Advising FAQs

You can find your advisor by logging into your WyoRecords account, then selecting Student Records. On the Student Records page, click on Academic Profile; your advisor's name will be listed near the bottom of the page. You can click on their name to view their email address and department. If no advisor is listed, you may not yet be assigned to an advisor and will need to contact your college or department to find out who your advisor will be. If you are undeclared, contact the Advising • Career • Exploratory Studies Center (307-766-2398). Once you know your advisor's name, you can look for contact information through the UW web directory, or call the department and ask for the contact information.

Try the following to find his/her office:

• Check the campus directory for your advisor's office location, phone number and e-mail address.
• Check with your academic department's main office.
• If you have not declared a college or major, your advisor will be located in the Advising • Career • Exploratory Studies Center in Knight Hall 222, 307-766-2398.
• If you are undeclared in the College of Arts and Sciences, your advisor will be located in the Advising • Career • Exploratory Studies Center in Knight Hall 222, 307-766-2398.

It is your responsibility to schedule your own advising appointment. This is handled differently by various colleges and departments. It is always a good idea to check your UW email account as that is the way many departments and advisors will send information about how to schedule your advising appointment. If you aren't familiar with how your advisor schedules appointments and you don't receive an email with information, contact your department to find out their procedures. If you are undeclared, contact the Advising • Career • Exploratory Studies Center at 307-766-2398.

Advisors have regularly scheduled office hours each semester. Check with the academic department main office when you can't locate your advisor or figure out her/his posted office hours.

Yes. However, be aware that many advising issues must be handled in person and e-mail is not always the fastest or best way to handle advising issues.

Following the Add/Drop period, you may officially "withdraw" from individual semester courses until 15 class days after mid-semester, you can visit The Office of the Registrar's calendar to learn more. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• When you withdraw from a course, your transcript will reflect a "W" for that course.
• You should meet with your advisor to discuss potential consequences of withdrawing.The biggest repercussion of withdrawing for courses is often related to your financial aid status, and all students should contact Student Financial Aid for additional information.
  • Students have the right to withdraw from any course and can do so without advisor approval or knowledge.
    • EXCEPTION:Students must have an advisor signature to withdraw from a USP 2015 FYS course.

You can withdraw online through your WyoRecords Account by selecting Registration and then Register for Classes, just like you would to register for a new class.

• Next to the course you wish to withdraw from, click on the dropdown menu and select "Individual Course Withdrawal".
• When you select “Individual Course Withdrawal” for the class in question, you will see a pop up window regarding the consequences of withdrawing.
• Once you read the pop up window, you need to click on “Submit” at the bottom of the page in order to officially withdraw.
• Office of the Registrar staff will circulate withdrawal information to the major department. Instructors are notified by email and through WyoCourses. Advisors are notified via email.

A student is placed on Academic Probation at the end of any semester in which his or her Cumulative GPA falls below a 2.0. If you are placed on Academic Probation, you will be notified.

 

Students who earn a semester GPA below 2.0 in any semester during which they are on Academic Probation will be suspended from the university. The same is true for students on probation who register for classes and then withdraw from the university. Because probation is the first step toward being suspended from the university, students with this academic status are strongly encouraged to meet with their advisors regularly to develop strategies for getting back into Good Academic Standing.

UW Regulation 2-109 states that, "A student who is suspended for unsatisfactory scholastic performance should not be permitted to petition for reinstatement until one full semester, exclusive of summer term, has elapsed." If you are suspended from the university, you may petition for Reinstatement, but must first sit out for a semester. You may submit your petition to the Advising • Career • Exploratory Studies Center (ACES). If you are reinstated through ACES, you will become generally undeclared until your GPA is high enough to declare again. For more information, you can visit our Students Seeking Reinstatement page.

The first step in the process is to meet with your current advisor. S/he will ask a few questions about what major you want to declare and walk you through the process of completing the Change of Major paperwork. You will then need to take the paperwork and your advising file to your new department to be signed in order to complete the process. Keep in mind that a number of Colleges and Departments do have GPA requirements in order to declare there. If you have questions about that, contact the department you are interested in declaring in to make sure you are eligible.

A degree evaluation is an automated degree check which provides you with information regarding how the classes your have taken fit into the requirements for graduation and what course work you have yet to complete for a specific major. You can view your degree evaluation in your WyoRecords account under Student Records. For an overview of how to read your degree evaluation you can visit The Office of the Registrar's site. For questions and additional information, talk with your advisor.

Go to the Registration tab in your WyoRecords account and click on View Registration Information. Select the term you wish to view. This will show you your current schedule laid out like a grid. It includes the exact times and rooms for each class. You can see more detailed information by clicking on Schedule Details.

In your WyoRecords account, select Student Records and then Transfer Evaluation. Any course work that has been transferred into UW and has been accepted for credit should be listed here along with any requirements they met. If credits you have formally requested be sent to UW aren't showing up on the Transfer Evaluation, contact the Office of the Registrar at 307-766-5272.

The UW CATALOG is an important tool in all of your academic planning. It has three primary purposes: It contains a great deal of information about various UW policies and procedures with which you need to be familiar. There is information about majors and minors offered by various departments and the requirements for those programs. It includes course descriptions for every course currently approved to be taught at UW. When you are using the catalog, it's helpful to remember that the information is laid out alphabetically by College, then Department within the College. If you don't know which college the department you are looking for is housed in, just look alphabetically under each college until you come to the one you are looking for. The UW Catalog online can be found at The Office of the Registrar.

 

The CLASS SCHEDULE, on the other hand, lists only those classes that are actually being offered in a given semester. If you see a course described in the UW Catalog, but you can't find it in the Class Schedule, it most likely means that class is not being taught in that semester. Just like the Catalog, the Class Schedule is laid out alphabetically by College, then Department within the College.

A new Class Schedule is published each term, so you need to be sure you are using the correct Class Schedule for the semester for which you are registering. To find the Class Schedule online visit The Office of the Registrar.

The Math Placement Exam (MPE) is a computerized assessment given to determine your level of preparation to participate in college level math courses. It is not a test you can pass or fail, it's designed to determine which math course you need to take to have the optimum chance for success. In addition to the college level math courses, UW offers three 0900-level math classes to refresh or build your math skills to the level needed for success in college level classes. You may be required to take one or more of these before going into a QA course. Math strictly enforces these cutoff scores, so when you take your MPE, pay close attention to which courses they say you can take. If you sign up for a math course for which you don't have the appropriate score or prerequisite course, you will be administratively dropped from the course before the semester starts. If you have an ACT Math score of 21 or higher, you may choose to register for either MATH 1000 Problem Solving or MATH 0925 Intermediate Algebra without taking an MPE. Students with an ACT Math score of 23 or higher may choose to register for MATH 1400 College Algebra without taking an MPE. Check with your advisor before selecting a math course as many majors have specific math requirements, and there are two entirely different math tracks at UW.

A full-time load means you are registered for at least 12 credit hours for the current semester. Being a full-time student is generally important if you want to continue to be covered by your parent's health insurance; for determining how much financial aid you can receive in a semester; and if you want to have access to all the services covered by student fees (e.g. Half-Acre Gym, Student Health, free access to athletic events, etc.) If you are receiving a Hathaway Scholarship, talk with your advisor to make sure all of your classes will count toward your 12 hours.

During the first 8 class days of a semester (you can find the exact date in the Dates to Remember link in the Class Schedule for that semester), you have the option of dropping any semester course for which you are registered (be aware that for blocked courses you have only 4 days). A drop just means you decided not to take that course in that semester. The course will never show up on your transcript; it's just as if you never signed up to take it. You can drop a class through the Registration screen in your WyoRecord account.

 

If you determine after the add/drop period is expired that you need to get out of a class, you can withdraw from a semester course up until The Last Day to Withdraw. (Again, you can find that exact date in the Dates to Remember section of that semester's Class Schedule.) If you withdraw from a course, it will show up on your transcript with a grade of W indicating that you withdrew from the course, but it will not affect your GPA. It is generally a good idea to speak with your advisor before withdrawing from a course, and if you are receiving any type of financial aid (including scholarships and especially Hathaway), you are strongly encouraged to check with Student Financial Aid before withdrawing from any course. Refer to question #6 above.

That totally depends on your individual financial aid package, so the best advice if you are receiving any type of financial aid is to check with the Student Financial Aid Office to see how your package will be impacted before making any decisions about a withdrawal.

Should you need to withdraw from all of your classes and leave school for any reason, you will need to do an All School Withdrawal. This process is initiated through the Dean of Students Office in Knight Hall, Room 128.

You may order a copy of your transcript through your WyoRecords account under the Student Records tab. Select Transcripts and then Request Official Transcript. You will need to have the address you want your transcript mailed to in order to complete the process.

A student is removed from Academic Probation at the end of the semester when his or her Cumulative GPA is 2.0 or above. One of the best strategies for improving your Cumulative GPA is to retake courses you have not done well in previously. The University of Wyoming uses the most current grade in determining your cumulative GPA. There can be sometimes serious financial aid issues with retaking classes, so be sure to talk with both your advisor and the Student Financial Aid office before retaking any classes you had a D or higher in.