EDUCATIONAL PLANNING
(Don’t Take Anything You Don’t Need)
Part IX: Your Current Semester and Planning Two Future Terms
Be sure to read Mini-Lecture VIII: The All Important Prerequisites and Advisories
BEFORE reading this mini-lecture.
IMPORTANT! Again, you’ll be using this lecture to fill out your Ed Plan Form.
Now here’s the fun part. You’re planning your courses! You’ll be listing your CURRENT COURSES and planning your next two terms.
Enter your CURRENT Schedule
1. In Part III of your Ed Plan, underCurrent Sem/Session, list:
• All courses you’re taking THIS semester
• The units for each course
• The TOTAL units you're taking this semester.
2. READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY. MANY STUDENTS GET THIS PART WRONG.
CHECKING THE BOXES: Checkwhether EACH course is a:
• MAJOR: ASK: Is it listed on your front page under Major? Otherwise, do NOT check Major.
• GENERAL EDUCATION: ASK: Is it listed on your front page under GE? Otherwise, DON’T check GE.
• PREREQUISITE: ASK: Is it listed on this page as a Prerequisite? Otherwise, do NOT check Prerequisite.
• Check ElectiveONLY IF the course is NOT a major, GE or prerequisite!
o Again, a course is an elective ONLY if a course is NOT a major or GE or prerequisite.
• IMPORTANT! A course can be amajorAND/or GEAND/or prerequisite
o Ex., Engl 1 is a GE AND prerequisite (for Engl 2)
o Ex., Psych 1 could be a major course (for a Psych major) and can be used as a GE
• HINT: Don't get some of your prerequisites (e.g., Math 85, English 85) mixed up as a GE, for example!
AGAIN, READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY. MANY STUDENTS DO THIS SECTION INCORRECTLY.
DECIDEthe units for TWO FUTURE SEMESTERS/SESSIONS
We’re almost done! But this is the really great part.
Which next two SMC terms will you be attending, and how many units will you take?
1. Check the term(Fall, Winter, etc.), and enter the year.
· Ex.: Winter 2016, Spring 2016.
2. Decide how many unitsyou will be taking for each term:
· Keep your grade goals in mind
· Balance the number of units with your other fixed commitments
· Taking fewer units per term can give you more time to master content and get higher grades
· One extra class in a term can affect ALL your grades
3. Fall/Spring:Full-time is 12-16 units
• For fall/spring,students working no more than 20 hours/week typically take 9-12 units
• This is a good starting point to determine your desired unit load per term
• Remember your Evaluate Your School/Work Load exercise in the Time Management Unit!
4. Winter/Summer:(6 weeks long each): a maximum of ONE course is recommended, although students are allowed to take up to 8 units
• For a 3-unit class, courses typically meet 8 hours/week vs. 3 hours/week in the fall/spring
• If you've never taken a winter/summer term, take ONE course at most
o If that schedule seems too easy, get an A in the class!
FILL INthe TWO FUTURE SEMESTERS/SESSIONS: Select Your Courses
AGAIN, READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY. MANY STUDENTS DO THIS SECTION INCORRECTLY.
For the two future terms,plan a schedule for each term:
1. Most studentstake Engl/ESL and math at least each fall/springuntil their target courses are completed.
2. Be careful if you take them during the short winter/summer sessions. It's a lot to cover in a short period of time!
3. Also, usuallystart prerequisites early--those listed on the Prerequisite Section of your form.
• Keep working your way toward your target courses!
• Again, why take a course if you don't have the prerequisite or advisory, when most other students in the class DO have that body of knowledge already?
o Only take a course if you've completed the prerequisite and/or advisory!!
4. Take major and general education courses, keeping the following in mind:
• ALWAYS keep your grade goals in mind.
• Balance your courses.
• Don't overload yourself with too many challenging/"killer" courses
• Remember, "Moderately Challenging!"
• Consider taking 1-2-3 unit electives to balance your scheduleor become full-time if necessary
o Ex.: Take a 1-unit PE course or Lib 1; a 2-unit Guitar or Folklorico or other dance course as possible electives.
FILL IN the TWO FUTURE SEMESTERS/SESSIONS: Finishing Touches (Ed Plan Part IV)
1. Enter the unitsof the courses.
2. Check whether the courses are Major, GE, Prerequisites, or electives
• Again, a course can be in more than one category
• See Step 5, #2 for more detail
3. Add up the unitsfor each term.
PHEW! You’re ready to submit your ed plan! Check it to be sure it’s all done correctly, then submit it to the “Ed Plan Assignment-Pts In Gradebook” Dropbox by Sunday, at 11:59 p.m., Pacific Time OR to your instructor by the due date.
BUT WAIT!!! You are almost done by not quite.
The LAST STEP:
IMPORTANT! Go to Mini-Lecture X: Assign Pt 2: SMC's MyEdPlan.
You have ONE more step to go—entering your courses into MyEdPlan, SMC’s new electronic Ed Plan.