Who is my advisor?

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) provides both faculty and professional (also known as academic) advisors to help students successfully complete their degree requirements and prepare for their careers and graduate study.

For more information about the difference between faculty and professional advisors and how to connect with them, follow this link: Who is my advisor?

A faculty advisor is assigned when you declare your major. It is recommended that you meet with your faculty advisor at least once a year to make sure that you are on track with your degree requirements. To find your faculty advisor, follow these steps:
1. Log into MyBanner
2. Select Student & Financial Aid
3. Select Registration
4. View Major & Advisor Information

Once you know their name, you can email them directly to arrange a time to meet.

Late course withdrawal

A late course withdrawal may be allowed under exceptional circumstances. Late withdrawals are never granted due to poor performance in a course. The students need the approval of the instructor of the course and the physics department chair.

Students should follow these steps to submit a late course withdrawal request:

1. Fill out the registration form and have it signed by the instructor of the course and the physics department chair. 
2. Explain why you are requesting a late course withdrawal by completing the late course withdrawal form.
3. Obtain at least one statement of support from the instructor of the course or the physics department chair.
4. Submit all the above to the director of the Student Academic Success Center (SASC) at [email protected] for a decision.

Students should continue to attend class until a final decision is received. Late withdrawal requests are accepted until 5 pm on the last day of classes (Course drop/add and refund schedule - Registrar's office). If the withdrawal is not granted, the student must accept a grade other than W, depending on the instructor's judgement of their performance in the course and any mitigating circumstances.

Dropping a course might affect current scholarships and grants, future financial aid eligibility, athletic eligibility, Greek Life housing, etc. For factors to consider when deciding whether or not to drop a course, follow this guide: Decision Tree for Dropping a Class

Overrides

Registration overrides are requested through myBanner. To make a registration override request, follow these instructions: pdf or video.
You will be able to register for the course only after the override request is approved. Proof that you have fulfilled the prerequisite will be required before the start of classes.
Decisions regarding the override request will be sent to your GVSU email address.

Closed class permit

Students should add their name to the waitlist for the sections they wish to register for. In extraordinary circumstances, the physics department may grant a closed class permit.

If a class is closed, students need to request a registration override through myBanner.

Repeat a course

REPEATING A COURSE ONE TIME

Students are allowed to repeat a course one time.

You should: 

1. Fill out a repeat grade form. 
2. Submit the form to Records (see the repeat grade form for submission instructions) during the semester in which you are repeating the course.

For information about how the grade of the repeated course counts toward the GPA, please refer to the CLAS course repeat policy.

REPEATING A COURSE MORE THAN ONCE

Students are allowed to repeat a course more than once only with the approval of their academic advisor and the physics department chair. 

You should:

1. Fill out a registration repeat limit approval form.
2. Describe the actions you are taking to support successful completion of the third attempt in the class. This statement should be sent at [email protected]
3. Obtain the signatures of your academic advisor and the physics department chair.
4. Submit the form to Records (see the registration repeat limit approval form for submission instructions) in order to register for the course you are repeating.

Grade Appeals - Academic Grievance

Information on the academic grievance procedures can be found here: CLAS Academic Grievance Procedures

For grade appeals, the first step is an appeal to the instructor.

If you and the instructor cannot reach a resolution satisfactory to both, the next step is to appeal to the physics department chair. To file an appeal, please fill out the grade appeal form.

Please note that if your complaint concerns the quality of instruction and is not directly related to unfair or incorrect grading or issues of inclusion and equity, we ask that you use the end-of-semester course evaluations. These evaluations are designed to provide this sort of feedback to both instructor and department chair who reviews them. However, if you believe that there is evidence that instructional approaches directly led to inappropriate grades, you are welcome to present it. 

Please contact the physics department chair if you have any questions about the process.  Keep in mind that resolving these matters takes time, so please allow all parties reasonable time to respond and investigate. Sometimes a delay in response is due to the instructor, unit, or dean gathering information before replying. If you have not received an update within two weeks, please contact the physics department chair for more information.  

Course Equivalencies

If you need a course equivalency, please contact the Registrar's Office or your professional advisor.

You can also use this tool to explore current course equivalencies between different transferring institutions and GVSU: GVSU Course Equivalencies.

Tutoring

For in person drop-in tutoring for introductory physics courses, visit the Physics Help Corner:

Physics Help Corner

For in person scheduled tutoring for introductory physics courses, visit the University's Tutoring Center:

Tutoring and Reading Center 

Enrollment procedures

PHY 399/499: After the student and faculty member have determined the topic of study, the student must request a registration override through myBanner. Once the override is approved, the student should register for the class in myBanner before 5 pm on the Friday of the first week of classes. Additionally, in collaboration with the faculty member, the student must complete a contract proposal for independent study/research (PHY 399/ PHY 499).

PHY 485/486 (Capstone): After the student and faculty member have determined the project topic, the student must request a registration override through myBanner. Once the override is approved, the student should register for the class in myBanner before 5 pm on the Friday of the first week of classes. The student must also email the title of their project to the assistant chair at [email protected] and cc the supervising faculty member. 

Undergraduate Research Designation on the GVSU Transcript

Exemplary GVSU Undergraduate students who have pursued research projects are eligible to receive a designation of “Undergraduate Research Scholar” on their official transcript. Designation requests can be submitted at any time, and students may apply up to one year after graduation, provided that they have completed all of the requirements. Please allow thirty days for processing requests. Students may also receive graduation cords if they submit their requests in sufficient time before their ceremony. For Fall ceremonies, applications must be submitted by November 1. For Winter ceremonies, applications must be submitted by March 15. 

Please follow this link to review the application requirements:
GVSU Undergraduate Research/Creative Scholar Designation on the GVSU Transcript

Physics majors automatically fulfill the first two requirements through the two-semester capstone project and the poster presentation of their capstone project at Student Scholar Day. Please consult your capstone supervisor or instructor for opportunities for off-campus research dissemination to fulfill the third requirement.