This message was originally sent to all undergraduate students with a major in COSSPP on August 26, 2024.
Welcome to the Fall 2024 semester at FSU and in the College of Social Sciences & Public Policy.
Please review the email below for lots of important information about advising services and key reminders for students.
- Advising Service and Availability
- Express Orientation Advising
- Transient Course Requests
- Fall 2024 Graduation
- Declaring Major Concentrations and Minors
Advising Pro-Tip: You do not have to meet with an advisor prior to building a course schedule. During drop/add, you should have as much of a schedule built and registered as you can before meeting with an advisor, if possible.
1. Advising Services and Availability
As Fall 2024 semester begins, make sure you are aware of advising services in the College of Social Sciences & Public Policy and how best to speak with an academic advisor.
A. Who is my advisor?
All undergraduate academic advising services in the College of Social Sciences & Public Policy are provided by the team of advisors located in the Office of Academic Affairs. Students with a major in COSSPP are not assigned a specific advisor but may meet with any of the team.
Academic advising services may include but are not limited to:
- reviewing all graduation requirements (e.g., university, General Education, major, minor)
- completing programs of study as required by other offices (e.g., ROTC, GPS, for double major/dual degree petitions)
- planning a path to graduation that meets all degree requirements and sets students on the path to successfully pursue their post-graduation goals
All degree checks and final graduation clearances for COSSPP students are conducted through the Office of Academic Affairs. Students may consult faculty and staff in the College’s academic departments and program offices on for their major or with other offices on campus for general purposes. However, they should not rely solely on information sources outside COSSPP (including FSU faculty and staff, family, or friends) to confirm their remaining degree requirements and graduation timeline.
B. Advising during Fall 2024 Drop/Add Week (August 26–30)
The Fall 2024 drop/add period began Saturday, August 24 and ends Thursday, August 29 (11:59 pm Eastern).
During the week of August 26-30, all COSSPP advising services will be accessed virtually through an open Zoom call.
- Sign-in times: Monday-Friday, 8:30 am – 11:30 am and 1:00-3:30 pm (all times Eastern)
- Zoom link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/93601869402
- Students must be signed in to Zoom through their FSU account.
- Students will enter a waiting room and be admitted to the main call as advisors become available. There may be an extended wait time depending on student volume.
All schedules are final, and students are fee and grade liable for all courses on their schedule after drop/add ends on August 29.
C. Fall 2024 Advising Schedule
Beginning Tuesday, September 3, all advising services will return to regular semester hours with both scheduled appointments (virtual or in person) through Campus Connect and virtual drop-ins through Zoom.
During the following times, scheduled appointments will be available Monday-Thursday and virtual drop-ins available Monday-Friday.
- Monday, Friday | 8:30-11:30 am & 1:00-2:30 pm
- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday | 8:30-11:30 & 1:00-3:30
2. Express Orientation Advising
All students – other than those in an approved distance learning program – starting at FSU for the first time in Fall 2024 must complete new student orientation before registering for classes.
Students who have not previously completed orientation must reach out to New Student & Family Programs office (NSFPP) to verify orientation requirements.
- After completing Express Orientation with NSFP, students should sign in to the COSSPP drop/add week advising Zoom call.
- After signing into the Zoom call, students should include the text “(Orientation)” in their username.
Academic advisors cannot lift Orientation registration holds from student accounts. These holds are managed by NSFP and lift automatically during the orientation advising period.
3. Transient Course Requests
The University deadline to submit Fall 2024 transient course requests through FloridaShines was Thursday, August 1 (see the Fall 2024 Academic Calendar for reference).
- Requests submitted after the deadline may be reviewed at the discretion of the academic advising office staff as they have availability among other start of semester processes. Late requests are not guaranteed review or approval.
- Any transient requests for Fall 2024 submitted after August 25, will be automatically denied by the COSSPP academic advising office. Exceptions must both be required to complete Fall 2024 graduation requirements and preapproved by an academic director in the Office of Academic Affairs.
Transient course requests for Spring 2024 will not be reviewed or approved if submitted prior to September 23. The deadline for transient requests for a given semester is posted on the Academic Calendar.
4. Fall 2024 Graduation
The graduation application for Fall 2024 will be open September 3-13, and students apply to graduate through Student Center.
Students must be on track to earn 120 or more credit hours (combined earned credit hours plus Fall 2024 enrollment) at the end of Fall 2024 in order to apply for graduation.
Applying for graduation does not guarantee that a student will earn their degree in a given semester.
- The Office of Academic Affairs manually reviews individual student records after the application closes to verify each student is on track to complete all graduation requirements.
- Students not on track to complete requirements will be notified of their status and removed from the Fall 2024 graduation list.
- Participation in a University Commencement ceremony does not guarantee graduation. All requirements must be satisfactorily completed by the posting of semester grades which typically occurs each semester during the week following Commencement.
Students who do not apply for graduation during the open application period must meet with an academic advisor to complete a preliminary graduation clearance before submitting a late application for graduation.
5. Declaring Major Concentrations and Minors
Students with a primary major in COSSPP may declare a minor through our online request form. International Affairs and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences concentrations may also be declared through the same form.
- Students must be certified upper-division into their major (not pre- or NFA-) to have a minor or concentration officially applied to their account.
- Minors are only declared for students whose major requires a minor.
- Dual degree student with a degree in another college must declare any minor for that degree through the respective Dean’s office.
- Questions should be emailed to the COSSPP Mapping Coordinator at COSS-Admissions-Mapping@fsu.edu.