Student handbook

Student conduct

University students should be familiar with the Student Code, which spells out the rights and responsibilities of students, faculty and staff of the University of Illinois.

Planning your registration

Academic advisers can offer information on and help with course selection and programs of study requirements. Ultimately, however, students must decide which courses to take depending on their individual interests, abilities and future plans.

Students also can view course paths taken by previous College of Media students as shown in the section, 'How I got my degree.' Students also can find many syllabi, lists of readings and descriptions of assignments online to help determine which courses are of interest.

Degree-specific curriculum planning sheets also are available for students to use to help chart a selection of courses for upcoming semesters:

In addition, students considering specific courses can see how the instructors for those courses were ranked by other students. The Instructor and Course Evaluation System (ICES) displays ratings of participating University instructors and courses.

Registering for courses

The University's typical registration procedure for students:

  1. Schedule academic advising session and complete pre-registration survey
  2. Review registration checklist

Programs of Study requirements

Undergraduate students should become familiar with the College of Media's official description of departments, admission and graduation requirements, special programs and programs of study, in addition to their respective program's requirements, below.

Grades

Students must earn a cumulative 2.0 grade point average for all College of Media courses, all University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign courses and all courses taken at any institution. Some courses outside of the College of Media, such as basic physical education courses, do not count toward fulfilling College-wide graduation requirements. See the Grading System and Graduation Requirements sections in the Programs of Study on the campus Web site.

Registration trouble

Please see the UI-Integrate help section for a possible explanation on not being able to register for a course.

Colleges and departments frequently reserve course seats for students who need them to graduate on time.

These restrictions might make it difficult for you to enroll in courses outside of your department. An inability to register for these courses will appear as either a "major restriction" or "reserve closed" error.

Sometimes seats are held for students who must register late. This can result in a student unable to register for a course even though seats seem available.

Because some students might later drop these courses, students are encouraged to continue trying to register for their desired courses. Course openings might exist later, even after the semester has started.

The College of Media notes all course control information in the Class Schedule. For courses outside of the College, contact the department or college that oversees the course restriction.

Students are encouraged to be flexible by developing backup course registration possibilities.

Students are also encouraged to register as soon as their Time Ticket permits to ensure that they can register for their desired course. A delay might prevent them from registering for a course required to graduate.

Students who cannot register for a required course should contact the Student Services Center to determine the specific reason.

Overloading courses

Students who desire to register for more than 18 hours a semester must get permission from the academic affairs dean of the College. The first step is to complete an Academic Petition stating which classes are desired and why the overload is necessary. The student must submit the form to the Student Services Center.

Dropping/adding courses

Students who want to drop or add a course after the deadline must complete a Late Course Change petition and submit it to the Student Services Center. A Late Course Change form must also be accompanied by the Academic Petition form.

Incomplete courses

Students who experience illness or emergencies near the end of a semester might be able to file courses as "incomplete." Students must complete a Request 'I' Grade Incomplete form and submit it to the Student Services Center. A Request 'I' Grade Incomplete form must also be accompanied by the Academic Petition form.

While you still must fill out all forms and obtain required approvals upon your return, in an emergency you may contact the Emergency Dean, who will notify the College and your instructor of your situation. Remember to follow through afterward, and keep in mind that the Emergency Dean does not grant requests or excuse absences. The Emergency Dean merely relays information.

Transferring course credit

Transfer-course credit, advanced placement and other test-based credit may be counted as college credit. A student's status is based on total college credit, including advanced placement credit. Any transcripts from off-campus should be sent from the other institution to the Office of Admissions and Records.

Credit/no-credit courses

College of Media courses, specific courses required by a respective department to graduate and general education courses are the courses students cannot take as credit/no credit.

All courses listed or cross-listed with departments in the College, or specifically required by one of those departments for its majors, must be taken for a traditional letter grade.

The College follows credit/no-credit provisions described in the Grading System and Other Regulations section of the Programs of Study.

For all College of Media students, courses taken to fulfill the College's advanced-hour requirement (20 hours outside the College in courses numbered 200 and above) must be taken for traditional letter grades.

For students in the advertising program of study, courses outside of the college that must be taken for a grade are STAT100 (or any of the allowed substitutes for it), ECON102, ECON103, BADM320, and two out of the three courses PSYC100, SOC 100 and ANTH103.

A Credit/No-credit form must also be accompanied by the Academic Petition form.

Independent study

An independent study is a course a student takes one-on-one with a professor. Independent studies usually require fewer classroom hours but more research hours and usually require completion of a specific project or paper.

Students interested in an independent study should consult a professor and complete an Independent Study form from the Student Services Center that states the study's objectives and requirements. The professor and student must sign the form, and it must be submitted to the Student Services Center.

Summer courses

Students may register for summer school on campus. See registration information from the Office of Admission and Records.

Students who want to register for courses during the summer at a community college or other institution must ensure that those courses transfer as equivalents to the University of Illinois' courses. Students can check the equivalence of courses at Course Applicability System. Students are encouraged to check the Effective Dates column of courses. If a course's effective date has expired, then that course is no longer counted.

Students should consult the residency requirements and the number of course credit hours Illinois students are required to take at the Urbana-Champaign campus before enrollment at a community college.

Study abroad

College of Media students can study abroad if they meet their respective degree requirements. Please meet with an academic adviser to determine if such requirements have been met.

The University's Study Abroad Office places students around the world. For information on those programs, see an adviser at the Study Abroad Office at 115 International Studies Building, 910 S. Fifth St., Champaign, or visit the Study Abroad Office's Web site.

The Department of Advertising's study abroad program places students in Ireland and Norway. For information on that program, make an appointment to see Cinda Robbins Cornstubble in 103 Gregory Hall.

Study abroad course credit takes a while to be recorded. Typically, a semester of study abroad will show up as 12 hours of DF, "deferred credit," on a student's DARS audit report. Twelve hours is the default regardless of actual credit hours taken. When your actual coursework comes in, it will replace those deferred hours.

Please see Adrienne Harris, the study abroad records expert for the College of Media, in the Student Services Center or call her at (217) 244-4329.

Changing majors within the College

Because programs of study are chosen for the junior year, the college expect students to stay with their chosen program. Requests can be considered during the application period for new students by completing an "Application for Change of Major" form. The form can be submitted only during the inter-college transfer period.

Note: This form and accompanying deadline changes every semester. Please make sure you complete a current form. If you do not find one online, pick one up in the Student Services Center in 18 Gregory Hall (basement).

Concurrent enrollment at Parkland College

Students concurrently enrolled at Parkland College are required to declare it with an academic adviser who must sign a Concurrent Enrollment form. The form must be submitted to Parkland College.

Students can schedule or walk into an academic advising appointments at the College's Student Services Center.

Leaving the College

Some students decide to pursue programs of study that take them away from the College of Media. In that case, we request that students let us know by meeting with their academic adviser and completing a Transferring to Another UIUC College form.

Minors

A minor is a coherent program of study requiring some depth in the subject, but not as extensive of a program as the major. Most minors will be comprehensive study in the discipline rather than focusing on a narrow subfield of study. In general minors consist of at least 16 and not more than 21 hours of coursework.

Find a minor at the University of Illinois through the Provost's Web site.

The College of Media does not offer minors in its programs. However, an academic adviser can help students identify a minor or help determine other options such as taking a set of classes or planning a graduate degree in another area of interest.

Communications General Curriculum

Freshmen and sophomores should follow the curriculum plans that lead to their desired majors.

All students on campus also have to fulfill general education requirements. Students can choose from many courses in each category and can take courses that appeal to their interests and goals. Freshmen and sophomores should concentrate on general education requirements even though they have four years to complete all of the requirements.

Introductory courses

Students get a taste of the College's majors by taking introductory courses. Freshmen are encouraged to take a Discovery course. These will be numbered ADV199, COMM199 or JOUR199. These small classes meet with a major professor in small groups of fewer than 20 students to explore topics of special interest — for freshmen only. Potential Advertising and Media Studies majors also could explore COMM101 Introduction to the Media or COMM166 Media Literacy. Both courses provide general education credit. Potential Advertising majors also will want ADV300 Introduction to Advertising. Potential Journalism majors will want JOUR200 Introduction to Journalism.