Advising Tips

Changing Your Schedule

We’re confident that, working with your advisor and academic peer advisor, you’ve found courses that you’re going to love, but it’s fine if you want to keep searching for courses this summer and make changes in your schedule. If some of the courses you wanted were closed during your orientation session, keep your eye on Wolverine Access throughout the summer: students drop and add courses all summer through the first few weeks of classes. Also, some departments add courses and sections as the summer progresses.

Remember that Wolverine Access doesn’t provide much information about courses beyond meeting times. For course descriptions and prerequisites and for information about how courses fulfill requirements, you need to use the LSA Course Guide.

If a course is closed, get on the Wolverine Access waitlist or if the course has no waitlist, email the instructor to express your interest in the course and politely ask for an override to register for the course. The instructor’s name is usually listed in the course information in Wolverine Access and/or in the description in the LSA Course Guide. You can also find instructors’ email addresses in the online directory.

Contacting Your Advisor

You don’t need your advisor’s approval to change your schedule, but it would be a good idea if you emailed your advisor about the changes you’re making and why you’re making them. That way, if there is a problem with your new schedule, your advisor can let you know. If you lost your advisor’s email address or even forgotten her/his name, you can go to the Advising Center Directory and you’ll see email addresses and pictures.

If you live in or near Ann Arbor, you could also make an appointment to see your advisor by calling 734 764-0332. Phone appointments are an option if you’re not nearby.

Transferring Courses from Another School

It might be a good idea to contact your instructor if you’re contemplating taking a course at another school this summer. Generally, there’s no problem transferring courses from a two-year or four-year school as long as the course is in a “traditional” academic area—sociology, astronomy, or philosophy for instance—and not something like pastry making or jet engine repair. While courses from another school will very likely count toward LSA distribution, they won’t necessarily fulfill the writing, Race and Ethnicity, Quantitative Reasoning, or language requirements. Also, it’s not a good idea to take a beginning of course sequence at another school, and it’s generally a good idea to pre-business and pre-med courses at the UofM rather than at another school.

To see how courses transfer from other institutions, you can go to the Transfer Courses (Course Equivalencies) web site. If a course you want to take at another school doesn’t appear on this web site, that doesn’t mean it won’t transfer: all it means is that no one has tried to transfer the course.

Once you’ve completed courses at another college or university (even UofM-Flint or Dearborn), have the school send your transcript to

Office of Undergraduate Admissions
1220 Student Activities Building
University of Michigan
515 East Jefferson Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1316.

Determining AP Credit

“AP Credit for LSA Students” shows the credit LSA students can earn from Advance Placement exam results. By early-to-mid July, your Michigan transcript should reflect how your AP scores translate for Michigan credit. You can find your “Unofficial Transcript” in “Student Business” in Wolverine Access.

If you haven’t sent your AP scores to the University, have them sent to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at the address above. Contact your advisor if you have any questions about how your AP scores might affect your Fall schedule.

First-year Reading Program

If you are a member of a Michigan Learning Community, you'll learn about the First-year Reading Program based on the LSA Theme Year--China Now at Orientation. Members of all the MLCs will read and discuss James Kynge's book, China Shakes the World. If you are not a member of a learning community, you can still participate in the program. Contact Susan Gass for details, including information on how to purchase the book at Shaman Drum bookstore for a reduced rate.

Preparing for Fall Courses

LSA requires all instructors to create CTools site, a web based system for coursework where instructors can post syllabi, assignments, and resources. Some instructors also hold online discussions on Ctools and to encourage collaborative learning. You can log onto Ctools and see if your instructors have started to build their sites.

Most instructors are not going to expect you to do any preparing before courses begin other than getting textbooks. UofM instructors usually order their texts through a consortium of bookstores—Michigan Book and Supply, Michigan Union Bookstore, or Ulrich’s—or through an independent bookstore, Shaman Drum. The store’s websites have information about buying texts for your courses.

The Mathematics department does urge students to prepare for its courses. If you’re taking a math course this term, spend some time with the department’s Mathematics Preparation web site before the term starts. It will make your transition to college mathematics go much more smoothly.

Also, if you’re registered for a language course above the intro level, it would be a good idea to get warmed up because you’ll be using the language intensively right from the start of classes. If you know speakers of the language, practice with them. And/or watch a few films or DVDs in the language and pull out your high school texts and do some reviewing.

That’s it for now! Have a great summer and see you in September!