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College of Science and Engineering College of Science and Engineering Advising Center
Texas State College of Science and Engineering College of Science and Engineering Advising Center About Orientation Advising Information for College of Science and Engineering Students

Orientation Advising Information for College of Science and Engineering Students

Welcome! We are so glad that you've decided to join us at Texas State. Below are the steps that you should take after completing the New Student Orientation quiz.

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    1. Activate your NetID
      • Applicants and students are automatically provided with a NetID.
      • Your NetID is a unique identifier that, along with your password, provides access to your email, Catsweb (our student portal), your TXST Zoom account, and other university services.
      • Our IT Assistance Center (ITAC) has detailed instructions on how to activate your NetID, which you can view here.
    2. Access your Bobcat Mail
      Bobcat Mail is the TXST University email system and part of the Office 365  apps suite. The COSE Advising Center will communicate with you via your Bobcat Mail.

    Please activate your NetID now and then access your Bobcat Mail. You will need it to access the COSE Missing & In-Progress Coursework Form (the next step of the orientation process).

  • By completing this form, you help the advisors to get an understanding of all of the coursework you completed - whether that coursework is currently displaying on your Texas State record or not.

    Advisors only know about coursework that has been posted to your Texas State academic record. When your official transcript is sent to Texas State, it is manually processed by the Admissions office, and entered into your Texas State academic record. 

    Advisors will not know about the following coursework:

    • Courses you are currently enrolled in at another school (community college, college, or university)
    • Courses you are pre-registered for at another school (community college, college, or university)
    • Courses you already completed at another school, but the official transcript has not been sent to Texas State Undergraduate Admissions Office
    • Courses you already completed and the official transcript has been sent to Texas State and received by Texas State Admissions, but the transcript has not been processed by Texas State Admissions Office yet.

     

    Returning students and students transferring from a different university, complete this form: 

     

    Students who graduated high school in December 2020 or Spring 2020 who were referred to the COSE Advising Center by PACE, complete the form referenced in the email from PACE@txstate.edu.

  • The COSE Advisors will review your submission to the COSE New & Returning Student Orientation Advising Request. Advisors will then:

    1. Update your major and minor to match what you put in the form. 
    2. Update your Degree Audit.
    3. Determine if you need any courses evaluated for possible major, minor, or core substitutions. If yes, you will receive an email from a COSE advisor with instructions.
      • Note: a course syllabus will need to be provided for course evaluations. The catalog description of a course will not suffice.
    4. If you are a returning student or a student transferring from a different institution, you will get an email response from a COSE advisor with information about further advising.

  • This presentation informs new and returning students about academic policies that will affect students throughout their time at Texas State, such as 

    • Graduation requirements (i.e., advanced hours, writing intensive coursework, GPA, taking courses off-campus, etc.)
    • How the number of hours you attempt in college could affect your tuition and fees, as well as financial aid
    • Financial Aid requirement to take courses that apply to your degree
    • Resources for students & student opportunities

    View the presentation here

  • Degrees within the College of Science and Engineering are very prerequisite-driven. For most COSE courses, you will need to successfully complete other courses before you can enroll in them. These courses are called prerequisites. 

    • For example: Course A must be taken before Course B
       

    Sometimes advisors will refer to "prerequisite sequences" or "sequences of courses". These are courses that must be taken in a specific order in separate semesters. 

    • For example: this is a five-semester sequence of courses in the Mathematics degree:
      • Calculus I --> Calculus II --> Introduction to Advanced Math -->Analysis I --> Analysis II
         

    The best way to understand these prerequisites is to view our degree flowcharts, which visually depict prerequisites for each degree. If you prefer not to utilize our degree flowcharts, you can visit the Undergraduate Catalog to read about course requirements for each degree, as well as course descriptions that list prerequisites.

  • What is a degree audit?
    A degree audit lists all of the requirements for your degree, including (but not limited to):

    • Minimum number of hours required
    • Advanced hours required
    • Writing intensive hours required
    • Residency hours (taken at Texas State) required
    • Core requirements
    • Major requirements
    • Minor requirements

    The degree audit will note if a requirement has or has not been fulfilled, or if it is in progress. This is a useful tool to track progress toward degree completion.

     

    To review your degree audit:

    1. Go to your Catsweb Student Services page
    2. Log in
    3. Click on the "Student" tab
    4. Select "Degree Audit"

    When the page loads, it will display your required coursework and how your completed courses and currently enrolled courses fit into the requirements.

     

    What is a degree audit used for?
    The Degree Audit can be used by you to prepare for advising sessions, make informed registration decisions, and to get a general idea of your progress to degree completion.

    The Degree Audit is used by advisors to advise you, make registration recommendations, determine if overrides requests are appropriate, and most important - advisors use your Degree Audit to determine if you are eligible for graduation.

  • Download the official Texas State University app and get access to news and events, course scheduling, billing and registration holds through the new "My TXST" module, and an improved shuttle mapping system that can remember your favorites, and more.

  • Would you like to give a parent or loved one access to your Texas State information and important campus announcements? If yes, you will need to give that individual access through the Bobcat Family Portal. The process will need to be initiate by the person wanting access (not you), so please share this link with them.

    Parents and family can request access to the following through Bobcat Family Portal:

    • Enrolled Hours/Schedule
    • Enrollment Status/Degree Information
    • Holds
    • Financial Aid Information
    • GPA/Completed Coursework
    • Account Balance

    • The Academic Calendar lists important dates, such as when classes begin, fall and spring breaks, then grades are posted, etc. 
    • The Registrar's Time Ticket page shows when registration access periods are for those that have no registration holds.

    1. Tutoring resources
    2. Counseling Center
    3. Student Health Center
    4. Jobs4Cats
    5. Student Organizations
    6. Office of Disability Services
    7. Veterans Affairs
    8. Inclusion and Diversity
    9. HB 2504 website, which contains the syllabi for our courses. Course syllabi typically will explain course goals, topics covered, assignments, and grading rubrics.