Tips & Strategies for Transferring Pre-Major & Undecided Students

1. Mānoa Advising Center Tips & Strategies for Transferring Pre-Major & Undecided Students Megumi Makino-Kanehiro Michiko Bigus Comfort Sumida Rayna Isaki

2. Academic Advising at UHM • Tiered advising structure • College / School Advisors • Major Advisors • Special populations • Pre-Health / Pre-Law Advising • Student Athlete Academic Services • Student Support Services • KOKUA Program • Honors Program • ROTC Advising

3. Declared Students Colleges Schools Advising “home” is the Student Academic Services office for their college / school: Arts & Sciences Business Education Engineering Medicine Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources Architecture Hawaiian Knowledge Nursing & Dental Hygiene Ocean & Earth Science & Technology Pacific & Asian Studies Social Work Travel Industry Management

4. Undeclared/Pre-Major Students Advising “home” is Mānoa Advising Center Undeclared (General Arts & Sciences) Official pre-majors Unofficial pre-majors (examples) • Pre-Business • Pre-Dental • Pre-Education • Pre-Engineering • Pre-KRS • Pre-Law • Pre-Math • Pre-Medicine • Pre-Nursing • Pre-Pharmacy • Pre-Psychology • Pre-Social Work • Pre-TIM • Pre-ACM • Pre-Communications • Pre-Interdisciplinary Studies

5. Mānoa Advising Center Mānoa Advising Center Mānoa Advising Center macadv@hawaii.edu • Ratio of 4500:4 • Services for UHM undeclared & pre-major students: • Prospective, incoming & current • Major selection • Academic planning • Registration advising • Current • Signatures, petitions, academic actions

6. Challenges for transfer students • Late registration for the first semester at UHM • Over 80 academic majors • Major requirements vary • Open majors • Pre-majors • Sequential majors • Gen.Ed variation across different majors

7. Tips for smooth transition & timely graduation • Start major exploration early • Know the major options • Be familiar with the requirements of potential major(s) • Gen.Ed courses • pre-requisite or intro-level major courses • Admission requirements • Early decision is strongly recommended • Professional degrees (e.g., engineering, education, nursing, business, architecture) • natural sciences, performing/creative arts, languages

8. Tips (continued) • Complete major-related lower-level courses at CC • Intro-level or prerequisite courses • Admission requirements • High demand courses • COM 201 • SP 151, 251 • ART 113, 116 • Math / natural science foundation courses

9. Courses required in a sequence • Math -- (pre-)calculus • Math 111, 112 (for elementary education) • Chemistry 161/L, 162/L • Biology 171/L, 172/L • Physiology 141/L, 142/L • (Accounting 201, 202) • (Language 101, 102, 201, 202)

10. Pre-calculus (Math 135) Year 1 (F) Calculus III Year 1 (S) Calculus IV Pre-calculus (Math 140) Year 2 (F) other major courses Calculus I (Math 241) Year 2 (S) Calculus II (Math 242) Year 3 (F) Year 3 (S) Engineering & Math sequence

11. Tips (continued) • UHM: Students are highly recommended to declare major by junior year (55 credits) • Think about the time of transfer and plan early • Some majors require certain number of credits at UHM • Some majors accept students only once a year • Be aware of other requirements (e.g., non-introductory & 300+ credits)

12. Appointments with MAC Advisors • Advisor by alpha • In-person advising recommended • Same day appointments • Schedule by: • Come in-person to QLC 101 • Call (808) 956-7273 between 8:30am-9:00am • Exceptions • Walk-ins only during certain periods • Ideal period to meet over summer • Meet after transfer credit evaluation completed

13. Preparation for Appointment • Have some majors in mind -Career options • Be familiar with STAR • Transfer database

14. Discussion We would like to get feedback on areas you feel we could better assist transfer students who are pre-major or undecided.