What Advisors and Students Need To Know

Academic Requirements (first four terms)
Requirements to be completed within two semesters of initial BIS enrollment (for students entering spring 2003 or later).

• Missing prerequisite(s) for the business concentration

Requirements to be completed within four semesters of initial BIS enrollment.

• Two 300 level Liberal Studies Seminar

• One 400 level Liberal Studies Seminar

• One BIS/approved U.Va. course

• Missing prerequisites for the business concentration (for students who entered before the spring 2003 semester)

• Missing core requirements or credits for admission 

Add, Drop, Withdrawal Deadlines

See the BIS Academic Calendar.

• A class that was dropped within the drop deadline will be deleted from ISIS and the student’s transcript.
• A student may withdraw from a class (with instructor permission) between the drop deadline and the mid-point of a class.
• ISIS and the student’s transcript will reflect a withdrawal with the letter “W” next to the course.
• The instructor must send his/her approval for the withdrawal by email to the Student Services Coordinator.

Advisees

BIS Advisors should have the following information for their advisees (available from the BIS Director of Admissions and/or Student Services Coordinator:

• Name and contact information
• Intended date of graduation
• Core courses, prerequisites and/or credits missing at admission
• Concentration choice
• Brief personal history

Advising Periods

See BIS Academic Calendar  

Advising Codes for Fall and Spring

• Advisor will receive this information from the Student Services Coordinator.
• Advising codes change each semester.
• Advising codes are given to students after advising contact has been made.
• Students cannot register for fall and/or spring terms without advising code information.

Advising Codes for Summer

• Students do NOT use advising codes for summer semester registration.
• Advisors must report advising contact to the Student Services Coordinator.
• Students who do not contact their advisors will have a registration block placed on their record. To have this block removed, students must initiate advising contact with their advisors.
• The advisor then reports advising contact to the Student Services Coordinator who removes the registration block.

Auditing a Class

• Students need instructor permission to audit a class.
• The instructor must sign a Course Action form to show approval.
• No grade points or credits are earned from an audited class.
• Approved BIS tuition and fees apply to audited courses.
• Audited courses do not apply to minimum or maximum credit hours allowed.

BIS Course Information

• BIS class schedules are available online through the Registrar’s Course Offering Directory (COD)
• BIS course syllabi may be available in the Toolkit. The Toolkit for any BIS courses can also be reached through the COD by clicking on the desired Schedule Number.

Blocks, Registration

•  Registration blocks are placed in ISIS to prevent students from registering because a requirement has not been fulfilled. For example, if a student owes money to U.Va., a Bursar’s registration block will be placed on the student’s record. The student must take care of the requirement before the block can be removed, e.g. pay money owed to the Bursar’s Office.
• Only the department that placed the block can delete it in ISIS.
• Exception:  Blocks placed on BIS student records by Student Health have been placed in error.  Please notify the Student Services Coordinator who will have the block removed.
• Students can go to ISIS online to check for registration blocks.

Capstone Experience

• Students earn 3 credit hours in the Proseminar ISPS 399, and 3 credit hours in the Capstone Project, ISCP 400.
• Prior to taking ISCP 400 students prepare a project proposal that must be approved by the faculty mentor and the BIS Director or Course Coordinator.

College of Arts & Sciences courses (see Course Information; also see Non-BIS Classes)

Codes, Advising (See Advising Codes) 

College of Arts and Sciences Classes (see non-BIS classes) 

Course Information

• BIS Courses
• Other UVa Courses

Counseling

• When students are experiencing academic or personal difficulties, they may wish to discuss these issues with their advisors.
• Advisors should ask students for permission to share information with BIS director or appropriate BIS staff.
• If the advisor believes that the student may harm himself/herself or others, the advisor is obligated by law to inform someone at the University such as the BIS staff, the Dean of Students, or the police.  Emergency phone numbers:9 + 911 from a U.Va. phone, 911 from a non-U.Va. phone.
• In the above situation, the advisor should try to bring the student to a hospital emergency room, the BIS office, or the Dean of Students office in Peabody Hall.

Credit Limit, BIS

• BIS students may register themselves for up to 9 credits per semester.
• To register for more than 9 credits, students must first seek advisor's permission.
• If permission is granted, advisors should notify the BIS Student Services Coordinator by email.
• If permission is granted, students complete add/drop forms for each course to be added beyond 9 credits. Students must submit the completed form to the BIS Student Services Coordinator so that classes can be added manually to ISIS.
• Students may also email the BIS Student Services Coordinator with their course registration requests.

Curry School of Education Classes (see Non-BIS classes) 

Deadlines (see Add, Drop, Withdrawal Deadlines; also Final Registration; also Academic Calendar)

Education Concentrators

• Students cannot take education classes at the Curry School during their first semester.
• Students take the professional studies classes in sequence as they appear on the Curry School class’s handout for BIS education concentrators.
• Students will consult with their education faculty advisors as they construct a plan of study.

Final Exams

• BIS courses frequently depart from the standard U.Va. Final Exam Schedule.
• Information about the exam usually is found on the syllabus.
• Ask the instructor about the exam format and date.

First Four Term Requirements (Refer to Academic Requirements) 

Forms (links)

• Course Action Form, for the fall and spring semesters
• Course Action Form, for the summer semester
• Incomplete Grade, Request for
• Intent to Graduate form
• Request for Transfer of Credit form
• On Leave Request Form

Grading Changes

• The SCPS Dean must approve grade changes after grades have been submitted to the Registrar.
• The instructor must certify that an incorrect grade has been submitted due to an error in calculation or transcription.

Graduation Requirements

Independent Study, BIS

• An Independent Study is an option for students who need a particular course for their degree program and do not have another way to take it.
• Students who would like to participate in an independent study should consult first with the BIS director and request approval.
• An independent study must be of comparable rigor and content as a classroom-based course.
• Students prepare a proposal and, with the faculty willing to teach the Independent Study, prepare a course syllabus.

Internship

• Internships for credit are arranged only through the University Internship Office (434-982-4968).
• Students should discuss their intentions to enroll in an internship with their advisors and notify the BIS Director or the BIS Student Services Coordinator.

Leave of Absence

• Students must be on-track with BIS requirements and degree requirements for the first two and first four consecutive terms to consider a Leave of Absence.
• Students should discuss issues related to taking a Leave of Absence with their advisors.

Library Resources

• The School of Continuing & Professional Studies (SCPS) librarian, Elizabeth Margutti,is dedicated to serving all SCPS students, including BIS students.
• The SCPS librarian offers library tours to new and current BIS students each fall and spring semesters at the beginning of the semester.  Students should contact the SCPS librarian or BIS Student Services Coordinator for more information.
• Students’ ability to utilize U.Va. library resources is critical to their academic success.

Non-BIS classes

College of Arts & Sciences, McIntire School of Commerce, Architecture School, Engineering School

Procedure

• Students should seek advisor approval to take non-BIS courses offered by these U.Va. schools.

• If students want to have these courses count for the concentration, they should verify with the Student Services Coordinator that the course meets the criteria.

• Student then registers for courses through ISIS online or submits a faculty signed Course Action Form to BIS staff for registration if the course is restricted.

Limits

• BIS students (not including Individualized Education concentrators) are limited to 18 credit hours of non-BIS coursework.

• Courses to count for degree electives may be any level.

• Courses to be included in the concentration must be 300-level or above.

Curry School of Education classes

• Procedure
  • Students should seek advisor approval to take courses at the Curry School.
  • Once approval is granted, students should contact the instructor to confirm instructor’s permission to enroll in the course.
  • After contact with the instructor, BIS students can register for the course through ISIS online or submit faculty-signed and completed Course Action Form to BIS staff for registration if the course is restricted.
  • Courses to be included in the concentration must be 300-level or above.
  • Elective courses in the concentration can be education courses or courses that might satisfy State endorsement requirements.
• Limits
  • Individualized Education concentrators may take up to 24 credits of non-BIS courses for the concentration.
  • Courses for the concentration should include the required 15 or 18 hours of professional studies plus additional Curry School electives or 300-level courses that fulfill State endorsement requirements.
  • Individualized Education concentrators can take up to 9 additional credits of non-BIS courses as degree electives.
  • Individualized Education concentrators can take up to a total of 33 non-BIS credits.

PIN Number

• Initial PIN is based on month and day of birth, ampersand, and month and day of birth again: MMDD&MMDD
• New students will have to create a new nine-character PIN (letters or numbers), with at least one special character (@, #, %, ?, *, etc.).
• Students also will have to answer any 2 of 10 security questions (mother's maiden name, first street lived on, etc.).
• If the student's access should be suspended in the future due to problems remembering the PIN, the student will be able to reset the PIN online by matching their answers to those two questions.

Registration

• Registration dates can be found on the Academic Calendar
• Registration instructions are available at the Registrar’s web site
• To register online, students should have the following information:
  • Advising Code for fall and spring semesters (advisors give students the code after advising contact.) Advising codes are not required for the summer term.
  • PIN Number
  • Course Schedule Number
  • Student ID 
  • Add, Drop and Withdrawal deadlines are found on the Academic Calendar

Syllabi

• To find course syllabi, go online to Toolkit
• Note: Not all courses will have a syllabus on Toolkit.
• If you do not find the syllabus, email the instructor to ask for a copy.