GMES Undergraduate Advising

Print  “waiver forms” from the Registrar’s Office website.
Special Approval/Restriction Waiver is most common.

If you get an error, check the course pre-reqs/co-reqs/restrictions in the course descriptions listing. You can quickly get to the course description by clicking the CRN in the Schedule of Classes.
To obtain approval:

1. Print a waiver form.
2. Complete your form and obtain signature approval from the Course instructor or department advisor.
3. Bring completed, signed waivers to the Student Services Center – Admin Bldg

Enterprise is project work, not a class. You will be a team member working on a project for industry, competition or students’ own ideas. To enroll in an enterprise, meet with the faculty advisor of the enterprise you wish to join and complete a waiver for special permission. Ensure you are enrolling in the correct course number for your place in the program.

List of all Enterprise Teams

To REGISTER for enterprise project work, meet with the Enterprise Program faculty advisor for a special permission waiver form. Choose section number that pertains to the enterprise you are joining. Bring completed waiver forms to the Registrar’s Office.

Change major: Meet with your new advisor.

1. Find out the latest requirements for your chosen major from the department Offering the major. See Degree Audits or go to the department website for flowcharts. Find out requirements for joining the department (e.g., GPA, probation).
2. Some credits you’ve taken may be applied toward new major—see advisor for new major.
3. Fill out a “Curriculum Add/Drop Form” to change your major. Take it to the new major Department advisor to be signed & processed.

Add a minor:

1. Find out the latest requirements for your chosen minor online or get it from the department Offering the minor. Minor Audit Forms
2. Some credits may double count toward your major and minor. Some courses may qualify to be Approved Electives. See information on Electives for BME major requirements. Some courses may qualify to be Gen Ed distribution courses. You will need 6 credits of courses in your minor that DO NOT count toward your major(except as free electives). So, 6 credits of chosen minor, level 3000 or above, must be “Free Electives”, in addition to the required courses for your major.
3. Fill out a Curriculum Add/Drop form. You can get one at the Office of Student Records & Registration. Take it to the Minor Department advisor to be signed & processed.

A minor requires a minimum of 16-20 credit hours of course work, but the actual number required varies by department. Of the 16 credits required, no more then 6 credits of 1000- or 2000-level courses can count toward a minor. (Some departments may allow more than 6 if the total number required for the minor is more than 16.) The minor must include at least 6 hours of 3000- or 4000-level courses. These courses must not be required by the student’s major (except as free elective hours). Students interested in adding a minor to their degree program must consult their academic advisors as well as the minor department.

Transfer Credits: If you want to take classes elsewhere and transfer them to Michigan Tech, use the online Transfer Equivalency system to look up classes.

• Choose courses that will transfer to an equivalent course at Michigan Tech that are required for your degree.
• To access list of courses already approved for transfer use the Michigan Tech Transfer Equivalency System.
• If the course you want or need is NOT on the Transfer Credit Equivalency list, you can request to have it evaluated for transfer credit by sending this information to the Michigan Tech Transfer Services Office, Admin Bldg 110, for each course:  (or email transfer@mtu.edu,  or call 487-3323)

• University or college name
• Course ID and title
• Syllabus
• Textbook(s) used (usually on the syllabus)
• Detailed Description (usually on the syllabus)

• If all this information is available online, you can send the exact link to transfer@mtu.edu.  A short catalog description is not enough information to evaluate for Michigan Tech credit. You must provide a syllabus.
• Enroll in courses; earn good grades. Grades must be C or better to be accepted at Michigan Tech. If the course(s) are pre-requisites to classes you need to register for next semester, have a copy of your transcript from the transfer college sent to Michigan Tech, so that our system knows the courses you plan to transfer.

One of the easiest ways to improve your GPA is by repeating courses.

• If you fail a required course, you will have repeat and pass the class to meet degree requirement.
• Students may repeat a course no more than two times.
• Students may repeat courses with a grade of CD or lower.
• The most recent grade is used in your GPA calculation. Even if it it lower than the first.
• Special permission from the Office of Student Affairs and your academic advisor is required to repeat a course a 2nd and final time.
• Pre-requisite courses must be passed in order to continue to next course.

Getting ready to graduate:

1.  Meet degree requirements: Ensure you are meeting all degree requirements for your audit year. This is your responsibility.  Use your DARS report and see the academic advisor for help with planning. If petitions are needed to adjust your Degree Audit in DARS, see the academic advisor to get those complete.  Petitions are usually needed with curriculum changes and allowed substitutions.

2. Application(s): Make sure the Records System has your “expected graduation date” correct, by completing the Application for graduation on the Registrar’s Website/Degree Services Office: (can be done very early and can be done more than once as things change) Complete a separate Application for a certificate you are pursuing. The final submission of your Application for your degree (and another for certificate if applicable) is due by the end of the semester before your graduation semester.

http://www.mtu.edu/registrar/students/graduation/application/

3. Degree Audit:  In the semster before your graduation semester, Complete a Degree Audit Form and final checkpoint with your academic advisor(s) for each Degree, Minor, Certificate. The best time to do this is after scheduling your last semester of classes, prior to the end of the semester. (mid/end of November, for Spring/Summer graduates) and (mid/end of April for December graduates)

All information about Graduation can be found on the Registrar’s website.

Stressed? Many things come into play during college life that increase stress. Trying to balance everything is tough. First, remember why you are here and keep reminding yourself of that. Second, you are here for yourself and not anyone else. Watch out for number one!

Why am I here? Your goal may be something like this: To earn a nationally accredited geological engineering, geology, or geophysics degree at one of the nation’s top engineering universities. To obtain a position with one of the large, successful companies that hires Michigan grads or go on to earn your graduate degree. Awesome.

• Establish personal priorities that will allow you to perform well academically and meet your goal.
  • If your friends want you to hang out, but you’ve got homework or a test, hang out another day instead.
  • If you are working too many hours, evaluate your need to work and/or consider reduced courseloads.
  • If you are involved in too many organizations or a position that takes away time and hurts your grades, then cut back, limit your hours, or postpone. You have your entire future to pursue your interests. It’s O.K. to graduate in 4.5 or 5 years.

• Attend all your classes.
  • Research at University of Michigan states that the most important factor for success in college is class attendance.
  • Don’t skip a class to catch up on sleep or to catch up in another class. This is where you learn what you need to be successful on quizzes, homework and tests.
  • If you rely on just reading the textbook, you will miss out on important information.

• Get help when you need it.
  • If you are falling behind in any of your classes, see your instructor, a learning center coach and your academic advisor.
  • If you are feeling pressures from all corners of your life, see the academic advisor and the Counseling Center. Nip it in the bud. Watch out for number one.
  • If your grades are continuously low, see your academic advisor early on.

Get your homework done, study for quizzes and exams first. There will be plenty of time for fun after that. If you reverse this priority – the grades suffer.

1. Waiver forms and who has to sign it
2. Joining an Enterprise
3. How to change my major or add a minor
4. Transferring credits from elsewhere
5. Repeating a Course
6. Graduation
7. Feeling stressed. What can I do?

View All Undergraduate FAQs

• See the Academic Calendar for important dates.
• Complete the Application for Graduation online two semesters prior to graduation.
• Graduating next semester? See your academic advisor for a Degree Audit.