WELCOME! One of the most common questions we are asked by freshman and their parents is, “What classes should I take my first semester?” The Advisement Center is happy to help you. We recommend that first-time freshman register with an advisor, but here is some general information we think will help. REGISTER EARLY!
DEFINITIONS:
Admission: to be accepted at a college after completing the application process.
Registration: to sign up for courses
Semester: Dixie has three terms per year: fall, spring and summer. A full term or semester is 15 ½ weeks long. Summer has reduced sessions. Within a semester are also “block” classes that start five weeks late, but end at the same time as the semester.
Credit: College credits are awarded based on time in class and lab. Typically, one credit is awarded for going to class 50 minutes per week for a semester and learning the subject.
Course load: Full-time students, hoping to complete their associate degree in two years or four semesters, should take 15 or 16 credits per semester (it takes at least 63 credits to graduate). Technically and for financial aid purposes, 12 credits establish a student as full-time. If a student works or has other responsibilities, s/he should adjust the course load accordingly. Many students work half time or less and still maintain a full course load. Students must find what works for them. Students are welcome to attend part-time. It is particularly important to not overload the first semester while everything is new.
Placement courses: Dixie has required placement in English Writing, Reading and Mathematics determined according to test scores and high school GPA (see details below). The courses a student is placed in may be developmental or pre-college level and should be taken the first semester.
Associate Degree: Is a degree that verifies that a student has completed his/her general education at a given school, in preparation for a bachelor degree. An associate degree is only recognized within the state received and assures a student that s/he does not have to take general education courses at a state transfer school. There is not a guarantee that out-of-state transfer schools will consider general education courses as completed because of an associate degree earned, though the courses will carry transfer credit. At Dixie we have five associate degrees: Associate of Science, Associate of Arts, Associate of Science in Business. Associate of Science in Criminal Justice and Associate of Pre-Engineering. See the schedule book, catalog or on-line for definitions of these degrees.
Associate of Applied Science Degree: Is a degree that provides specific training in a field with preparation for working in that field as the goal. Fewer general education classes are required and so an applied science degree is not preparation for a bachelor degree or recognized as having general education classes completed. At Dixie we have several different Associate of Applied Science Degrees, see the schedule book, catalog or on-line for a list of these degrees.
General Education (GE) Courses: Courses are typically divided into three categories: general education, major pre-requisite and elective courses. GE courses are required of all students to providing a well-rounded education. The list of general education courses varies from school to school. Dixie requires about 19 GE courses, about 40 credits.
Elective Courses: These are courses that are not general education, but are exploratory, fulfill a major pre-requisite area or are personal enrichment courses. At least 7 courses are to be taken in this category.
Major: Students should be preparing for a major area of study. If students do not take pre-requisites for a major, while taking general education classes, they may find themselves behind when moving on to a bachelor program. In order to be accepted into most third-year major programs, pre-requisite courses in that major are required. Major pre-requisites are set by the school offering the bachelor degree.
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR REGISTERING:
1. Make sure you are fully admitted, which means you either received a letter saying that you are admitted or you have checked with the registration office (435-652-7708). Admissions generally has four requirements: a completed application, a $25 admissions fee, high school transcripts, and ACT, SAT or CPT scores (which are often posted on high school transcripts). You can test at Dixie. If you have taken classes at another college or university, we will also need those official transcripts.
2. As we said before, we recommend that first-time freshmen register for classes with an advisor. This can be done in person or over the phone (435-652-7690). Be sure to make an appointment. However, if you like, you can register on your own over the internet. Go to www.dixie.edu to On-line Student Services. You will be asked for your student number, which is your social security number, and for your Pin number, which is your six-digit birthday. Register early! You can register up until the first week of classes, it just gets harder to make your ideal schedule.
3. To prepare yourself to register for classes you should have a course schedule (tells you when classes are offered) and a catalog (tells you about programs and describes courses). These can be found on-line or at the college bookstore (435-652-7644).
4. All freshmen must take SSC 1000 (1/2 credit), Freshman Orientation, unless they took at least twelve college credits on another campus (on-line and concurrent high school classes do not count). SSC 1000 has two parts in the fall, an all-day orientation, the day before classes start, and six to eight classes at the beginning of the semester. This course will teach you how to succeed at college and help you to make a majors decision and an educational plan.
5. At Dixie we have required placement in English Writing, Reading and Mathematics. To determine your placement for English Writing and Reading, we add your high school GPA, without the decimal to your ACT, converted SAT or CPT scores. Eg. GPA 3.0 becomes 30 + ACT score 21 = 51. For Mathematics, we just use your test score. You can read about this in the schedule book, the catalog or on-line and find out what the various scores mean. If your scores or GPA are low, you may need to take a pre-college course. These courses start with “0”, such as Engl 0920, and do not count for graduation credit, but they do count for financial aid credit and athletic eligibility. It is recommended that all developmental courses be taken in the first semester because of their impact on other courses. The Registrar’s Office can tell you your placement scores.
6. If you qualify for English 1010, Freshman English, we recommend this course your first semester. It will help you write at college level.
7. General Education (GE) Courses: Students must first choose which associate degree they will earn and take the appropriate GE courses. GE courses for the various associate degrees are listed in the catalog, course schedule and on-line. If a full-time student plans to graduate in two years, s/he must take 3 or 4 GE classes per semester. If a developmental English placement course is required, a student should not take History, Literature, Humanities, or Social Science courses his/her first semester. If reading is weak, Science classes should also be delayed until the developmental reading class is completed.
8. CIS 1200 is a good first semester course. Faculty expect all students to have basic competency in computer skills. This course will provide the basics. If students already have the required skills, they may test out of the course after registering in it. The course is not lecture format, but self-paced, so students must complete an orientation the first week of classes and must commit to regular work on the programs. This is a dangerous course for those with poor time management.
9. Courses may be dropped in the first three weeks of the semester, with a full refund. It is not advised to start classes late. It is very difficult to add classes after the first three days of a semester and requires faculty permission.
10. Majors: Freshmen students are typically uncertain about a major. If a student has not made a choice of a major, s/he should do some exploring of classes the first two semesters to try to clarify a major. Some majors require several pre-requisite courses, so one or two should be taken each semester. The longer a student waits to determine a major, the more likely extra courses and time will be required.
11. Take a fun class. Between 12 and 20 credits the cost for tuition and fees are the same. If a student has time, we recommend taking a class for fun, relaxation or personal enrichment. Some popular elective classes are in art, music and physical education. If a student does not want a grade in a class, s/he can change the course to an “audit” (within the allotted time), which means the course will not be graded.
12. Students should attend classes on the first day of each semester. If a student misses a first class, the faculty may choose to administratively drop the student from that class. If it is not possible to attend the first class, a student should contact the faculty.
We hope this helps. If you want some one-on-one assistance, please contact the Advisement Center, 435-652-7690.