FAQ About Advising

Who is my Academic Advisor?

Your assigned faculty advisor is listed in the upper right-hand corner of your CAPP Compliances, which you can view under Academic Records in myState. If there is not an advisor listed there or if the advisor listed is not a chemical or petroleum engineering faculty member, please contact the CHE Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Dr. Julie Jessop, to have one assigned.

How do I get released to register?

The Swalm School of Chemical Engineering staff will release all students for registering in the upcoming semester. If you have not been released, please contact the main office at 662-325-2480 for obtaining a release for registration. NOTE: Regardless of your release date, your registration date is fixed by Banner and cannot be changed.

I need to change my schedule. How do I go about that?

Every student has access to Banner through which adjustments to a schedule can be made. If you are trying to change your schedule, you must be aware that you can only do that during times allowed by the university (e.g., just prior to or during the first few days of any semester). See the online Academic Calendar for deadlines for schedule changes. In Banner, access the Master Class Schedule and identify open courses for which you may sign up.

Can I take a course for which I have not met the pre-requisites?

No. Course pre-requisites are fixed for ChE/PTE courses. Our program quality depends upon maintaining these course pre-requisites. Our curricula have been structured to prevent students from signing up for our courses when they do not have those pre-requisites. Also, near or at the beginning of each term, students are force dropped from courses for which they do not currently meet the necessary pre-requisites. In those rare instances where this forced drop was done mistakenly, the student will need to complete an Add/Drop form and email the form with the instructor’s signature to the CHE Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Dr. Julie Jessop, for further processing. Again, this is ONLY for the rare instance where you were force dropped from a course for which you indeed met the course pre-requisites.

I need to retake a course, but in Banner I cannot sign up for XYZ course again. What do I do?

Students re-taking a course will need a “Repeat Limit Override.” To obtain that override, you need to contact the department offering the course.

I forgot to claim one of my two available Academic Forgiveness options prior to re-taking a course. Can I get Academic Forgiveness retroactively?

No. The Provost’s office has been very firm in denying this request. You MUST note and select the option for Academic Forgiveness when you enroll for a given course. As indicated in the question, you only have TWO Academic Forgiveness options. See the Academic Forgiveness Policy for more information.

Course XYZ is full. I need to be “forced into” that course.

FIRST, you must check the section on Banner to ensure that there are available seats (sometimes a department will open fewer seats in a classroom than the actual classroom capacity). If the classroom DOES appear to have additional seating capacity, you should convey your request for a “Capacity Override” directly to the department offering the course in question.

Where do I find the list of accepted General Education requirements?

General Education Requirements are published in the MSU Undergraduate Catalog. Please remember that all engineering majors must take two Humanities courses, two Social Sciences courses, and one Fine Arts course; all other General Education requirements are met by our required engineering courses.

Where do I find the list of approved CHE or PTE Electives?

Both lists are posted on the Undergraduate Education page:

Note that these electives may not be offered every semester; some are even offered every other year. You should check the Master Class Schedule to determine course availability. Before attempting to enroll in a particular course, be sure you meet ALL necessary course pre-requisites. Because of the variability in course offerings across many academic departments in recent years, this list is not necessarily exhaustive. Please ask your assigned faculty advisor if you have questions about a particular course.

Where do I find the curriculum worksheet and flow chart for my major (CHE or PTE) and concentration (e.g., CHE-Practice, CHE—Biomolecular, or CHE—Research & Development)?

Updated curriculum worksheets and curriculum flow charts are posted on the Undergraduate Education page:

Refer to curriculum sheets and to the Undergraduate Catalog for planning purposes. The Master Class Schedule in Banner shows the available courses and any open seats for a given semester.

How do I determine how many credit hours I have remaining to reach graduation?

The “CAPP Compliances” option in Banner provides you with a “ledger” of courses applied to your degree program. However, certain courses are often “missed” by Banner. For example, our electives (i.e., chemical engineering, chemistry and technical electives in CHE and geology and technical electives in PTE) are generally not picked up correctly in Banner (or are incorrectly assigned). If you wish to have corrections made to your CAPP Compliances (or have questions), email the CHE Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Dr. Julie Jessop, for assistance. Once reviewed, any necessary corrections will be conveyed to the Registrar through the College of Engineering’s Undergraduate Affairs Office.

How do I declare a minor?

For most minors, you simply complete the required courses. Then, you declare your minor(s) on your graduation application. If you have more than one minor to declare on the application, you’ll need to contact the Degree Audit Team in the Registrar’s Office so that the additional minor(s) can be added to your application. An online “check” is made to confirm you have completed all minor requirements, and it is then reflected on your transcript.

However, it is advisable to contact the Undergraduate Program Coordinator of the academic department associated with the minor to understand all the minor requirements. A few minors, such as a minor in business or a minor in a foreign language, require the submission of a form that declares your intent to pursue the minor. Visit the Minors page on the Undergraduate Education page for more information about common minors our CHE/PTE students pursue.

How do I declare or change my CHE Concentration?

It is important to declare your CHE Concentration so that your electives will be applied correctly to your degree requirements. To declare or change your CHE Concentration, you must complete a Change of Major form and email the form to the CHE Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Dr. Julie Jessop, for further processing.

How do I change my major?

First, meet with your assigned chemical or petroleum engineering faculty advisor to discuss why you want to change your major and what major you would now like to pursue. If you wish to change to a major outside the Swalm School of Chemical Engineering, then you will need to meet with the Undergraduate Program Coordinator for that major. Your faculty advisor can help you identify the correct person to contact. You must complete a Change of Major form by obtaining the signature of the Undergraduate Program Coordinator for the new major and then email the signed form to the CHE Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Dr. Julie Jessop, for further processing. Make sure you consider how changing to the new major will impact any scholarships or Academic Common Market agreements you hold.

How do I get approval for taking a course off campus?

At least two weeks before registering for a course at another institution, you will need to complete a Request to Enroll in Off-campus Course form and then email the form to the CHE Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Dr. Julie Jessop, for further processing. Dr. Robert Green, the Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Affairs, will email you the executed form, which you can use as a permission letter from the Bagley College of Engineering as a transient student. Make sure you arrange with the “non-MSU” institution to send your transcript to MSU as soon as grades post so that the course can be articulated and applied to your degree requirements, especially if you’re using the course to fulfill a pre-requisite associated with an MSU course the following semester.

I need to sign up (at MSU) for a course, but I am taking the pre-requisite elsewhere (e.g., at another university or community college). When can I sign up for the MSU course?

Most departments require the pre-requisite credit to be shown on the MSU transcript. Once you complete the pre-requisite course at the other academic institution, first identify the course AND section number you are needing at MSU. With that information, email an unofficial copy of your transcript (e.g., take a screenshot from the online transcript) to the MSU department in question. Explain that you have completed the pre-requisite course, and ask for a “Prerequisite Override” to get into the course you need at MSU. The department here at MSU has the prerogative of requiring you to wait until the pre-requisite course is officially shown on your MSU transcript. Therefore, it is imperative that you submit a transcript request form at the “non-MSU” institution as soon as you complete the course to have the course credit transferred to MSU.

This scenario is a very common situation for mathematics, physics and chemistry courses. For example, many freshmen are “catching up.” They may need Calculus I and II and/or Physics I over the summer after the freshman year to register for CHE 2114 (Mass & Energy Balances) and CHE 3203 (Fluid Flow Operations) to avoid falling behind in the chemical or petroleum engineering curriculum.

Am I allowed to take off-campus courses in my senior year?

No. This is a long-standing rule that is enforced by the Bagley College of Engineering. You might still be able to take a course off campus in the next-to-last semester of your senior year (e.g., Organic Chemistry is a commonly selected option for EMCC—Mayhew campus). However, no off-campus course will be approved for your final semester. With the tremendous enrollment growth in the Bagley College of Engineering, it has become prohibitively time-consuming for both MSU and the transferring institution to have your off-campus transcript transmitted in a timely manner to confirm that you have met all necessary degree requirements. Therefore, you MUST complete all remaining degree requirements at MSU during your final semester.