Advising and Registration FAQs - Kean University

Advising and Registration FAQs
Department of Computer Science Revised: April 14, 2012
- General
- Transfer Credits
- Overload Requests
- GPA Questions; CS/IT Minor questions
- CS and CS/IS majors interested in the 5-year B.S./M.S. Program
General
Q. I don’t know who my adviser is. How can I register?
Our department provides semester advising during regular class meetings,
usually held during the 8 th or 9 th week of the semester. Sign up on the sheet your
professor passes around to have your hold removed. Additionally, any CS/IT
faculty member can serve as your advisor and remove your hold.
Keep your degree guide sheet filled in and up-to-date as you go along. This will
save you time and keep you current.
After your hold is removed, your advisor will provide permission (give you an
online petition) for any courses which require permission. During your semester
advising session in class, you can sign up for the courses you need petitions for,
and they will be granted shortly after the meeting concludes.
Q. What is a degree guide sheet?
Degree guide sheets for all degrees offered by the Computer Science
Department are in the hallway outside the Department Office. They are colorcoded
as follows:
B.S Computer Science - yellow
B.S. Computer Science (Information Systems option) – pink
B.S. Information Technology – blue
Each guide sheet identifies what courses need to be taken to complete the
requirements for the degree. In addition, a companion sheet, also color-coded
by degree, identifies a suggested course sequence of the degree, taking into
account pre-requisites, co-requisites, and, in some cases, when courses are
offered (only Spring, only Fall).
Not all courses are offered all semesters. These sheets were designed to give
you the information needed to plan your degree program.

Q. What if I don’t know which degree I want?
No problem. All three degrees share a starting point. You will be able to decide
on your specific degree as you progress. There are some differences between
the degrees:
B.S Computer Science - requires Math 2412 Calculus II and
CPS 2232 Data Structures
two Lab Science Classes
B.S. Computer Science (Information Systems option)
– requires Math 2411 Calculus I and
CPS 2232 Data Structures
one Lab Science class
B.S. Information Technology – no Calculus requirement
one Lab Science class
Q. What do you mean by Lab Science? I don’t know which degree I want?
For CS and CS (Information Systems) majors, here are recommended course
sequences for Lab Science I and II**:
Computer
Science
(2-course
sequence in lab
science needed)
CS/Information
Systems**
(at least 1 lab
science needed; a
2-course sequence
is an option)
Dept.
Lab Science
I (4 hours)
CS CS/IS Chem CHEM
1083
Chemistry I
(pre-req
Math 1054
Pre-Calc)
CS CS/IS Physics PHYS 2091
General
Physics I
(pre-req
Math 1054
Pre-Calc)
CS
(if you’ve taken
Math 2411 - Calc
I and are taking
Math 2412 - Calc
CS/IS
(if you’ve taken
Math 2411 - Calc I
and will take Math
2412 - Calc II)
Physics PHYS 2095
Physics I
(pre-req
Math 2411
Calculus I;
Lab Science II**
(4 hours)
CHEM 1084
Chemistry II
PHYS 2092
General Physics
II
PHYS 2096
Physics II
(pre-requisite
Math 2412
Calculus II)

II)
co-req Math
2412
Calculus II)
CS CS/IS Biology BIO 1000
Principles of
Bio
BIO 2500 Botany
OR
BIO 2601
Ecology (4
credits)
For Information Technology majors, here are recommended courses for Lab
Science I:
Information Technology (1 lab science Dept. Lab Science I (4 hours)
needed)
IT Chem CHEM 1083 Chemistry I
(pre-req Math 1054 Pre-Calc)
IT Physics PHYS 2091 General Physics I
(pre-req Math 1054 Pre-Calc)
IT Biology BIO 1000 Principles of Biology
* Lab Science I and II must be 4 credit courses, with a 3 hour lecture, and 3 hour lab.
** CS/IS Majors have an option of either Tech 2925 Web Client Prog. or Lab Science II
Q. There is a hold on my account, blocking me from registering. Why and
what can I do to get it lifted?
Speak to your CS or IT classroom professor. Any CS faculty member can
remove your hold.
Q. Which guide sheet do I follow?
The guide sheet you go by is the one in use at the moment you matriculated into
Kean University.
• Some students have opted to use the updated guide sheet. If you do so,
please be sure to tell your advisor.
• If you choose to go with a later guide sheet, you must go to One Stop and
fill out a specially-designed Change of Major request form, which indicates
that you are changing your catalog year (meaning: the guide sheet that
you will follow since it is a different, later year than the one in place when
you matriculated).
Q. Can all my free electives be 1000 and 2000 level courses?

No. 50% of your free electives must be 3xxx/4xxx level courses. Free electives
CANNOT be from your undergraduate major area. IT majors cannot take TECH
courses as free electives; CS majors cannot take CPS courses as free electives.

Transfer credits
Q. I am concerned that the transfer credits from my prior college were not
properly counted. What should I do?
The Transfer Advisement office in CAS provides an official assessment and
subsequent report, based on the transcripts you provide them. Please make
sure that you have arranged to have a transcript with your latest coursework and
degree, if you received one, posted.
Summer courses do not automatically transfer to Kean – you must arrange to
have transcript from your summer college or university sent to Kean.
Do not wait until you are preparing your graduation check-list: it often is a timeconsuming
process and may have to be repeated if any errors are made. You
may find out too late that you have to take more and/or different courses,
delaying your graduation.
Q. How do I know if AP (Advanced Placement) credits earned in high
school will be transferred to the Computer Science major?
Normally, Computer Science AP courses completed with a score of 3 (equals a
C) or above are approved. These will be analyzed by the transfer advisor
assigned to your application.
If approved, you will receive 8 credits: 4 each for CPS 1231 and CPS 2231. You
do not have to retake those courses.

Overload Requests
Q. The class is full. How can I get an overload request granted?
Overload requests are handled during the ADD/DROP period at the beginning of
each semester. Professor Stewart-Gardiner handles overload requests.
Professor Stewart-Gardiner can be contacted via email (cstewart@kean.edu) if
you are a graduating senior.
Otherwise, please complete the Overload Request Form located in the
department hallway display and submit it to the department office for processing.
The Overload Request form is also available on the website:
www.kean.edu/~compsci

GPA questions: CS/IT major/minor
Q. What must my GPA be as a Computer Science or Information
Technology major or minor?
Your GPA must be 2.50. To graduate from Kean with a CS or IT degree, your
must complete all major courses (CPS or TECH) with a C or better.
Q. I took classes at another school before matriculating at Kean. Do those
grades count in my major/minor?
Your credits transfer in, but the grades do not. Therefore, your grades at a prior
school are not calculated into your Kean GPA.
• However, if you take equivalent courses at another school while
matriculated at Kean to be counted for your Kean bachelor’s degree, then
both the credits and the grades carry over and are calculated into your
Kean GPA.
• You cannot take upper-division (3000-4000 level) courses at a
community college. Upper-division courses must be from a 4-year
college or university.
• Be sure to get prior Kean approval from the Department
Chairperson/Assistant Chairperson before you take that course
elsewhere. There is a course equivalency form available from One
Stop/CAS. This form must be completed with the proper signatures
and returned to One Stop before you register for that course at that
other college.
• If you take a course without prior approval, we are under no
obligation to accept it.
Q. How many grades below C in CS or IT courses can I have and still be a
CS or IT major/minor?
None. If you receive a grade below a C in any CS or IT course, it must be
retaken to count for your major or minor.
You can retake a course to replace the original grade, but you must petition the
registrar to recalculate your GPA. Only 4 retakes are allowed.

CS and CS/IS majors interested in the 5-year
B.S./M.S. Program
Q. How can I get into the 5-year B.S./M.S. program?
For CS majors
For CS/IS majors and CS minors
If you are a Computer Science (CS) major:
During your senior year, you will need to take two graduate courses (one each
semester) as your FREE ELECTIVES and apply to the Nathan Weiss Graduate
College for Admission to the M.S. in CIS program.
If you are interested in a Graduate Assistantship to fund your graduate
education, please ask for details from the Nathan Weiss Graduate College.
If you are a Computer Science (Information Systems Option CS/IS) major or
a CS minor:
Carefully plan your undergraduate education. The CS/IS major can be used for
admission to the M.S. in CIS program if you take the following courses:
CPS Elective Courses:
CPS 2250 Advanced Programming Techniques
CPS 3440 Analysis of Algorithms
CPS 3498 Computer Security
Additional Math Courses: MATH 2411 Calculus I
MATH 2412 Calculus II
During your senior year, you will need to take two graduate courses (one each
semester) as FREE ELECTIVES and apply to the Nathan Weiss Graduate
College for Admission to the M.S. in CIS program.
If you are interested in a Graduate Assistantship to fund your graduate
education, please ask for details from the Nathan Weiss Graduate College.