Undergrad Advising FAQ
Find answers to common advising questions.
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No. You are not required to have a minor; however, many students choose to complete a minor to complement their major or to meet credit hour requirements.
See the academic minors offered by the college.
No.
You need to enroll yourself for every course you want to take.
Yes, it is possible to change your assigned academic advisor.
But first consider the following:
- Remember that you will work with many kinds of people in your career. Staying with your advisor is good practice for learning how to work effectively with people who may be a bit different from you.
- Give your advisor a few chances. Meet a couple of times and let your advisor know what you are looking for in an advisor and what you need from them. Give your advisor the opportunity to work with you to help meet those needs.
If you still are not able to find a way to work well together:
Schedule a meeting with the head advisor. If your assigned advisor is the head advisor, then request a meeting with the head advisor’s supervisor.
The meeting will provide an chance for you to explain why a change of advisor might be a good idea. Your situation will be heard and carefully considered. We are cautious about making changes, but also understand that sometimes there are sound reasons to change, and a re-assignment can be best for all involved.
If a change of advisor is approved, you will be assigned to a new advisor and the change will be reflected in MyDegrees.
Feel free to contact the Office of Student Success if you need help scheduling a meeting.
Yes.
However, no more than TWO graded attempts are allowed to meet the minimum grade policy for courses in College of Health majors, minors, options and certificates.
No third attempts from OSU or transferred from other institutions are allowed.
Second graded attempts should be retaken where they were taken originally.
If you want to retake a class to meet a minimum grade requirement or just to improve the grade see repeated courses for guidance.
The majority of College of Health majors/options require some form of experiential (hands-on) learning credits. Typically these credits come in the form of internships or practicums, but there are some opportunities to have research or special projects count depending on your interests and availability.
Most students complete their experiential learning credits during the second half of their degree, but some opportunities are available before that.
The best place to start your independent research regarding experiential learning is at internships, practicums and seminars where each major and the available options are listed.
Your academic advisor is also a great resource to learn more about these options and discuss which might be best for you.
The College of Health is updating registration restrictions for Public Health classes starting in Spring 2021. See Ecampus registration restrictions for details.
See the Office of the Registrar’s interactive GPA calculator.
All course information, including class availability, can be found in the course catalog. You’re encouraged to bookmark that page.
Look through the entire list of Bacc Core courses. You can also look up Bacc Core course availability in the course catalog class search.
Here are some tips to remember as you prepare for a productive meeting with your advisor:
Be proactive
Think about the big picture, your current interests, your future career and which courses, majors/minors will get you from point A to point B.
Be prepared
Write out specific questions or concerns. For example, if you’re meeting about course selection, start by researching potential courses in the schedule of classes and creating a tentative schedule with backups.
Be honest
Be willing to identify and discuss your difficulties and seek advice. Then follow up on the plan you and your advisor agree upon.
Be open
You should be prepared to accept new ideas, even if they seem difficult. Consider trying new things like joining a club, studying abroad, working with a mentor, or assisting with research.
Be assertive
If you feel overwhelmed or you are having any trouble, ask for advice. Your advisor will help you get the support services you need to be successful, but they won’t know to help if you don’t ask.
Be respectful
Pay close attention to your advisor during the meeting. If you must cancel an advising appointment, please do so using the link found in your appointment confirmation email, call the office (541-737-8900), or email your advisor.
The Office of Student Success understands that sometimes advising appointments are great and sometimes they are challenging. To ensure we hear about the experiences of students with academic advising, please take a look at the steps below to provide feedback:
Start with your advisor
- Either send them an email or schedule an appointment with them.
- Let your advisor know what went well or where there is room for improvement.
- Be constructive and give feedback that furthers the conversation.
- Explain why the experience did or did not meet your expectations.
- Let us know what we are doing well and how we can continue to help others with these same practices.
Head academic advisor
If you do not want to provide feedback directly to your advisor, that’s OK. You are welcome to email or schedule an appointment with the head academic advisor. Just select “Other” as what you would like to discuss during your appointment and type “advisor feedback” to specify.
Associate dean
If you do not want to give feedback to the head advisor, you can reach out to the Associate Dean for Student Services and Well-being Doris I. Cancel-Tirado, PhD, MPH, MA.
Current College of Health students use Beaver Hub.
Non-College of Health students use Bookings.
Visit schedule academic advising appointment for details.
All students will meet with their assigned academic advisor once each term. However, you can meet with your advisor more often if you’d like. It’s always OK to call, email or drop in with questions.
Students should schedule their appointments sometime around these holidays: Halloween, Valentine’s Day and Cinco de Mayo.
You can schedule an appointment with your assigned academic advisor online, 24 hours a day. Schedule your appointment early in the term, before your advisor’s calendar fills! An appointment can be made up to six weeks in advance.
You can expect your advising appointments to be about 30 minutes of one-on-one time with your academic advisor. You and your advisor will both prepare in advance — reviewing your MyDegrees page, preparing questions and looking ahead.
During your appointment, you will review your progress to date, make course plans for the upcoming term(s), discuss opportunities and resources pertinent to your goals, and track your progress toward graduation.
Although your advisor is here to assist and guide you, your educational choices are yours to make.
- Students may elect to change a course graded on an A-F basis to a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) basis.
- A grade of S or U has no grade point equivalent and is not used in the GPA calculation.
- Instructors do not know which students have changed their grading basis, and submit A-F grades for everyone at the end of the term.
- Students earning a C- or higher in the class will get an S grade on their transcript and receive full credit for the course.
- Students earning a D+ or lower in the class will get a U grade on their transcript and receive no credit for the course.
While major/minor courses typically require a C- or above, Baccalaureate Core and elective courses only require a D- or above. Students who elect S/U grading basis will have a U on their transcript if they earn a grade below a C.
Therefore, if a student earning a D+, D, or D- in a Baccalaureate Core or elective course and chose to S/U the course, the course would NOT apply to the degree and the course would need to be repeated, or the student would need to take a different course to fulfill their degree requirement.
More information in Academic Regulation 18: Alternative Grading Systems.
See the Office of the Registrar’s Change of Grading Basis for more S/U information and to learn how to request the S/U grading option.
Also see
Your friendly neighborhood student photo roster system page explains how to add or remove your photo from the photo roster system.
Adding a major
Current COH students changing to a different COH major, use Beaver Hub to schedule with your advisor.
Students in other colleges, please book with any of our advisors via Bookings
Add a minor
You do not need to see an advisor to declare a minor, but are certainly welcome to.
The college offers multiple degrees via Ecampus in order to provide opportunities for students to further their education through asynchronous classes.
If you are a Corvallis or Cascades campus student and are interested in transitioning to Ecampus, please review transitioning to Ecampus.
Registration PINs are always posted in a student’s MyDegrees for safe keeping. That way they are not lost in email. Your advisor will not email you a PIN.
MyDegrees will show all requirements needed for your degree. You can also find major requirements and sample course plans in each College of Health undergraduate academic program.
Some classes are restricted to only students within certain majors. For KIN, NUTR, PH, or HDFS classes, you may need to submit a class override. For other classes, please contact your academic advisor.
If you want to return to OSU, you need to meet with an advisor. Prior to meeting with an advisor, be sure to read the Oregon State University Instructions For Suspended Students (pdf).
More details at Academic Suspension and Reinstatement.
If you have been out of OSU for more than four terms (not counting summer), you need to be readmitted to the University. (Readmittance to University).
A student may request an incomplete grade for a course that has not been completed if:
- Reasons for the incomplete are acceptable to the instructor; and
- Student is passing the course at the time of the request.
Refer to the College of Health incomplete grade policy and practices to see criteria and process.
OSU does not offer a major in pre-med, pre-nursing or pre-allied health professional studies.
However, many different majors will prepare you for further study and/or work in a medical field.
Professional health programs do not require any particular major. If you are interested in the health professions, you are encouraged to declare a major in a subject of interest. Keep in mind, you’ll still need to complete the necessary science and math prerequisite courses for acceptance.
Several of our majors have the prerequisites built into their curriculum. Check out our Pre-med and Pre-health professions pages for more details.
Please consult the articulation tables to see if the course will be counted as an equivalent course to OSU.
Students are only allowed to add up to 16 credits in Phase 1 of registration.
If you want to add more than 16 credits, you’ll need to wait until Phase 2 of registration.
The Petition for Late Change of Registration enables students to request an exception to an academic regulation or deadline when qualifying unusual circumstances beyond their control have occurred.
See Late Change of Registration for details and to petition for late change.
If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, we recommend you research the potential impacts of choosing S/U grading with your advisor, as there may be ramifications associated with your choice that would impede progress to your goal.
- Are you currently working to increase your cumulative GPA or increase earned credits for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to regain or to continue receiving financial aid?
- Are you currently working to increase your cumulative GPA or increase earned credits for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to regain athletic eligibility?
- Are you currently working to increase your term and cumulative GPA to be removed from Academic Warning/Probation?
- Are you retaking a course you previously failed?
- Do you need to improve your GPA to maintain a scholarship?
- Do you need to maintain a certain number of credit hours with regularly graded courses for a scholarship or grant?
- Are you planning to transfer (we hope not) to another college/university?
- Are any of the courses you are taking this term required prerequisites for a professional or graduate school? If yes, does the institution you plan to apply to require traditional grading (A-F) for prerequisite courses?
Also see
Review your MyDegrees for any remaining requirements.
You can also find major requirements and sample course plans in each College of Health undergraduate academic program.
The Student Dispute Resolution Policy provides you with a mechanism to address and resolve questionable treatment by members of the college, including faculty, staff and administrators.
An option is at least 21 credits of designated courses in the major, at least 15 credits of which are upper-division courses (numbered 300 and above). Most majors in the College of Health require an option.
Some majors in the college are Pre-Professional programs. Students must apply to these programs after prerequisites are completed. Applications for these programs are submitted during Spring term only. Admission to these programs is very competitive. Please review the program for requirements.
Advisors are restricted by Federal Law (Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act) from releasing any information about a student’s class schedule, grades, transcripts, advising checklist, or other specific information to a third party (outside of OSU) without written permission from the student.
Faculty/staff (pdf) are able to access student records as needed to fulfil one’s employment responsibilities; there must be a “legitimate educational interest,” which generally entails working directly with the student for whom information was requested.
Access to student information does not permit disclosure of information to a third party without a student’s written permission.
The Permission to Release Education Records form may be obtained through the Advising Office or from the Access to Records page on the Registrar's website. This form must be in the student’s file to allow any information to be released.
For more information please contact the Office of the Registrar at 541-737-4331.
The Baccalaureate Core (Bacc Core) curriculum represents what the OSU faculty believe is the foundation for students' further understanding of the modern world.
Informed by natural and social sciences, arts and humanities, the Bacc Core requires students to think critically and creatively, and to synthesize ideas and information when evaluating major societal issues.
Importantly, the Bacc Core promotes understanding of interrelationships among disciplines in order to increase students' capacities as ethical citizens of an ever-changing world.
Visit the OSU catalog for a list of Bacc Core Classes.
Students have the option to change their grading basis to S/U as long as they plan on repeating the course for a normal (A-F) grade.
The policy applies to Ecampus, OSU-Cascades, or Corvallis campus majors, options and/or minors in:
- Human Development and Family Sciences (HDFS)
- Public Health (PH)
- Nutrition (NUTR)
- Health Management and Policy minor
- Environmental and Occupational Health minor
- Gerontology certificate
note
- Grades of S will not be applied to major requirements. The student's responsibility is to retake the classes for which they earned an S or U grade and subsequently earn the required letter grade (A-F).
- Applies to students who declared a College of Health major at any time.
- The above policy change is NOT retroactive. Grades earned for courses before fall 2021 will fall under the former policies.
Students in the Kinesiology major or Exercise Sport Science minor may not use S/U grading any required course (including prerequisites for major/minor required courses). Kinesiology students may, however, use S/U grading for Bacc Core classes and electives (including courses offered by their major or minor department), if not required for the major or minor.
Also see
Graduation is more than showing up to walk. Be sure to look through the College of Health Graduation resources.
As an undergraduate student, you may petition once with the Registrar to exclude OSU courses from the calculation of institutional requirements, credits and grade point average, under a condition of the academic fresh start policy. (It is AR 31 on the regulations page)
Beginning fall 2021, more than two attempts will be permitted to earn the required grade for a major/option or minor.
The policy applies to Ecampus, Cascades campus, or Corvallis campus majors/options and/or minors in:
- Human Development and Family Sciences (HDFS)
- Public Health (PH)
- Nutrition (NUTR)
- Health Management and Policy minor
- Environmental and Occupational Health minor
- Gerontology certificate
note
- An attempt comprises a final grade in a course earned at OSU or another college or university, where the grade is: A, A–, B+, B, B–, C+, C, C–, D+, D, D–, F, S, U, P, NP or an I/Alternate Grade (where the Alternate Grade is one of these grades). See Academic Regulation 20: Repeated Courses.
- Applies to students who declared a College of Health major at any time.
- Students planning to apply to a health profession, or any other graduate program are advised NOT to take courses required for admission multiple times. Multiple attempts at a course will negatively impact their ability to gain admission to a graduate program.
- Students in the Dietetics option should not take degree-required courses multiple times since multiple attempts at a course will negatively impact their ability to find a Dietetic Internship.
- Students who change their major to Kinesiology from HDFS, PH, or NUTR major will NOT be allowed to apply the third attempt at a course to earn the required grade for the major/option without an approved petition.
- Students are responsible for informing their advisor once they have earned the passing grade for a course. Once notified, the advisor may enter a force complete for the requirement.
- The above policy change is NOT retroactive. Grades earned for courses before Fall 2021 will fall under the former policies.
Second graded attempts should be retaken where they were taken originally.
If you plan to repeat a course please see OSU Repeated Courses.
OSU students can change their major offered in the College of Health, regardless of their cumulative OSU GPA.
Note Some programs may have GPA or course grade requirements that impact progress towards degree completion.
A grade of C– or higher is required for all courses in a student’s undergraduate program of study.
This includes all courses and associated prerequisite courses in your undergraduate program of study for a major, minor or certificate as listed in the course catalog.
Some programs have additional grade and/or GPA criteria, which must be met in addition to this grade policy.
Baccalaureate Core courses are not subject to this policy unless they serve as courses required in or prerequisites for a student's major, minor or certificate.
Kinesiology
The college's major in Kinesiology does not accept third-course attempts taken at OSU or transferred in from other institutions to meet individual course requirements within the Kinesiology major.
Third or subsequent attempts taken prior to fall term 2014 may be considered to meet major program of study requirements. Kinesiology and Athletic Training majors stopped allowing third or subsequent course attempts effective Fall term 2013.
Classes can only be waitlisted in Phase 2.
Here's a video showing how you can waitlist a class.
Note, you can only waitlist a maximum of three courses.
Students can view their registration time in their MyOregonState.
Go to the Student tab and click on View Priority Registration Status in the Registration Tools box.
Log in to your MyOregonState.
You’ll find MyDegrees under the Student tab, in the top-left corner.
Many classes have restrictions that prevent you from enrolling. For example, some courses are reserved for students in programs such as INTO or CAMP. Others won’t allow you to enroll until you’ve completed pre-requisites with a certain grade.
To view class restrictions, please look up the course in the course catalog class search.
Are you not doing as well in classes as you would like and wondering if you should stay in the class?
This decision-making map (pdf) can walk you through the steps of deciding whether to change to S/U grading, withdraw from the course or stay and earn an A-F.
You may also request that your instructor give you an incomplete grade for a course, which would allow you to complete the course requirements after the end of the term. An incomplete may be granted if the course has not been completed, if the reasons for the incomplete are acceptable to the instructor and you are passing the course at the time of the request.
*Remember that courses required for you major (including prerequisites) require a C- or better and can only be taken twice.