Common Ground Newsletter - Issue 2

Common Ground Newsletter

Issue 2: June 2013

Contents: | Things to Do | Welcome | Registration Information | Registration Information for International Students | How Do I Register? | Degree Requirements | Buckeye Link Won't Let Me Register, Now What? | Important Dates | Next Time | Helpful Links |

Things to Do: June

1. Begin Looking for Autumn Classes

1. Welcome to Common Ground!

2.  General Information About Registration

By now you should have accepted your admission online, but if you haven’t, you will need to do so before you can actually register. If you don’t know how to do that, take a look back at the first issue of Common Ground for instructions on how to accept your admission. You may also follow the link below. After you accept your admission, it will usually take a day or two for all of the university systems to recognize that you have accepted your admission, so please keep this in mind.

Selecting which courses you should register for will likely be much different than what you did as an undergraduate student, and maybe even as a graduate student at some other universities. Unlike an undergraduate program, a graduate degree from Ohio State in Electrical and Computer Engineering does not have a specific list of courses needed to graduate. Along with some help from your faculty advisor, you will have the option to choose the courses that are most beneficial to your plan of study as long as they meet some general requirements. With the change to semesters last year, the ECE Graduate Student Handbook is still being updated. The most current information about course requirements and course selection in semesters can be found on the degrees & requirements page on the ECE website. A benefit?  You have a lot of freedom in regards to courses you take.

Officially Accept Admission

3. Special Registration Information for International Students

4. How Do I Register?

So, how do you register for courses? Hopefully you have had the opportunity to familiarize yourself with Buckeye Link, which is Ohio State’s hub for just about everything. You should automatically be taken to the “students” section of Buckeye Link when you first visit the site. From there, you’ll want to click on the link marked “Navigating SIST Student Center.” This will take you to a reference guide and a number of links with information on how to register, how to search for courses and many other things. Click on the link and you’ll be given an in-depth look at the specific topic, including a brief video that will show you how to navigate around the SIS system (you will find this on the upper left corner of each page).

5. Degree Requirements

All information regarding degree requirements can be found on the degrees & requirements page on the ECE website. The ECE Graduate Student Handbook will be revised soon. All students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with ECE degree requirements, as well as the OSU Graduate Student Handbook.  

6. Buckeye Link Won't Let Me Register, Now What? 

You have your courses picked out, have learned how to navigate Buckeye Link and go to register for classes, but the system won’t allow you to proceed…oh no! The system is telling you that you do not have the necessary pre-requisites to register for a particular course. So what is a new student supposed to do?

Don’t worry! This is actually a common occurrence and one of the challenges of our registration system. The university registration system is a great tool; however, it does not recognize courses taken outside of Ohio State. In ECE there are two ways to add courses:

1. Online (you can do this yourself when the system recognizes you have met pre-requisites and the course does not require instructor permission).
2. A course enrollment form. The course enrollment form is used when the online system will not allow you to add the course, either because it requires instructor permission, or because the system does not recognize that you have the prerequisite.

In this case, since you did not complete the courses at OSU, the system does not recognize you have the prerequisites. You are required to complete the top portion of the form, sign it, have the instructor sign (email approval is acceptable), then take the form to the Graduate School to add the course. It’s that easy!

7. Important Dates

• ECE Department Orientation: Tuesday, August 13, 2013, from 9 am to 12 pm. RSVP online here.
• Graduate School Orientation: Monday, August 19, 2013, from 8:45 am to 12:30 pm. RSVP requested.
• Office of International Affairs Check-In: Sign up for dates between July 29 and August 16, 2013. After check-in, you will be eligible to enroll in courses. (students only need to attend one date).
• Office of International Affairs Orientation: Friday, August 16, 2013 (this is mandatory for international students).
• First Day of Classes: Wednesday, August 21, 2013

9. Helpful Links

• The Ohio State University
• Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• ECE department Faculty and Research Page
• College of Engineering
• BuckeyeLink
• Buckeye Mail (OSU e-mail)
• Office of the University Registrar
• Office of Financial Services (Bursar's Office)
• IEEE Graduate Student Body
• Office of International Affairs (OIA)
• Office of Information Technology (OIT)
• The Ohio State University Graduate School
• University Residences and Dining Services
• Off-Campus Student Services
• Family Housing