Advising

Advising Procedures

(Advising schedule, Mandatory advising, Preparing for advising, Declaring an ENSP concentration, Applying for graduation)

Spring 2008 advising schedule

Dr. Ken Conca
3114J Tydings Hall
email: kconca@gvpt.umd.edu
phone: 301.405.4125
Office Hours: by appointment

Allison Berland Kaul
3114D Tydings Hall
email: aberland@gvpt.umd.edu
phone: 301.405.7490
Office Hours: Mondays, 12:45-2:15, Tuesdays, 2:00-3:00, or by appointment

Mandatory advising
Registration is automatically blocked for all ENSP students until their semesterly course-plan is approved. Course plans are typically approved during one-on-one meetings with Allison Berland Kaul. Students may send Allison an e-mail detailing their semester plan in lieu of a one-on-one meeting after having been a declared Politics & Policy student for more than two semesters. ENSP has made advising mandatory because its interdisciplinary nature requires more personalization on the student's part such that courses are selected for their contributions to student-specific goals and not simply because they fulfill requirements.

Preparing for advising

In Person:
1) Sign up for an advising appointment that is at least 48 hours prior to your registration date and time. Please be considerate and sign up for an appointment as early as possible so that Allison can balance her other responsibilities accordingly. Ideally, the appointment should be scheduled about a week in advance. Sign-up sheets are posted on an online calendar two weeks before registration begins. Be sure to write down the date and time of your appointment. If you miss your appointment, there is no guarantee that she will be able to lift your block prior to your registration date and you may miss out on classes you wanted.

2) Print the requirements worksheet and fill in the courses you have completed thus far. Alternatively, you could find the Degree Navigator to be very useful in allowing you to see all the courses you have completed imposed on all of those required for you.

3) Review the semester's course offerings and develop a draft schedule for the coming semester. Be sure to identify some back-up options in case classes turn out to be full by the time you register.

4) Bring your draft schedule to your advising appointment

Over email:
1) Print the requirements worksheet and fill in the courses you have completed thus far. Alternatively, you could find the Degree Navigator to be very useful in allowing you to see all the courses you have completed imposed on all of those required for you.

2) Review the semester's course offerings and develop a draft schedule (using VENUS) for the coming semester. Be sure to identify some back-up options in case classes turn out to be full by the time you register.

3) Email the courses you plan to take to Allison at least 48 hours prior to your registration appointment along with a brief description of why you chose these courses. Allison will review your schedule, check your progress within the concentration, and recommend changes or point out implications. She will then either clear your block or point out problems with your plan.

Declaring a concentration within ENSP
ENSP offers a range of concentrations to choose from. Some stress science, some emphasize the human dimensions, and other stress the interplay of the two around a particular set of environmental problems or phenomena. ENSP requires a concentration so that students gain in-depth exposure to a particular approach to studying the environment. Choosing a concentration is important because it will determine the bulk of the coursework you are required to do to finish the major. Within the Politics and Policy concentration, for example, your studies will be focused on themes such as law and legislation, the politics of policy making, collective action, international relations, and the tensions between science and democracy.

In choosing an ENSP concentration, we recommend that you follow your interests. Most students succeed when they study what interests them. Skill development, career opportunities, graduate school preparation--these can be important considerations, but don't let them crowd out the interests, passions, and concerns that brought you to this field in the first place.

Students will normally declare a concentration in the freshman or sophmore year. You should not rush the choice, but the sooner you declare the sooner you can begin plotting a precise course to graduation. To declare a concentration within ENSP, contact Joyce Brown (jbrown@deans.umd.edu). It's best to allow at least a month before registration for the coming semester. Once you have declared a concentration, you will be advised by faculty and staff within that concentration as opposed to the central ENSP office.

Applying for graduation

Although we are anxious to see you finish, graduation does not happen automatically. There are several things you must do first. During the semester preceding graduation, if you have not already completed an on-line graduation audit you should set up a meeting with Allison for an in-person graduation audit clearance. Please note: The on-line graduation audit is a relatively new process. Students who have completed between 75-80 credits are contacted by BSOS with instructions on how to complete an on-line audit. However, since it is a new process, there are students who have passed 75-80 credits before the on-line audit system came online. Therefore, if you are planning to graduate, and have not completed an on-line audit, you should set up a meeting in-person with Allison.

Allison will carefully review your record to confirm that all of the major and concentration requirements for degree completion have been met (or will be met by graduation). The main goal is to catch problems early so that you can graduate on-time! This is also a great time to file your updated resume for future recommendation letter requests and to touch base before departing.

Believe it or not, you must apply for graduation before you can graduate! Graduation applications are processed electronically via Testudo. Click on Records and Registration and then follow links that say 'Apply for Graduation.' This application must be submitted before the end of the Drop/Add period of the semester you want to graduate.

Allison will be in contact with the BSOS Graduation Clearance Coordinator, Sheila Goebel, about the the graduation clearance status of each student.