Wondering about financial aid?

The Federal Student Aid folks have a new way for you to estimate how much federal student aid you might receive. It's called the FAFSA4caster. Click on the following link to learn about the financial aid process and get an early estimate of your eligibility for federal student aid.
http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov

Credit Hours

College courses are measured in credit hours. 12 credits is considered full-time for the purposes of insurance and/or financial aid. Each credit is the equivalent of approximately one hour of class time per week. Thus, in most cases, if a student is registered for 12 credits, he will be in class 12 hours a week. This would mean (4) 3 credit classes or (3) 3 credit classes, (1) 2 credit class and (1) 1 credit class or any combination that adds up to 12. A 3 credit class might meet once for three hours, or twice a week for an hour and a half, or three times a week for one hour. Some classes (such as many science classes) meet for more hours than the number of credit hours. Biology 100, for example, is worth 3 credits but meets 4 hours a week -- 2 hours in class and 2 hours in lab. One can determine the number of credit hours by looking in the Class Schedule or the College Catalog. The class schedule will show the meeting times. The College Catalog will show the number of class hours and the number of lab hours. For example, PSY 132 (General Pyschology) shows "3 hours weekly (3-0);" this means three hours of class time and zero hours of lab time. CIS 101 (Introduction to Computers) shows "4 hours weekly (2-2);" this means two hours of class time and two hours of lab time.
A student who is working toward a degree will be earning hours semester by semester. If his degree requires 62 credits, he will have to take at least 15-17 of the required hours (on the curriculum guide) per semester in order to complete his degree in four semesters.

What classes do I get to choose from and what is an elective?

Again, take a look at your curriculum guide. Some classes on the curriculum guide are listed specifically; you MUST take those exact classes to earn your degree. Other classes will say "elective;" for example "fine arts elective," "social science elective," "humanities elective," etc. You can find the list of electives on page two of the following link: Associate of Arts, page 2. It doesn't matter that this link leads to the associate of arts degree. Column 1 on page two lists ALL of the state approved electives offered at J.A.L.C. for fine arts, humanities, social science, science, supportive skills and integrative electives. To meet the specific state approved elective requirements for any degree you choose from column 1. It is totally your choice!

Column 2 lists all general transferable electives. These are excellent transferable classes but all of them do not meet specific state requirements. Some degrees are very specific and don't allow you to choose from column 2 at all. However, if you are working toward an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science (General Studies) degree, all of the courses listed in column 2 will fall under Group IX General Electives.

At this time, you might want to look in the J.A.L.C. catalogue to find out more about the classes. Go to: John A. Logan College Catalogue and click on Course Descriptions. There is a description for every course.

Except for the Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees, all of the curriculum guides make suggestions as to what classes you should take and in what order you should take them. In most majors (but not all) there is quite a bit of wiggle room. You get to make choices about what classes to take each semester as long as you finish the all of them to earn your degree. Of course, with anything that has a pre-requisite, you must take the pre-requisite first.

It's up to you! What are you interested in? What sounds like fun? What do you want to get over with? Which classes have you heard have great teachers?

Take some time BEFORE you go for an advisement appointment to consider what you might like to take. Check out the schedule and see when the courses are offered. Make a tentative plan or list and have questions ready for your advisor if you need help.

Yes, there are more things you can do to get ready for advisement so, once again, stay tuned!

First step to prepare for advisement -- online or with your advisor.

Take a look at your curriculum guide. Every student has one. Your advisor should have given you a copy but if you don't have one (for whatever reason), print a blank one from JALC Degrees and Certificates . On the line next to each class, write the grade you earned in each class you've completed. Write FL 09 on the line next to any classes you are currently taking.

The remainder of the classes on the list are classes you will need to take to earn your degree whether it is a transfer or a vocational degree. Your total number of credit hours for a two year degree is about sixty-two, depending upon the degree. You will find the number (usually in the upper right-hand corner of the page). That number says "Minimum Hrs."

Look over the classes you have left to take and consider planning classes for your next semester or even all of your remaining semesters.

I just need my generals.

Is this what you will say to your advisor when registration begins on November 9? If so... you might be short changing yourself. Within the next few weeks (before advisement officially begins) you will find some suggestions in this blog for making the most of your advisement experience. Stay tuned!

Fall Registration

"Not even the most starry-eyed optimist at John A. Logan College could have predicted a 14 percent increase in enrollment from last fall semester to this fall.” That’s how the John A. Logan College News article about our fall enrollment began. A 14 percent enrollment increase is almost unimaginable in today’s up and down world in which the costs (and benefits) of education continue to rise. Almost 900 more students showing up to be advised is also closed to unimaginable from an advisor’s point of view. What that means is that we were BUSY as the beginning of the semester approached. By the end of July, every advisor was totally booked with appointments so that no more appointments were available weeks before walk-ins were to begin. Yes, we were VERY, VERY busy!
With registration behind us, advisors are taking a few deep breaths and getting ready for the next round. Spring registration will begin on November 2 for continuing students who register on line only. Continuing students who would like to meet with their advisor for registration can begin calling on October 26 to schedule appointments for November 9 or later. New students may begin calling on November 9 to schedule appointments with advisors for November 16 or later.
There can be many facets to the duties of academic advisor. It can be fun, stressful, rewarding, frustrating, busy, and, perhaps, one of the best jobs in the world. It is rarely, if ever, boring. According to NACADA, the National Academic Advising Association, “Few experiences in students’ postsecondary career have as much potential for influencing their development as does academic advising.” With that said, we are looking forward to seeing our students, both old and new, as we prepare for SPRING 2010!