University Survey 100

In your first quarter, you will enroll in a University Survey 100 course led by your Arts and Sciences academic advisor. Degree planning is the basis for the survey course. Reliable and steady progress toward a degree depends on a thorough knowledge of the degree structure, the courses that are part of the general and specialized areas of the degree, and all of the issues that affect performance.

As part of the survey course, you will meet with your Arts and Sciences academic advisor and with a major advisor to devise a schedule projection and a four-year degree plan that will serve as important measures of degree progress. It is our hope that students will use their advisors often to monitor their progress and to discuss the wide range of decisions students make regarding their degrees.

Academic Advising

The business of constructing your graduation plan should involve an ongoing dialogue with your Arts and Sciences academic advisor and your major advisor. Although Arts and Sciences academic advisors will contact you several times each year about issues related to degree progress, we ultimately rely on you to schedule appointments with your advisors to discuss your individual situation.

Your Arts and Sciences academic advisor is a full-time professional and generalist who will advise you on:

• The General Education Curriculum (GEC)
• Degree Planning
• Special academic and career opportunities
• Graduation requirements
• University policies and procedures
• Referrals to campus support services

Your major advisor is knowledgeable in your area of study. This advisor will be either a full-time professional advisor or a department faculty member who advises, teaches, and fulfills research duties. You should consult your major advisor on issues related specifically to your major.

Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS)

PRINT YOUR DEGREE AUDIT. You will need your Ohio State username and password to do so. If you do not know yours, please contact 688-HELP.

One of the most important tools students and advisors use in degree planning is Ohio State’s Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS). At any point, you can use the university registrar’s web site to request an audit, which lists all of the courses you have completed and shows the general and major-area requirements that have been met by these courses. Academic advisors are not permitted to share degree audits with anyone except the student and university staff, but students and their families should review this document periodically.

While the degree audit is available to you at any point in your undergraduate career, academic advisors will periodically send you an electronic degree audit connection, with special commentary about your unique situation. We hope these electronic mailings will prompt you to schedule appointments with your advisors if there are any questions or issues that arise, but, at a minimum, we want to be certain we give you periodic assessments of your degree progress and performance.

Advisor contact begins with orientation and your first quarter at Ohio State and will continue until you have completed a degree. Again, there are many complicated decisions and events during the undergraduate years, but we want to be absolutely certain that you have complete and accurate information about your degree status throughout your time at Ohio State.