Student Advising and Registration FAQs
General
Q. There is a hold on my account, blocking me from registering. Why and what can I do to get it lifted?
You must meet with your advisor who will remove your hold. This meeting is to make sure you are following the correct path to your major and other requirements.
Q. How do I find out my advisor’s name and office hours?
You cannot register without meeting with your History advisor, who will lift the hold after you meet. You can find your advisor’s name and office hours by logging onto KeanWISE and clicking the link for “Search Office Hour by Faculty/Advisor Name.” Your advisor’s name should pop up there.
- Please note: don’t plan to drop in for 30 seconds—and do not say, “Quick question….” The question may be quick, but the answer might not be.
- Budget time for a 10-minute meeting. It might take 30 minutes or more. This is important, so don’t be ready to run out the door; you’re not doing yourself any good if you rush this process.
- Please make an appointment with your advisor via an email inquiry, even if you plan to come by during office hours. We can’t advise you adequately nor lift the hold through a brief chat before or after class or walking across campus.
Q. What should I bring when I meet with my advisor?
Please bring all information connected to your coursework, at Kean and elsewhere. We don’t want to hear, “I have it at home…it’s in my car...” We can’t help you without the proper documentation, which typically includes:
· a current guidesheet (filled in and up to date, please)
· all transfer credit paperwork: program evaluation (available on KeanWISE, transfer equivalency report, transcripts
· your plan for the upcoming semesters
Q. Which guidesheet do I follow?
The guide sheet you go by is the one in use at the moment you matriculated into Kean University.
Q. I see that I have to take courses in different categories and regions of History. How do I know what courses fit in each category?
Transfer credits
Q. I am concerned that the transfer credits from my prior college were not properly counted. What should I do?
You may want to first check with you History advisor, who can review the credits on an informal basis and then send you to the Transfer Advisement offices in CAS for an official assessment and subsequent report. If History courses are under question, the History Dept. Chairperson can officially review them and then request that a university transfer advisor officially update your Kean transcript.
- Do not wait until you are preparing your graduation check-list: it often is a time-consuming process and may have to be repeated if any errors are made. You may find out too late that you have to take more and/or different courses, delaying your graduation.
Q. I took US I (HIST 2303) and/or US II (HIST 2304) at another school. Do I have to retake those courses or substitute them with others?
You do not have to retake courses that were transferred to Kean by the transfer advisor who analyzed your transcript. (This also applies to HIST 20160 World Civ I and HIST 2070 World Civ II). However, upper level History courses are typically approved only by the Department Chairperson.
Q. How do I know if AP (Advanced Placement) credits earned in high school will be transferred to the History major?
Normally, History AP courses completed with a score of 3 (equals a C) or above are approved. These will be analyzed by the transfer advisor assigned to your application.
If approved, you will receive 6 credits: 3 each for US I (HIST 2303) and US II (HIST 2304). You do not have to retake those courses.
GPA questions: History major/minor
Q. What must my GPA be as a History major or minor?
For students entering Fall 2008 and afterwards, to declare your major and to graduate as a major, the GPA must be 2.75. Before that, it’s a 2.0.
Q. I took classes at another school before matriculating at Kean. Do those grades count in my major/minor?
Your credits transfer in, but the grades do not. Therefore, your grades at a prior school are not calculated into your Kean GPA.
- However, if you take equivalent courses at another school while matriculated at Kean to be counted for your Kean bachelor’s degree, then both the credits and the grades carry over and are calculated into your Kean GPA.
- You cannot take upper-division (3000-4000 level) courses at a community college. Upper-division courses must be from a 4-year college or university.
- Be sure to get prior Kean approval from the Department Chairperson/Assistant Chairperson before you take that course elsewhere. There is a course equivalency form available from the One Stop Service Center located in the Office of Registrar. This form must be completed with the proper signatures and returned to One Stop before you register for that course at that other college.
- If you take a course without prior approval, we are under no obligation to accept it.
Q. How many grades of C or below in History courses can I have and still be a History major/minor?
You are allowed two grades of C or below in the History major.
You must receive at least a B- in:
- HIST 2060 World Civilization I
- HIST 2070 World Civilization II
- HIST 2303 United States History to 1877
- HIST 2304 United States History 1877 to Present
- HIST 4990 Senior Seminar
You can retake a course to replace the original grade, but you must petition the registrar to recalculate your GPA. Only 4 retakes are allowed.
History/Education Majors
Students in the following categories take the full 45-credit History major:
History/Teacher Certification majors
History/K-12 Teacher of Students with Disabilities major
History/K-5/5-8 Option majors
Students in the following categories take a 36-credit major following the History Department guidelines (see Guide Sheet page-content area above).
History/K-5/P-3 with Option for Teacher of Students with Disabilities
History/K-5/P-3 with Option for Bilingual Education
Q. Who is my advisor?
You have two: a History advisor and an Education advisor. The History Department urges you to see your Education advisor first as we do not have expertise in the many details of state certification and can’t be held responsible if your find yourself without the proper Education courses taken in the right sequence.
- To determine who is your History advisor, follow the directions above.
- Education advisors:
- Secondary Education: Dr. Linda Costanzo Cahir, J-334, lcahir@kean.edu
- Grades K-6, 5-8: Dr. George Kolodiy, J-333-F, gkolodiy@kean.edu
- Elementary Education: Prof. Patrick Ippolito, J-330, pippolit@kean.edu
- Elementary Education/Bilingual Ed: Dr. Gail Verdi, J-330-G, gverdi@kean.edu
- Special Ed and Literacy: Dr. Barbara Lee, HH-317, blee@kean.edu
- Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certification: tchrctpb@kean.edu
Q. How do I apply for the Secondary Education program with a concentration in History?
The short answer is: make an appointment to see Dr. Linda Costanzo Cahir, J-334, lcahir@kean.edu , for secondary ed. For other education majors, see the coordinators listed above.
Dr. Cahir informs us—and you—that acceptance into Kean University is not the same thing as automatic acceptance into a specific education program. This is a separate, formal process.
Q. Should I complete all of my History requirements before starting the Education program?
No. Students should move through each major roughly in equal sequence, but keep in mind that, in most cases History has more required credits and should be started in the first year with HIST 1000 or HIST 1062.
Q. What must my GPA be as a History/Education major?
To declare your major and to graduate as a major, the GPA must be 2.75. Please note that this is the minimum, but research reveals that students with a GPA below 3.0 encounter serious problems passing the state-mandated PRAXIS II exam.
Q. What happens to these courses and credits if I must use them as part of my History major?
Depending on your particular Education major requirements, the guidesheet requires you to take US History I and II (HIST 2303-2304), World Civilization I and II (HIST 2060, 2070), and Worlds of History Civilization (HIST 1062).
Q. When do I take HIST 3000?
HIST 3000 serves as a final review and preparation for the PRAXIS II and the Professional Internship (student teaching/senior field).Take the course once most of the other History requirements are finished. Otherwise, you will be overwhelmed with the great amount of content and skills covered in the class. You should plan to take the PRAXIS as soon as possible after the course, since much of the recall information can be lost if a long gap ensues between the class and the exam.
Q. Can I skip HIST 3000 if I already passed the PRAXIS?
No.
Q. What is HIST 4991 Internship? Do I have to take it?
The Internship provides opportunities to actually practice History at a field placement for three credits. It is not required, but it is highly recommended by the Department and valued by school systems and prospective graduate school programs as interns bring new perspectives to their classrooms as a result of their field experiences.
Q. What courses should I take in the World Areas?
These courses are designed to enlarge your experience of the world and the perspectives offered by global History. Be sure to complete at least two courses at the 3000-4000 levels. On occasion, when all classes are filled and with the permission of the advisor, some students have substituted courses from other levels (2000-4000) and departments (i.e., Political Science, Anthropology, English, Art History).
Q. When do I begin my student teaching experiences? How will I prepare for them?
All questions dealing with Education issues should be addressed to the respective College of Education advisor.