Academic Advising
Advising Student Resources
Students can use these tools and resources to help them be full participants in their advising. These tools and recourses will also help students navigate online platforms to answer questions and take the lead in their academic progression.
Advising Documents
These documents can help students take lead on tracking their academic progress and plan for course registration. Depending on your academic major and advisor, additional supporting documents may be provided during your advising appointments.
- Graduation Plan: this document is created with an academic advisor during the first appointment. DOWNLOAD A BLANK COPY
- Undergraduate Advising Form: this form helps students during course registration.
DOWNLOAD A BLANK COPY - Weekly Schedule Worksheet: this worksheet helps students visualize their weekly class schedule. DOWNLOAD A BLANK COPY
- GPA Calculator: helps students track their WSU GPA. Especially helpful for students who are at risk going deficient, or for major GPA checks.
DOWNLOAD A BLANK COPY
Advising Vocabulary
The following terms are often used in higher education but may take on different contexts depending on the campus. The terms and definitions provided are particular to the WSU system and/or WSU Tri Cities.
| Phrase | Definition |
|---|---|
| Academic Calendar | A complete list of all academic deadlines, start and end term dates. |
| Add/Dropping a Course | A modification of a schedule by adding or dropping a course(s). Adding and dropping classes must be done by the add/drop deadline. Dropping classes are subject to a full or partial tuition refund. See Academic Calendar for all academic deadlines. (See also Academic Calendar and Withdraw from a Course) |
| Advising Form | This form is located on the Undergraduate Advising web site. This form is required to be submitted every semester to students’ academic advisor so that the Undergraduate Advising Hold can be removed. An alternative option is to complete an E-Advising Form. |
| Academic Advisor | Undergraduate students are assigned to a professional academic advisor. Academic advisors provide support through guiding students in major exploration, course selection, reviewing academic services and policies, and setting academic and career goals. Graduate students will be assigned a faculty advisor. |
| Academic Deficiency | Washington State University expects students to maintain minimum academic standards and make satisfactory academic progress toward their degrees. Undergraduate students are in good academic standing if both their current WSU semester and cumulative grade point averages are 2.00 or above. Students not meeting this criteria are considered academically deficient. See also Reinstatement or Satisfactory Academic Progress. |
| Academic Requirements Report | This report is located in the Student Center of the myWSU student portal. The Academic Requirements reports is the official degree audit that tracks degree completion. |
| Cancellation of Enrollment | Official process of withdrawing from all courses in an academic term. Cancellation of Enrollment is subject to a full refund by a certain deadline. See Academic Calendar for deadlines. See Academic Calendar for all academic deadlines. |
| Certify/Certification | The formal process of declaring a major. Certification requirements are set by degree program and students should work with their academic advisor to make sure they are working towards certification. Those that have not certified or are not eligible to certify are often referred to as Uncertified. |
| Continuing Student | Students that are at least in their first semester and continuing into their next semester. |
| Credit or Credit Hour | The number of credits is based on the number of classroom hours over the course of a term. Example: Math 106 is 3 credits and meets for three hours each week over the 16 week term. |
| E-Advising Form | An electronic form available to continuing students that have worked with their advisor prior to registration and have reviewed their Academics Requirements report to know what classes are still needed. Still requires advisor approval to release the Undergraduate Advising Hold. |
| Faculty Mentor | Each academic unit has a faculty member dedicated to working with students seeking information specific to the academic program or degree. Faculty mentors are not academic advisors but can provide insight into what courses to take in relation to students’ career interests, internships, information on graduate programs and employment options after graduation. |
| Majors and Academic Planning Sessions (MAPS) | This is a group pre-advising session held each semester for new and continuing students to prepare them to officially register for classes on their assigned date. New students are required to attend one session. |
| myWSU | myWSU is an online portal. Students can access a variety of information through their student portal from student organizations to academic information and tracking. Academic information and degree tracking is found in the Student Center of myWSU. Students have access to admission and financial aid information, course history, Transfer Credit Report, and the Academic Requirements report (degree audit). |
| New Students | Students that have not attended a WSU campus and applying to attend. This could be for incoming freshmen and transfer students. |
| Incoming Freshmen | Students that are attending directly out of high school. |
| Transfer Students | Students that attended a college or university after high school graduation and received college level credit. |
| Peer Advisor | Second, third and fourth year students that are also New Student Orientation Leaders. Peer advisors assist in the M.A.P. Sessions for new students and connect with new students throughout their first year at WSU Tri Cities. |
| Reinstatement | Undergraduate students whose semester (excluding summer session) or cumulative grade point average drops below a 2.0 for the first time must apply for reinstatement to continue their enrollment at Washington State University. Students are placed on probation after reinstatement. Certified majors on academic probation may be decertified by the academic department. (See also Academic Deficiency and Satisfactory Academic Progress) |
| Registration | The process of officially enrolling for classes each term. An assigned date is determined by students’ academic level. Select student groups are eligible for priority registration. Students can find assigned registration dates within their myWSU’s Student Center. |
| Returning Student | Students that have attended a WSU campus and are returning after being inactive for a year or more. Students are required to re-apply and go through any processes necessary reflected by most recent academic information. Example: Students that are returning with below a 2.0 GPA will be required to go through the reinstatement process in order to be re-admitted. |
| Satisfactory Academic Progress | When students accept financial aid, they also accept responsibility for making Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). This progress is based on the number of credits students attempt each term and cumulatively, their cumulative grade point average (GPA), as well as the length of enrollment at Washington State University (WSU), in addition to any courses taken at another institution. (See also Reinstatement and Academic Deficiency) |
| Shopping Cart | An electronic pre-registration tool within myWSU Student Center to store selected courses until registration opens. |
| Transfer Credit Report | An automated report within the myWSU’s Student Center. This report is generated based on previous college credit received from other colleges and universities. |
| Transfer Equivalency | The evaluation of how a course is offered at one campus and how it relates to the courses offered by another. |
| Transfer Equivalency Database | This is comprehensive list of classes offered by colleges or universities and how it will transfer into WSU. The online tool can be found on the Transfer Credit web site. |
| Undergraduate Advising Hold | Placed on students accounts prior to fall and spring registration. This will prevent students from registering for classes without having met with or received academic approval from their academic advisor. |
| University Common Requirements (UCORE) | Washington State University’s general education curriculum. All students are required to complete UCORE requirements regardless of declared major. |
| What If report | This is an automated tool located within the students’ myWSU student portal. Its purpose is for major and minor exploration and will consider any past or current college credit received. |
| Withdraw from a Course | Officially dropping a course(s) after the university drop deadline. A withdraw is reflected on an academic transcript with a ‘W’ and fees and tuition are not refunded. (See also Add/Dropping a Course) |
Useful Links
| Useful Links |
|---|
| ALEKS Math Assessment:: important for students who do not have college level math. The ALEKS can also be a pre-requisite to math and science classes. |
| Academic Programs: website for Tri-Cities academic programs. |
| Blackboard Login |
| Blackboard Overview |
| FERPA (student rights) |
| How to drop a class |
| How to swap a class |
| How to apply for graduation |
| How to view midterm and final grades |
| Graduation Dates & Deadlines |
| myWSU Student Portal Login |
| UCORE:: this is complete list for the university system. This does not Tri-Cities specific information. |
| University and campus catalogs: links to catalogs by campus. The catalog outlines university degrees and majors, guidelines and policies. |
| University Catalog Courses: search for classes, class descriptions and pre-requisite information for the WSU system. This does not Tri-Cities specific information. |
| University Catalog Academic Units:use this link to find a major within the WSU system. This does not Tri-Cities specific information. |
| University Writing Portfolio: a graduation requirement for all undergraduate students. |
| Writing Placement: important for students who do not transfer in a college level English Composition course. |
| WSU Academic Calendar: outlines academic deadlines by campus and semester. |
Schedule an Advising Appointment
Follow the link below to learn more about how to schedule an academic advising appointment.