required.
Students who have completed Research Methods II and are second-semester juniors or seniors should complete two capstone courses: Thesis, Psychology Seminar, Internship, or History and Systems of Psychology.
Social psychology is particularly valuable in helping students think of research ideas appropriate for their thesis projects.
Save some "easy" General Education courses for semesters in which Research Methods I & II will be taken. These are very demanding psychology courses.
It is strongly recommended that students complete their lab science course(s) before enrolling in the research courses. The time needed for meeting the lab requirements and the demands of the research courses are often difficult to manage together.
May I take several of the Core Psychology courses in the same semester?
No. Most of the Core courses have prerequisites. General Psychology must be completed before any of the other Core courses may be taken. Research Methods I is the prerequisite for Research Methods II. Research Methods II is the prerequisite for Senior Thesis. Thus, the 3 research courses must be taken sequentially and it will take all students 3 semesters to do so.
Transferring Courses
May I complete some of my requirements at other colleges during summers and transfer the credits to FSU?
- Yes, you may transfer up to three-quarters of your course credits and still graduate with a degree from FSU. However, Core courses may not be transferred for credit towards the psychology major once enrolled at FSU. Students who enroll at FSU for the first time as transfer students are sometimes able to meet a minimal number of Core classes in this way. Typically, only credit for General Psychology is granted in transfer-student situations and, in rare situations, Research Methods I. The department Chair makes all such determinations.
- Some courses that are 300-level at FSU and fulfill concentration requirements may not transfer as 300-level. In such cases, the transfer course, despite its title, will not satisfy the requirements of the major.
- Be sure to complete all of the registrar transfer approval forms BEFORE registering and paying for a non-FSU course! Taking a course without doing so may result in nontransference of the credits.
- Students must earn a C or better in any course before transfer credit will be granted at FSU.
May I fulfill some of my requirements through FSU's evening, Summer or Intersession programs?
Yes and many students do to catch-up or get ahead. DGCE courses, however, generally do not count as part of the full-time day load of courses. If enrolled at FSU as a full-time day student, enrollment in a DGCE course must be paid for separately - in addition to the day school tuition and fees. When these courses are completed, grades will appear on your transcript just like the day school courses; there is no need to do any course transfer requests.
Year by year, many of the courses offered summers and evenings are online or hybrid. Additionally, most traditional evening courses meet just once per week for 3 hours. These teaching differences may be convenient when students are not living on campus or have other life factors which interfere with being in a traditional classroom-based course 2 to 4 times a week.
Course Overloads
May I take extra courses through the evening school while I am a full-time day school student?
Under certain circumstances it is possible to take a course overload. Only students with GPA's of 3.0 and who obtain approval from their advisors and the department chair are permitted to enroll in a 5th course during any semester. This includes courses taken from the day school, evening school, or on other college or university campuses.
If I meet those requirements, it is recommended?
Typically no. Carrying 5 courses in a semester is very difficult. Anyone planning to do so should be selecting courses that are relatively non-demanding. Taking a fifth course is not a good way to raise a GPA or maintain an already good one. Students taking too many courses often do poorly in all of them. The end result may be the lowering of a student's overall GPA.