Undergraduate Student Advising FAQ

Arts & Letters and Social Science Requirement
Degree Audit and DARS
Junior Cluster
Miscellaneous
MECOP
Prerequisites, Core, Admission Into Program, Etc.
Transfers
Undergraduate Handbook
PSU Advising Schedule
Useful Links

Arts & Letters and Social Science Requirement

What is AL/SS and does it apply to me?

The Arts & Letters and Social Science (AL/SS) requirement is only for transfer students with 30 or more transfer credits.  Students with fewer than 30 transfer credits complete the Freshman Inquiry (FRINQ), Sophomore Inquiry (SINQ), and Upper Division Cluster at PSU and do NOT need to fulfill this requirement. 
Prior to graduation from PSU transfer students must have a minimum of 39 credits of University Studies courses and/or Arts and Letters/Social Science (AL/SS) courses at their previous college or at PSU. 12 of these credits are the Upper Division Cluster courses that must be taken at PSU. AL/SS credits should constitute a breadth of coursework.

Students should consult with the MCECS Student Services undergraduate academic advisor or their department undergraduate academic advisor regarding these requirements.

How did you come up with 21 credits of AL/SS?

Regular (PSU only) student are required to take 39 credits of General Education: FRINQ (15) + SINQ (12) + JC (12)= 39. If a student transfers with, e.g. 90 credits or more, they are forgiven FRINQ and SINQ but are still required to take the Junior Cluster. Since PSU does not check what these 90+ credits are (they could all be sciences), it is possible that student does not have enough general education for our programs' needs.

Given that we require that transfer students take SP 100 and WR 121, and PSU requires that JC be taken, we count all of these towards the 39 credits that regular students would take: 39 - 3 - 3 - 12 = 21 credits.

I am a post-baccalaureate student - does AL/SS requirement apply to me?

No. Post-baccalaureate students do not need to fulfill this requirement since general education requirements are waived for post-baccalaureates.  Post-baccalaureate students will still need to complete major requirements for their degree.

Sample of disciplines or courses that qualify for the AL/SS requirements:
(If in doubt about a course, contact either MCECS or departmental level advisors)

• Anthropology
• Applied Linguistics (maximum of 6 credits)
• Architecture
• Art (courses relating to the history and appreciation of art, but not simply painting or drawing)
• Black Studies
• Chicano/Latino Studies
• Child and Family Studies
• Communication Studies
• Criminal Justice (CCJ 220 and 330 only at PSU)
• Economics
• English
• Foreign Languages and Literatures (native speakers should take advanced courses)
• Geography
• History
• Humanities
• International Studies
• Music (courses relating to the history and appreciation of music, but not performance)
• Native American Studies
• Philosophy
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Social Science
• Sociology
• Speech
• Theater Arts (not including performance)
• Urban Studies & Planning
• Women’s Studies
• Writing

Courses that do NOT satisfy AL/SS:

• PE/PHE classes
• Business Administration
• Mathematics and Sciences

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Junior Cluster

• Each Sophomore Inquiry (SINQ) course leads to a Junior Cluster (JC). Each JC offers a number of courses from various disciplines. Students are required to choose three courses from the same cluster. Usually the name of a SINQ course becomes the heading for a JC.
• Students who complete their SINQ at PSU have to choose their JC from one of the SINQ courses they have completed. There are no exceptions to this rule and it is enforced by PSU. This rule also applies to transfer students who are transferring less than 90 credits. This is due to the fact that such students must take at least one SINQ class, which then has to "link up" with JC.
• Transfer students with more than 90 transfer credits do not have to take any course from either FRINQ or SINQ. These students are free to choose any JC of their choice. 
• It may be in the student's interest (independent of their transfer status) to choose one of these three clusters:
  • Community Studies Cluster
  • Knowledge, Rationality and Understanding Cluster.
• EC 314U is a required course for ECE students i.e. it is a departmental requirement. This course is also a part of three JC-s mentioned above. Using this fact, students can fulfill both the university requirement and the departmental requirement by choosing one of the above three clusters as their JC. Whether they will be able to do so depends upon their choice of SINQ courses. In other words, if they have chosen a SINQ course that leads to one of the above three clusters, they can avoid taking EC 314 separately from a JC.
• students who take FRINQ and SINQ at PSU, have to be careful about their choice of courses in their junior cluster - any engineering or science courses (e.g. EAS 399) will not count towards the university AL/SS requirement (12 credits) and they may have to take some additional courses to satisfy it.
• EE or CPE students can, in general, take EAS 399 to satisfy junior cluster requirements in the clusters that offer it (but see bullet above). However, EAS 399 CANNOT be used to satisfy PSU and departmental AL/SS requirements. 
• JC and AL/SS courses can be taken for P/NP. This does not include EC 314U (public and private investment) because this is a specific departmental requirement. 25 of the last 45 credits must be for a grade.

1. Take the required SINQ course and then take the xyz junior cluster, or
2. Take the JC that you are eligible for (i.e. you have taken the SINQ class that is a "prerequisite" for that JC) and take EC 314U outside of the cluster.

Note that in both cases you will need to take an additional course, simply because you did not plan your SINQ and JC properly. Students who transfer more than 90 credits are not subject to this rule since all of their SINQ requirements are waived.

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Degree Audit and DARS

• DARS Report:
  • Every + on the DARS report means that the requirement for that section is complete.
  • The sections with a – sign have one or more course deficiencies.
  • Two sections on DARS report will initially, always be "–" since they relate to departmental requirements. One of them is a check for Arts & Letters/Soc. Sciences requirement and the other one is a check for adviser approved courses. Both of these sections become "+" only when the department informs DR that these requirements have been completed.
  • DR office will officially inform the student of his standing.
  • you can get more information at http://www.dars.pdx.edu/faq.html .
    
• Grades and GPA
  • as of Fall 2005, we are following PSU policy of calculating major GPA. This means that ALL courses with "engineering" prefix (ECE, CS, ME, CE, EAS) will be included in the calculation. This policy may change in the future.
  • Courses that are transferred as "generic" courses, e.g. ECE LD (for "lower division") cannot be "replaced" for the purpose of GPA calculation, so whatever student transfers will be counted in their major GPA, as well as overall GPA.
  • If student is repeating the course because he got a F, D-, D or D+ and wants to "replace" the course for the purpose of calculating cumulative GPA, the original as well as the repeated course MUST be at PSU. However, for calculation of the MAJOR GPA, DARS will use substitute course from any institution.
  • Grades of  D+, D, D- and F can be replaced once for the purpose of GPA calculation, but they stay on the transcript
  • In some situations, it is to the student's benefit to have a course transferred as a regular "numbered" course (e.g. ECE 221) even though it cannot be counted towards a degree. Once the course has a regular PSU number, the above policies on replacement come into effect so that whatever grades student gets when repeating that course will replace the transferred ones (if the grade was D+ or bellow).
  • as of Fall 2005, Schedule of Classes states that students MUST submit a form ("Notice of Repeated Course" or "Notification of Repeat of Course) to explicitly ask for the PSU policy on repeating courses be implemented and correct GPA shown on their transcript. According to DR office, DARS is implementing the university policy as stated (with the exception for the major GPA calculation) but the BANNER system does not do this unless explicitly told which courses do not count for GPA. That is why students need to fill in the "notification of repeat of course" form, otherwise they can have two different GPA-s: one on DARS and another on transcript.

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Transfers

• any physics courses that you want to transfer have to be calculus based.
• if student takes courses outside of PSU after they are admitted, those courses cannot be counted as transfer (but they can be used as "substitution" if such is established).  
• if you go to other departments (Math, Physics...) and they approve a certain course transfer, that does not automatically guarantee that we will accept that as a part of your graduation requirements. In other words, all course transfers are subject to approval by the ECE UG adviser.

A system called "u. Select" provides information on transfer course equivalency information and degree progress reports. This way, transfer students may see how courses taken at other institutions will mostly likely transfer as. The system can still be accessed through the Admission website at http://www.pdx.edu/admissions/transfer_courses.html, or directly by going to http://pdx.transfer.org/.

Course Equivalency tables are available to identify course transferability and equivalency. Programs (degree audit reports) are available that outline PSU degree and major requirements. Also, students may create individual accounts, by keying in or importing transfer credits, and requesting a Program (degree audit report) which details how transfer credits apply toward meeting degree and major requirements. These Programs will identify complete and incomplete requirements and will provide information on which courses can be taken at Portland State (or at a specified transfer school) to satisfy remaining unmet requirements.

Why do I have to take WR 121 during my first term at PSU?

One of the PSU admission requirements is that transfer students should have taken WR 121 or equivalent prior to coming to PSU. Sometimes students cannot take this course before coming to PSU and in such cases they are "conditionally" admitted. All transfer students who have not yet taken it MUST TAKE WR 121 during their first term at PSU! If any problems arise with respect to this requirement students should discuss it with their academic advisor.

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Prerequisties, Core, Admission into Program, Etc.

1. It will be done only ONCE for the students who are taking double degrees and want to finish up their other degree(s) first and come back to finish ECE degree later.
2. They have to put their request in writing and state:
   1. Name and ID number
   2. reasons for the request
   3. starting quarter for the withdrawal
3. Students have to be in "good standing" before they can be granted a temporary withdrawal
4. It will be made clear that the return into the program is not automatic, so that if the requirements for re-admission change, they may have to satisfy the new set of conditions.
5. If approved, their request will be forwarded to MCECS (Jodi Stiegemeyer) and the appropriate person who can change the "code 24" (MCECS code).
6. A copy of the student's request and action taken will be placed in their folder.

I do not have all of the requirements satisfied for admission into EE or CPE program - can I still be admitted?

Students with one or two missing "core" class (sciences and ECE) can be conditionally admitted into program, if, in UG adviser's judgment, they have made good enough progress in other areas. For example, if a student takes more Math classes than is required for admission but is missing some other course(s) that could be judged enough to get him admitted. You should contact the UG adviser for your specific situation. Do not wait until you have completed everything to get in touch with him and get some advising.

Letter of admission will state your deficiencies and in what time you have to clear them (typically, two quarters). You should take those conditions seriously since your staying in program depends on satisfying them in a timely fashion.

I have not taken yet a prerequisite for course xyz - can I still take xyz?

Definite maybe :-) Firstly, you will need to obtain permission (an e-mail, a signed Special Registration form) from the course instructor to take the course. Secondly, you will need to stop by the department to verify that there are no other reasons that would prevent you from taking the class. If everything checks out, UG adviser will sign you in. Note that any 300 or 400 level course can be taken only after you are admitted into program.

I have taken some of the Calculus-based Physics courses at PSU and want to finish the sequence at PCC (Portland Community College). How do I go about that?
In the Physics sequence at PCC, the second and third part are exchanged (i.e. waves, etc. are in the second part and electromagnetism is in the 3rd). Therefore the equivalencies are as follows:

• PH 212/222 at PSU = PH 213/223 at PCC
• PH 213/223 at PSU = PH 212/222 at PCC
• PH 215 at PSU = PH 216 at PCC
• PH 216 at PSU = PH 215 at PCC

I have taken a course without taking a prerequisite and now need to take the prerequisite - is that a problem?

According to the PSU policy, you should not be taking the prerequisite course after you take another course that requires it. For example, if you take ECE 222 (which should not be possible, but sometimes it happens) you still need to show that you took ECE 221. As a matter of principle, we will not let you do this and it is likely that you will be required to take another course (e.g. senior or junior elective) to "compensate" for that course. Other departments, especially Math and Physics, can also prevent you from doing this as well. If there are special circumstances explaining why and how this happened, you will need to discuss them with UG adviser. Special case: occasionally UG adviser will make admitted students repeat a course in which they didn't do well (say D-, D or even D+). Strictly speaking, it is a passing grade but out of concern for their GPA and also to improve their knowledge of that topic UG adviser may make them repeat such course. The question arises, if that is OK with respect to university policy on taking courses that are prerequisites for another course that has been taken. This has been clarified with DR and Registration -  it is acceptable to do this when circumstances warrant it.

Here are a few additional pointers:

• Currently, our CMPE students are required to take CS 333 Intro to Operating Systems which lists (2011/12 Bulletin) CS 201 and CS 202 as prerequisites. Our students typically don't have those courses, so they need to be "signed in" by the CS department.
• EE students CANNOT use Physics courses to substitute them for senior electives. 
• MTH 356?
• ECE Senior Electives CANNOT be substituted for Junior Electives (EE students only).

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Miscellaneous

Do I have to take my math/science upper-division elective for a grade?

Yes. Math/Science upper-division elective that both EE and CMPE students have to take must be taken for grade (i.e. NOT for P/NP), even though we don’t specify this by name and number

I just need to have your signature on this petition - could you sign it now?

A short answer is NO, but we try to be reasonable and if circumstances warrant it we will expedite your request. Normal procedure, however, is to submit your petition request to the Undergraduate Assistant at the front desk and/or set up an appointment with UG Adviser to discuss it. After UG Adviser checks out your petition he will sign it and deliver it back to you or it will be delivered to an appropriate address by our office staff. All this will take at least one week from the day of submission.

Foreign language admission deficiency: I've just found out about this requirement - why do I have to satisfy it?

This deficiency shows up on student's DARS report but students don't pay attention to this requirement (maybe because it is on the first page) and may have to delay their graduation until it is removed. Here are some pointers:

• Even though this is not a graduation requirement (it is an admission requirement), students will not be able to graduate until this requirements turns to "+" instead of "-".
• The requirement is that they need to show two years of foreign language on their High School transcript.
• This requirement only applies to students who graduated from an Oregon High School in 1997 and after. It does not apply to anyone outside of Oregon.
• if they don't satisfy this, there are two ways out of it:
  • take two quarters of college level foreign language, or
  • take exam at Foreign languages department
• For further details students should contact the MCECS Academic Advisers or the Department of Foreign Languages.

I would like to take a graduate only level course (500/600) and use it as a senior elective - can I do this?

Students do this for two reasons:

• a) to get a head-start on their graduate studies, or
• b) to substitute this course for one of the ECE senior electives.

For part a) they have to inform Office of Graduate Studies that they are reserving the credit for graduate degree by filling out GO-10 form. The form must be approved by the department (i.e. UG Adviser) and is then submitted by student to Graduate Studies. Graduate studies takes it from there and notifies and checks with DR. For b) they need to have instructor's permission and UG adviser's permission. If they take this course while they are UG students, i.e. they enrolled in PSU as EE or CPE students and have not obtained a BS degree yet, and are using the credits for UG degree, they will pay undergraduate tuition. 

I have done all the material that is covered in course xyz - can I take it by exam?

It is possible to do this and it has been done for a variety of ECE classes (171, 271, 371, 221, etc). It is up to the instructor to determine if the student has some background that would indicate that they can successfully challenge the class. Other arrangements are also up to the instructor (e.g. grading policy and time of the exam). You do not have a "right" to demand this exam and this is entirely up to the instructor.

Here are some additional pointers:

• Western Undergraduate Exchange program undergraduate education provides nonresident students with the opportunity to enroll in academic programs at Portland State that are not readily available from their home state institutions. When you're admitted to Portland State as a WUE participant, you pay 150 percent of the university's resident tuition plus any fees that all students are required to pay. Students are not required to demonstrate financial need to participate in the WUE program. Details and application forms can be found at http://www.pdx.edu/admissions/oosscholarships.html. 
• multiple degrees: if student wants to get two different degrees (say BS in EE and BS in some other discipline, say Social Work) one has to be finished first and then the student can return as a post-baccalaureate to finish the degree in the second discipline. For more information, students should contact the Degree Requirements department.  

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MECOP

Details on MECOP program are available elsewhere: http://www.pdx.edu/cecs/internships. Participation by eligible students is strongly encouraged. Further details can be obtained from ECE UG Adviser.

I am an international student - can I participate in MECOP?

In theory they might be able to participate, but in practice this is next to impossible. They need to maintain full time student status, i.e. 12 credits, and that is simply not possible the way things are set up right now.

For examples of recent project reports, click on the Powerpoint presentations below:

Ken Roberts - My Internship at BPA
Laura Supella - My BPA Experience In Telecommunications Design

Useful Links (Documents, etc.)

• Dual Electrical Engineering/Physics Degree
• MCECS Advising web page
• MCECS Admissions web page
• Registration and Records Forms
• Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE)
• MECOP 

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