FALL 2024 ADVISING GUIDE
PREPARING FOR REGISTRATION
Academic Advisement
Your academic advisor plays an important role in designing and realizing an enriching college experience that will prepare you for life’s opportunities and challenges. From experience and training, faculty members know of the best learning opportunities on- and off-campus, how to combine the College’s signature experiences into your program of study, and various rules and procedures of the College. Please meet with your assigned advisor roughly once a semester to discuss these issues.
Preparing for an advising session
Prior to meeting with your assigned advisor:
- Run your Academic Requirement Report on PAWS
- Prepare a written draft schedule for the semester
- Place courses in your PAWS shopping cart. Plan backups!
- Prepare a plan for all of your remaining semesters at TCNJ
- Check the major and minor requirements in the Undergraduate Bulletin.
Consider asking questions about issues beyond the semester, such as adding an academic program or plans after graduation. Make a plan of what courses you would like to take in all of your remaining semesters at TCNJ, trying to work in enriching opportunities such as study abroad, a second major, minors or internships. The most rewarding learning experiences require some planning. For guidance on how to prepare better for your advisement session and plan your academic career, see the “Advising” links on the School of Humanities & Social Sciences website.
When you place courses in your PAWS shopping cart, be sure to hit the “validate” button to make sure you have met all prerequisites. Plan alternatives for major courses, liberal learning courses, and electives so that you can register quickly. This is particularly true if you are a first or second-year student and competing over the last seats in such courses. If you are thinking about adding a specialization, double major, or a minor, please run a “What If” report in PAWS. The report will show your academic requirements as if you formally added the specialization/major/minor. It is a very useful tool!
Recommended course sequences for first, second, third, and fourth-year students also may be found in the Undergraduate Bulletin.
Need help with PAWS? Check out the tutorials here. Still have questions regarding how to use PAWS or how to prepare for registration? Consider meeting with a Peer Academic Coach located in the lobby of Roscoe West!
Holds on your account
Please check and clear all holds on PAWS well in advance of your registration window. Holds will keep you from registering for next semester’s courses! There are several different types of holds and some might require time to clear. Your advisor can only lift advising holds, and they can only lift an advising hold after you have attended an in-person or video-conferencing advising meeting.
Transfer credit
Make sure any and all transfer and test credit is on your PAWS unofficial transcript or transfer credit pages, as this will affect your registration window, course selection, and the advice that you receive for academic planning. Do not miss your first available registration appointment window on PAWS, as you may be closed out of your preferred courses.
Course Waitlist information
For information on TCNJ department waitlists, please click here: https://recreg.tcnj.edu/course-waitlists/
Add/Drop deadline
Remember that the Add/Drop deadline comes quickly in the semester. After the deadline has passed, you can withdraw from a course but your transcript will show a grade of “W,” or a “WF” if you withdraw later in the semester. Even though you have withdrawn from a class, the unit still counts in your load for the semester. For more information on registration deadlines, see the Academic Calendar. Information on all TCNJ policies can be found in the “Policy Manual” on the Records and Registration website.
Overload requests
Did you know that students can take 5 classes a semester if they meet eligibility criteria?
Common reasons for applying for an overload are needing to fulfill major or minor requirements, wanting to take a course that is not offered regularly, to take an intensive-language, or to complete an independent course (study, research, thesis, or internship).
The normal course load for HSS majors is 4 units but students may take up to 4.5 units without permission. Students who have earned 8 units at the college and maintain a 3.3 cumulative TCNJ GPA may request an overload for a maximum of 5 course units in any one semester. There is no maximum limit to the number of overload semesters. Note: School of Education has different requirements so if School of Education is your home school, you are governed by their guidelines.
First-year students with less than 8 TCNJ earned units, may apply for an overload to take an intensive language after they have a TCNJ GPA. We do not approve overloads for the Winter Term or Summer Session I because there are not enough hours in 3 weeks to meet the contact-hour requirement for more than 1 course. Classes taken at a community college count toward these limits and so you need to be sure that you are staying within the course unit limit when you combine the courses that you are taking across institutions. For example, you could not take 4 units at TCNJ and 1.5 units at a Community College in the same semester.
You do not need any approval to take 4.5 units. If you are interested in taking 4.75 or 5 units:
- You should complete the online Overload Interest Form found here: Overload Interest Form
- Completing the form will automatically generate an email that will be sent to your Department Chair, who will reach out to you for advising. They may ask you why you are requesting the overload, review your academic record, and talk to you about the advantages and disadvantages of overloading given your proposed coursework. The Department Chair will communicate directly with the HSS Dean’s Office which will then correspond with you about your overload request.
Overloads for the Winter Term or the Mini-Summer Term (Summer I) will not be approved.
Internships
PROCEDURES FOR FALL 2024 INDEPENDENT COURSES
Students no longer need to complete the Records & Registration Internship Enrollment form. Students must complete the department’s Internship Proposal Form and through email, receive approval via email from on-site supervisor, faculty instructor and African American Studies Department Chair. Students then upload the proposal form along with the email record of approvals (a screenshot or word document) on the School of Humanities and Social Sciences Internship Proposal System for approval by the HSS Dean’s Office.
As these are courses taken for academic credit, paperwork needs to be submitted prior to or during add/drop week at the beginning of the semester to the Dean’s Office. Your internship cannot start until you have approval from the HSS Dean’s office.
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS – FUNDING FOR STUDENTS IN UNPAID INTERNSHIPS THE SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
The Fund for Students in Unpaid Internships in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, established in 2019 with donations from 139 friends and members of the TCNJ community, provides a stipend of at least $750 for a 1 unit/4 credit HSS internship, for HSS students with financial need who undertake an unpaid mentored internship for academic credit at a site focused on public service and social justice. The eligible course numbers are 398, 399, 487 and 488. Please see the call for applications (downloadable form): Unpaid Internships Fund
- Applications for Fall are due August 15.
- Applications for Spring are due January 15.
- Applications for Summer are due May 15 and June 15.
Students gain academic credit for their internships by finding an appropriate position, enrolling in AAS 399, and working with a Faculty Supervisor on a graded component.
Candidates should find a suitable position that will offer a meaningful opportunity and provide roughly 180 hours of work for the semester (per 1 unit course). The Department mostly approves internships worth a full unit (four credit-hours) yet it may make other arrangements under special circumstances. Unless the student qualifies for an academic overload, the full unit of AAS 399 must be part of the 4.5 unit maximum enrollment load for the semester. If overload approval is needed, please wait to apply for your internship until you have completed the Overload Interest Form and have received an email from the HSS Dean’s Office approving your overload.
The following procedures maximize student enrichment from an internship taken for academic credit.
- The Internship Proposal Form should be completed by the student and supervisor of the internship site before the student meets with the AAS 399 Faculty Supervisor.
- The student meets with Faculty Supervisor to discuss their proposal and obtains signatures on the proposal form before the Add/Drop deadline of the semester. (You may upload email evidence of approval by your Faculty Coordinator instead of obtaining their signatures. Please submit a screenshot or word document.)
- The student meets with the Chair of the Dept. of African American Studies to obtain a signature on forms. (You may upload email evidence of approval by your Department Chair instead of obtaining their signatures. Please submit a screenshot or word document.)
- Student uploads documents on the School of Humanities and Social Sciences Internship Proposal System for approval by the HSS Dean’s Office. For further information on HSS internships, please see here.
Independent Study and Independent Research
Students interested in pursuing Independent Study (AAS 391) or Independent Research (AAS 393) for credit should speak to their Academic Advisor who can help identify an appropriate faculty supervisor within the department.
TCNJ Policy distinguishes between Independent Study courses and Independent Research courses. For Independent Study, the assumption is that there will be minimal faculty direction and, as such, the College requires significantly more detail in the course proposal. For Independent Research, faculty involvement will be significant and, thus, the course proposal is minimal. Please consult with your faculty sponsor to determine which course type best meets your goals. Students interested in Languages Across the Curriculum (LAC) should consult with the LAC Supervisor about this wonderful program that allows students to use their skills in languages other than English in non-language courses. The LAC courses are independent study courses for .25 units.
*Note: if you are interested in completing independent work related to a course that is in the Course Catalog but not currently offered, this is not an independent course. You should complete a Special Arrangement Course Form.
Deadlines to apply:
- Summer 2024: dates flexible with a final deadline of July 3 by 4:30 pm. Students must submit prior to starting hours and with sufficient time to meet the contact hour requirement for the course.
- Fall 2024: Tuesday, September 3 by 4:30 p.m.
- Spring 2025: Monday, February 3 by 4:30 p.m.
Please follow the steps below to find the forms and online applications for each of the different course types:
Independent Study (AAS 391)
Proposal Process:
1. Students should verify that they are eligible (TCNJ GPA of 2.5 and at least 12 earned units (4 must be TCNJ units)). Students cannot enroll in more than 1.5 units of independent study in a given semester.
2. Students interested in completing an independent study course for academic credit need to work with a faculty sponsor to write a course proposal that contains:
- A detailed project description and deliverables
- The anticipated time necessary for each course deliverable
- A description of prior coursework and/or other experience that prepared the student for the proposed work
- The frequency and duration of meetings with the faculty sponsor
- Project milestones completion dates, where applicable
- The methods by which the student’s work will be evaluated (e.g., paper, performance, presentation)
[Requirements quoted from TCNJ Alternative Undergraduate Course types policy (May 6, 2019): Section 2.c]
3. Upload the course proposal into the HSS Independent Study/Research Proposal System
You must get approvals from the department prior to uploading forms into the system.
HSS Dean’s Office will sign AFTER you have submitted your paperwork.
Please submit early to avoid missing registration deadlines. You will get an e-mail from the Dean’s Office when your paperwork is submitted to Records & Registration,
HSS Independent Study/Research Proposal System
Proposal Process:
1. Students should verify that they are eligible (TCNJ GPA of 3.0 and at least 12 earned units (4 must be TCNJ units)). Students cannot enroll in more than 1.5 units of independent research in a given semester.
2. Students interested in completing an independent research course for academic credit need to work with a faculty sponsor to write a course proposal that contains: “Research objectives and the techniques expected to be employed in the research work.” [Requirements quoted from TCNJ Alternative Undergraduate Course types policy (May 6, 2019): Section 2.c]
3. Upload the course proposal into the HSS Independent Study/Research Proposal System
You must get approvals from the department prior to uploading forms into the system.
HSS Dean’s Office will sign AFTER you have submitted your paperwork.
Please submit early to avoid missing registration deadlines. You will get an e-mail from the Dean’s Office when your paperwork is submitted to Records & Registration.