Miss Us? We're Here all Summer

Remember, just because you all leave town doesn't mean that we close down shop! The SPEA Undergraduate Programs and Advising Office remains open all summer long, with normal operating hours. We're happy to continue to schedule appointments, and, if you're away for the summer, can arrange for phone or Skype appointments to address advising needs.

The only changes for the summer months? We do not have walk-in hours--advising is by appointment only. Also, please be aware that many of our advisors are assisting in overseas programs, helping future SPEAons at orientation advising, or taking time for vacation during the summer--so please be flexible with our staff. Thanks!

Winter Weather...

Here in the SPEA Undergraduate Programs and Advising Office, we try to be available to you, our students, as much as possible. However, winter weather conditions--especially poor road conditions--sometimes make this impossible. We'll do our best to alert you as soon as possible if we have to cancel. You can help us with this by watching your email, and, if you have an appointment scheduled during a winter storm, check your email before coming in.

Walk-ins have been cancelled for this afternoon. Tomorrow's walk-ins are tentatively on the schedule, but please watch your email for updates.

The Happy Dancing Snowflake thanks you.

Walk In Hours: First Week of the Semester

The first week of the spring semester, Walk In Hours will be:

Monday through Friday, 9-11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m. Admitted students and students seeking SPEA minors and certificates only.

After the first week of the semester, normal Walk In Hours will resume:

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 1-3 p.m. Admitted students and students seeking SPEA minors and certificates only.

Pre-SPEA students: Please contact the UPO about Pre-Admissions Advising! We're very sorry, but we cannot accomodate pre-SPEA students during walk-in hours. To give your questions the attention they deserve, please reserve a space in one of our Pre-Admissions Advising sessions.

Winter Break Office Hours

Safe travels and enjoy your time away from school! Here in the SPEA UPO, we will observe normal office hours, open from 8-5 daily if you need to call to make an appointment or check into anything. However, we will be short-staffed as our employees take time to spend with family, so please be patient with us if your call is not answered or an email not immediately returned.

We will NOT have walk-in hours over the break. We will have limited appointments available; all advising over break will be by appointment only. We have phone appointments available if you can't wait to return to Bloomington to resolve an issue.

We will be closed:

December 24--closed for the Christmas holiday
December 31--closed for the New Year's holiday

The first week of classes of the spring semester will be walk-ins only.

Thanksgiving Break

This Week: Walk-ins are cancelled for the Thanksgiving holiday (affecting Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, November 23, 24, and 25). Safe travels, and enjoy your turkey!

We will have limited appointments available through Wednesday, but the office will be closed on Thursday and Friday (November 25 and 26).

What is the Auto-W Deadline?

The Auto-W Deadline is the final day that you can drop a course for an automatic grade of W. The W on your transcript indicates that you began a course but withdrew from it before completing the course. It does not affect your GPA, but dropping a course may affect your full-time student status--check with an advisor or the Registrar if you are unsure if dropping a course will take you below full-time status.

The Auto-W Deadline is set by the university. For full-term classes this fall semester, the date is Wednesday, October 27. You can always find these dates on the Registrar's Calendar.

Use Onestart to drop courses--the e-drop feature on Onestart will permit you to drop a course up through the unversity deadline. You do not have to see an advisor to drop a course or add a second eight weeks course, but we encourage you to utilize our walk-in hours or an appointment if you have quesitons or are concerned.

Students intending to drop a course for a grade of W must do so prior to the university deadline as set by the Registrar. SPEA abides by all university policies and deadlines, including those regarding withdrawals. After the Auto-W date you cannot access e-drop and cannot drop a course without extenuating circumstances, documentation, and an involved exception appeal process.

A Friendly Reminder to Plan Ahead

As we get further into the semester, you may be beginning to think about next semester's classes, long-term academic plans, the possibility of studying abroad...all things that we're happy to help you with here in the Undergrad Advising office. But here's the catch--just as you need to plan ahead with these opportunities, you need to plan ahead when scheduling your advising appointment.

So, the reminders:

1) We don't do same-day appointments. Your advisor needs time to prepare for you, which means the soonest we'll ever schedule is next-day.
2) BUT--we're often booked further out than a day anyway. Right now, for instance, we're booking most appointments a week in advance. Please don't wait to make an appointment until you're on a deadline. We may not be able to make an appointment in time.
3) These big-picture, long-term plans need to happen in an appointment. We can't cover even half of what you'd need to talk about in a walk-in. Please continue to utilize walk-ins for schedule changes, adding minors, or other quick quesitons, but leave the study abroad, Washington Leadership Program, Accelerated Master's Program, and four-year plans to an appointment.

Have a great week, and we hope to see you all soon!

First Two Weeks of Classes--All Walk-ins!

Our office is holding Walk-In Advising Only for the first two weeks of classes. Our daily schedule is 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Please note the following exceptions to this schedule:
Wednesday, Sept. 1: no afternoon walk-ins
Friday, Sept. 3: walk-ins from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. only
Monday, Sept. 6: closed all day—Labor Day Holiday (PLEASE NOTE: Classes still meet on Labor Day!)

If you have any questions about adjusting your schedule, adding/dropping a course, or making a course pass/fail, please visit us during these extended walk-in hours.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a great holiday, everyone! Be safe in your travels and enjoy your Thanksgiving meal!


Be aware that we won't be open Thursday or Friday of this week, and though we're open Wednesday there are no walk-ins and our staff is limited. We look forward to seeing you after the holiday for the last push toward finals!

World's saddest Thanksgiving turkey craft. Do not attempt, even if it is recycled!

Graduation Application--Special Walk-in Hours

As many of you know, you need to apply for graduation in order to receive your degree and diploma. For May graduates, the deadline is December 1. You may either make an appointment to visit us before that time, or you may come to our walk-in hours dedicated to graduation applications (deadline is extended for those coming to walk-ins).

Graduation application walk-ins are November 30 through December 3, from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. and from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m.

If these times won't work for you, please make an appointment. Congratulations on your graduation!

If you need to come to a walk-in this week for anything other than graduation applications, please come during normal walk-in times and let the front desk know that you're not here for a graduation application.

Overseas Study--Get an Early Start

Just a reminder--if you plan to study overseas and want to have courses transfer in as SPEA courses, come talk to us early! You will need to talk to an advisor, find a faculty member to agree to your course replacements, and have the director of the program sign off on the agreement. As I'm sure you can imagine, this takes a couple days at the least to work through, so please start well ahead of your deadlines.

Speaking of planning ahead--we are currently scheduling a week to a week and a half out for appointments. Please call early to schedule an appointment, and be aware that walk-in waits have been on the long side.

Reminder about Walk-Ins!

Remember to bring your advisement report to all walk-in and scheduled appointments! This will help you to get the most out of your meeting. Plus, I won't let you sign in unless you have one :)
It's easy, and you can print from the computers in the library downstairs if you arrive and have forgotten to bring your AAR.

1. Log in to onestart.iu.edu
2. Click the Student Self-Service tab and then click the "SIS Go to Student Center" link in the middle of the page
3. You will see your student center main page. Click on "My Academics and Grades" in the left-hand side list of links.
4. Click on "View my Advisement Report" on the next screen
5. Select "Bloomington" and "AAR and Transcript" on the next screen.
6. Select "Expand" to see all the information.
7. Print the report and bring it with you to your advisement appointment or walk-in!

Make sure you bring an up-to-date report, not an older report. Thanks!

First Two Weeks of Classes--All Walk-ins!

Just a quick announcement--the first two weeks that classes are in session here at IU, we will be having only walk-in advising (no appointments except for special circumstances--call to see if your situation warrants an appointment!). Hours will be:

9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
and
1:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

Walk-ins are first-come, first-served, and are for quick, pressing issues like needing to find a course to fill in your schedule, making a course pass-fail, or other immediate and contained concerns. For extensive academic planning, discussing going abroad, or talking over post-graduation plans, please make an appointment later in the semester.

We will be closed for walk-ins:
Friday, September 4 in the afternoon for orientation
Monday, September 7 for Labor Day (but yes, you do still have class on Labor Day).

Summer Appointments

It may be summer, but things are still busy here in the UPO and Advising office! Because we don't have walk-ins over the summer, this means that you need to plan ahead when booking appointments. We've been booking up to two weeks in advance this July, and though the timing is getting a bit more favorable, we don't recommend waiting to call. If you have a deadline or plan to make an appointment while you're in town on a visit, make your appointment as soon as you can. Thanks!

Of course, if you aren't in need of advising, keep on enjoying your summer!

Good Luck, Jessica!

Congratulations to Jessica, SPEA UPO admin assistant (and founder of this blog)! After helping many undergraduates navigate the SPEA programs, Jessica is returning to school to pursue her own academic goals. We'll miss you, but wish you success in your new grad school adventures!

Needless to say, Jessica won't be in the office any longer, and, as her replacement, I look forward to meeting many of you in the coming months. And just a reminder, we will have advising by appointment only until walk-ins resume in the fall semester. Our schedule is booking quickly, so we recommend calling a couple weeks in advance of your needs this summer.

SUMMER UPDATE

Hello, all. My apologies for being a little, er, absent, from the blog. Things have been busy around here! We have just admitted 380 new Speons! Welcome, all of you, to the SPEA family!

Updates: There are no walk-ins during the summer. To schedule an appointment, please call 812-855-0635 or stop by the office.

Also, there are changes to the DPR. It will now be called the AAR (Academic Advising Report) and it is found almost the exact same way as the DPR. I will have instructions posted ASAP for how to find that.

Let us know if you have any questions!

Finals Week Announcements!

Walk-ins this week are ONLY for students who need to apply to graduate for December 2009. They are Monday-Thursday from 9:00-11:00 a.m. and 1:00-3:00 p.m. If you are not applying to graduate but need to see an advisor, call 812-855-0635 or stop by the office to schedule an appointment.

If you are planning to graduate in December, you MUST apply to graduate at this time.

Also, are you doing your internship this summer? If so, have you submitted your paperwork? Please call 812-855-9639 or visit speacareers.com for more information on internship approval and submitting the appropriate paperwork.

THIS WEDNESDAY! Last Day for Auto W

This Wednesday, March 11 is the last day to drop a course and receive an automatic "W" in the course. Please see http://speaupo.blogspot.com/2009/01/edrop-and-eadd.html for late drop/add procedures!

Walk-in hours this week are, as usual, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Remember, you must have your advisement report with you before you sign in.

Bear in mind that walk-ins are for admitted students with brief, specific questions or students adding a minor. If you do not fit these criteria, please call 812-855-0635 to schedule an appointment. We are now booking about a week and a half out.

If you need to talk about studying abroad, a walk-in is not appropriate for you. Please schedule an appointment to speak with an advisor and don't forget to visit the Office of Overseas Study.

Walk-ins Cancelled 2/3/2009

Walk-ins today, Tuesday, February 3, are cancelled. They will resume tomorrow, Wednesday, February 4, from 1:00-3:00 p.m.

Walk-in hours for February 2-February 6

Walk-in hours this week are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Remember, you must have your advisement report with you before you sign in.

Bear in mind that walk-ins are for admitted students with brief, specific questions or students adding a minor. If you do not fit these criteria, please call 812-855-0635 to schedule an appointment. We are now booking about two weeks out.

If you need to talk about studying abroad, a walk-in is not appropriate for you. Please schedule an appointment to speak with an advisor and don't forget to visit the Office of Overseas Study.