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Undergraduate Advising During Fall 2011

The best place to find your academic advisor assignment is on SPIRE.  Due to faculty retirement, it was necessary to reassign advisors for some students.  You may have "Advisor Not Assigned (yet)" but be assured you will have one shorly.  If you have two CS advisors listed in SPIRE, it is because you have a substitute advisor for this semester (see below). The following three professors are on leave in the Fall and returning in Spring 2012.

If your advisor is: Please Contact:
Prashant Shenoy Check SPIRE for your new advisor
Jim Kurose Check SPIRE for your new advisor

 

If your advisor last year was Victor Lessor, Wendy Lehnert, Sridhar Mahadevan, Yannis Smaragdakis, James Allan, or Mark Corner, we have assigned you a new advisor permanently as those professors have retired or they are on sabbatical for the entire year.

If you are looking for help, you should start with your faculty advisor. You can find your advisor's name by logging into spire. You may contact your advisor any time during the semester to ask for help and advice.

You are also welcome to visit the CS Undergrad Advising Center, A349A LGRC.  Fall 2011 Hours:  Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, 3:00-5:00 PM (closing for the term on Fri 12/9/11 and is scheduled to reopen again for the first week of classes in January).

Prof. Rod Grupen (Chief Undergraduate Advisor) or Prof. Brian Levine (Undergraduate Program Director) are also available via email. Prof. Levine is the BDIC Coordinator and Prof. Tim Richards serves as the Honors Coordinator for Commonwealth College students. Prof. David Mix Barrington (Associate Chair for Academic Affairs) is always a good choice for getting advice as well.

Getting Advising Help for Pre-Reg for Spring 2012 Classes

Students can register for classes starting on specific dates that are set according to the number of credits they have already completed. That is, seniors first, then juniors, etc. The dates for pre-reg for Spring 2012 classes semester are below. For example, sophomores cannot register for Spring 2012 classes before Nov 21. Each student actually has a specific time of day when they can start using spire to register; check spire for your exact day and time.

CS Advising Specifics for Spring 2012 Registration

Seniors (87 credits and above) November 14-15
Juniors (57-86 credits) November 17-18
Sophomores (27-56 credits) November 21-22
Freshmen (26 credits and below) November 28-29

Your CS Advisors will be available to meet throughout the month and will make every effort to meet students before their registration appointment time.  Your advisor will contact you with available meeting times just before registration opens. Please feel free to make contact with them first using email to make an appointment to meet. You are also welcome to seek registration advice from the CS Ugrad Advising Center, which is open 4 days a week this fall, 3:00-5:00 PM (closing on Dec 9).   Please note that unlike previous years, there is no open advising meeting for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. You have to find your advisor or use the advising center.

CS Frosh Advising (not to be confused with CNS Freshmen Mandatory Meeting)

Frosh also have a faculty advisor that they should feel they can contact any time of year. However, our major has grown significantly over the last year, and to manage the growth, we are advising all freshmen in one meeting. This is because they all generally get the same advice. If you are a freshman, we ask that you not contact your advisor.  Please attend the Undergrad CS Freshmen Meeting:  Friday, November 18, 3:00-4:30 PM, 151 CS Building.  You are also welcome to seek registration advice from the CS Ugrad Advising Center.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is a RAC Hold and why do I have one?
A: A RAC is a Registration Approval Code and the hold in SPIRE prevents you from registering until you have been advised. The Computer Science Dept. requires advising, and therefore uses the RAC process to make sure that you communicate with an advisor, either directly, via email, or if no advisor has been assigned, by attending the Advising Meeting.

Primary CMPSCI majors (BS-CMPSCI) cannot register in SPIRE without a RAC Hold release.  Secondary CMPSCI majors (SM-CMPSCI) should see their advisor for counseling but will not receive a RAC Hold from our Department.

Q: What is an Advising Hold and why do I have one?
A: Advising Holds have been placed on CS majors (both primary and secondary) whose expected graduation date is before the next term's registration, i.e., Feb 2011 before Spring 2011 registration. This hold in SPIRE will prevent you from registering if you change your graduation date and wish to enroll in the upcoming term.  This hold serves a special purpose to enforce advising like the RAC hold.  Contact your advisor.

Q: We cannot register for any classes at all until the RAC or Advising Hold is released? Or is this just CMPSCI courses?
A: You need the RAC or Advising Hold released to register for all classes. These holds are required by the CMPSCI department so that you will get advising prior to enrolling in classes.