Making Important Decisions
In Getting Started and Charting Your Path you learned key questions to help you gather information to make important decisions.
Once you have the information you need, there are lots of ways to make your decision. For example, you could:
- Combine your knowledge about your own preferences and skills, and use your intuition to choose an option you’ll be successful in
- Make a list of positives and negatives for each decision option and choose the option with the most positives/fewest negatives
- Gather advice from your advisor, trusted friends, and important family members and then make your choice
- Color code each option based on how it makes you feel to eliminate the least desirable option and reveal your preferred choice
- Assign a star-rating to each option based on multiple criteria such as interest in the topic, contribution to career goals, and confidence in your ability in this subject so that options with more stars meet more of your needs
How you make your decision is less important than making the decision. You will be presented with lots of decisions, so you’ll get lots of practice developing a decision-making process that you feel confident with.
All decisions have trade-offs and in many situations there isn’t a “right” or perfect option. Getting comfortable with the consequences of your decision is also something you’ll get practice with while in college. Don’t forget – not making a decision is also a decision, but the consequences may be worse than either option you could have chosen.
Making Scheduling Decisions
Each semester, you’ll need to make decisions about which classes to register for.
Gathering Scheduling Information
Scheduling Tools
OSU offers many tools you can use to figure out what classes you need to complete for your major.
Buckeye Degree Planner
You may be wondering, "What is a degree audit and planning tool?"
A degree audit is a tool used by students, advisors, faculty, and staff to ensure timely progression through a curriculum, which outlines all of the requirements needed to earn an academic credential (degree, major, minor, certificate, endorsement, etc.) at The Ohio State University. A degree audit contains information such as course requirements, grade requirements, general education requirements, credit hour requirements, and grade point average. Buckeye Degree Planner is Ohio State’s degree management platform. Powered by Stellic, the tool helps you navigate your academic plan and stay on track to complete your degree.
Your degree audit will show you what requirements you have already completed and which requirements you have left, helping you to identify courses/categories that you do not need to take and those that you should take next.
When should I use this tool?
Buckeye Degree Planner is a useful tool any time you are planning future academic terms, considering a change in major or adding a minor or certificate, or registering for next semester's classes. You will often review your degree audit and plan with an advisor during an advising appointment, but it is also a tool that you can use on your own. Students can plan terms and track progress up to four years in advance and access key color-coded information in Buckeye Degree Planner — like their programs, GPA and degree progress. You should also consult your degree audit after you've enrolled in classes for an upcoming semester to confirm that your class selections fulfill the requirements you thought they would.
How do I use it?
Log in to Buckeye Degree Planner to review your personal dashboard for quick overview of your current programs, schedule and academic progress.
Every major, minor or general education curriculum has requirements, including specific courses and minimum GPAs. Buckeye Degree Planner audits all programs you declare or add to your academic plan.
Click the Track Progress tab to review your progress in two ways:
- Official shows classes you’ve already taken or registered for.
- Planned shows future classes and those you have taken or registered for.
What are the different functions: progress and planner?
The Progress function allows you to track what you have already taken or are registered for, while the Planner function shows future planned courses along with the classes you have already taken.
Progress
- Learn how to view your progress.
- You have the option to review your full audit, a compact version, or just the requirements you have remaining. Selecting a remaining requirement will bring up course information, or a list of courses eligible for that requirement.
- Within each category of classes, you can learn about specific constraints, or rules, for which courses can count. Selecting the 'constraint' box next to the requirement's title to get the details for what can count in that category.
- Different symbols will let you visually see whether requirements have been completed, are in progress, or still need to be completed.
- You can also try on a new program or see how your courses would count toward a new major or minor. To do that, open either Track Progress or Plan your Path, then click + add program. Search for your desired program and select it to add it to your profile. (Please note that this does not officially change your major or add a minor. This process just allows you to understand the impact of potential changes to your major and/or minors before making them official with an academic advisor.)
Planner
- Learn more about the Plan your Path function.
- In the Plan your Path tab in Stellic, you’ll easily be able to check which classes are remaining towards your degree, and organize them into terms. The system will warn you of missing pre-requisites and suggest classes based on your interests.
- Remaining Requirements on the Tentative List will only show courses that still need to be planned, so it’s a great place to work from. You can directly select a course and move it to a term in your plan. We’ll show an error message if that course doesn’t work in that term - if you won’t have the required prerequisites cleared by that time, or if the class isn’t usually offered during the term that you have chosen.
- You can also add "Activities" to keep track of non-course requirements that you want to include, such as work, clubs, athletics, internships, or any other commitments.
What if I need help?
What if I do not understand my requirements?
- You can schedule an appointment with your academic advisor to answer any questions you have about your degree requirements.
What if I need to request digital accessibility assistance for Buckeye Degree Planner or if I want to report a barrier impacting individuals with disabilities?
- There are some accessibility settings within Stellic/Buckeye Degree Planner, but you can request digital accessibility assistance for Buckeye Degree Planner if you need additional assistance.
What if I have additional questions that are not addressed in the list of Frequently Asked Questions?
- If you have additional questions that are not addressed in any of the resources, please email degreeaudit@osu.edu
Resources
Buckeye Degree Planner Quickstart Guide
Buckeye Degree Planner for Students
Request digital accessibility assistance for Buckeye Degree Planner or report barriers impacting individuals with disabilities
Using the Schedule of Classes, the Schedule Planner and classes.osu.edu
Scheduling Policies
Make sure you’re familiar with the rules for scheduling before you begin.
Rules and Policies
- Students who are not in their first OSU semester can edit their own schedules from their Enrollment Appointment opening through the end of the first week of classes
- Students may repeat a course they have previous credit for by registering for the course a second time
- Before doing so, please review our “Repetition of courses” policy and our Grade Forgiveness rule
- If you have AP/IB or other test or transfer credit for a course, you may continue in the course sequence or you may choose to retake the course to refresh your memory before continuing in the sequence (especially if it is an important course for your major)
- OSU needs to receive a transcript with a final grade to award transfer credit
- The transfer credit should be for the specific equivalent course if it is a prerequisite
- Some students have additional policies to follow, including Honors students, Scholars, students in ROTC, Student Athletes, students using employee tuition benefits, CCP/Academy students and international students; if you are in these student groups, please talk to your advisor about your additional requirements
Helpful Terminology
- Enrollment appointment – this is the time when you can add or drop classes (it is not an appointment with an advisor)
- You can find this information in your My Buckeye Link page
- Prerequisites – requirements you must meet before moving into another course; some GE/major/minor courses can be prerequisites for graduate and professional school admissions
- Corequisites – courses that can or must be taken together
- Sequence – many courses are designed to be taken in a specific order; checking prerequisites helps you plan courses in the correct order
- Major supporting courses – these are required or strongly recommended by a major; they often overlap with GE courses; your advisor will let you know if this is an option in your major
- Overlaps – courses that can be used for up to two curricular requirements (for example: in some majors, one course each from both GE Theme categories can count toward your major requirements); your advisor will let you know if this is an option in your major
- Course Components – Not all course components are offered for every class. If they are offered, recitations and labs are usually attached to a specific lecture so you can’t mix and match different course components (you take the whole bundle of classes as listed in the Schedule of Classes)
- Lecture – this is a large-class style where the instructor provides notes, reviews major concepts, introduces assignments, and answers questions
- Lab – this is a class style where you do hands-on learning, practicing techniques and problem solving that are common in the field
- Recitation – this is a class style where a smaller group of students meets with the instructor or a TA (teaching assistant) to ask more questions, review homework, prepare for assessments
Scheduling Considerations
Need – Prioritize classes you need
The most important considerations (in order) for scheduling classes are:
- Is this course required for my major or the GE?
- Is this course required an additional plan of study I’m completing or considering (such as a minor, a certificate, or a second major)?
- Is this course required for a graduate school I want to apply to?
Timing – To graduate on time, you’ll need to look ahead each time you schedule
The second most important considerations (in order) for timing your classes correctly are:
- Is this course offered only in specific semesters?
- Is this course part of a sequence, or a prerequisite for a later course I need to take?
- Will this schedule give me enough credits to graduate in 8 semesters or to be eligible to campus change? Students usually take around 15 credit hours per semester, but advisors may recommend more or fewer depending on your needs
Location - Is this course available where I want to take it?
Some courses aren’t offered on every campus, and the classes offered at other institutions over the summer may not be transferred to OSU as credit for the course you want.
Time Commitment – Make sure you have the time to dedicate to this class this semester
- OSU’s Faculty Rule predicts that students will spend 3 hours each week in class, doing homework, or studying for every credit hour. That means that a 3-credit class will need 9 hours per week for a full Autumn or Spring semester class.
- Consider whether the class meeting time conflicts with other responsibilities such as work or family commitments; if you work night shift, early morning classes may be a challenge (don’t forget to estimate travel time to and from class)
- Student Athletes may not want to take certain classes during their travel season
- Do I have a good balance of different types of classes? Too many labs or too many paper writing courses in a single semester can create a time burden
Offering – Think about how you learn best
- Online learning can be challenging for some students (if this is a challenge for you, consider taking ESEPSY 1159 Online Learning Strategies and Skills)
- Asynchronous (self-paced) learning is usually managed well by students who have good time management skills (if this is a challenge for you, consider taking ESEPSY 2059 Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner)
- Session classes are only offered for a few weeks of the semester. Assignments and assessments are more frequent in these classes because they are so short but include the same amount of material. Registration deadlines (such as add/drop dates) for these classes are included on the Registrar’s calendar but don’t tend to be included in general university communications. Always make sure you double check your deadlines.
- Autumn and Spring both have two 7-week sessions in the first and second half of the semester. A 3-credit class will require 18 hours of work per week.
- Summer term has many session patterns:
- Two 8-week sessions at the start and end of the summer. A 3-credit class will require 16 hours of work per week.
- Two 6-week sessions in the first and last half of the summer. A 3-credit class will require 22 hours of work per week.
- Three 4-week sessions in each month of summer term. A 3-credit class will require 33 hours of work per week.
Look for Flexibility
Sometimes following rules and sticking to our own ideas of perfection makes decisions harder. There are lots of places you can be flexible in your schedule planning.
- Can you take courses in the summer to allow yourself to take a lighter course- load during a different semester?
- Is there a class you can take at a nearby institution (or at home over the summer) and transfer to OSU to keep yourself on track?
- Could you graduate in summer instead of spring?
- Sometimes the only available class is not taught by your preferred instructor or is a class you’re afraid will be challenging – how can you work through that (e.g. - study groups, tutoring, supplemental instruction through Khan Academy, etc.)?
- Is there a commonly substituted course for this requirement?
- Can your schedule be temporarily adjusted to allow you to take a course that is only offered at a specific time this semester(many schedules offer some wiggle-room for short term adjustments, especially if they’re only a couple times per week)?
If you need help finding places to be flexible in your scheduling process, talk to your advisor.
Check your understanding
If you explored the resources above, by now you should be able to:
- Find the academic path information for your major
- Use a scheduling tool to track the classes you have taken and plan your classes for next semester
- Correctly sequence the courses in your academic plan for the next year by checking the courses' prerequisites
- Describe a least two ways you will think flexibly about your schedule for next semester
If you can't do the things listed above, ask your advisor or survey instructor.