The Students First Office has compiled a list of frequently asked questions, common terminology, and helpful resources to assist with academic advising. If you have questions that aren’t addressed here, contact your assigned academic advisor for additional assistance.
Quick Links: Tools and Resources
- Academic Calendar
- Advising Center Contact Information
- Advising Tools 101
- University Catalog
- Degree Works
- Schedule Hero
- UNCGenie
- Grad Plan 101
- Graduation Plan Template
- Major/Minor Change Form
- Grade Replacement Request Form
- Request for Cancellation for Non-Attendance
- GPA Calculator
- Calculus Readiness Diagnostic Test (CRDT)
- Statistics Readiness Diagnostic Test (SRDT)
- Language Placement Tests
Common Academic Advising Questions
- Current students changing major:
- If you haven’t had a new advisor assigned to you within two weeks of your major change, please reach out to the advising center for your new major.
- New and returning students:
- If you are a new Exploratory student at UNCG, you will be assigned an academic advisor in the first couple of weeks of the semester. Until then, you can reach out to [email protected] for advising assistance.
- If you’re not an Exploratory major, contact the advising center for your major for more information.
You can find your assigned advisor at the top of your Degree Works report. You may also reach out to your major’s advising center.
Many advisors at UNCG use Starfish for advising appointment scheduling. If you do not see your advisor in Starfish, email them directly to set up an appointment.
- You must obtain your advising code from your assigned academic advisor. Most students are required to meet with their advisor in order to receive their advising code. Your advising code changes each fall and spring term, so you will need to meet with your assigned advisor each semester to get the new code.
- Your advising code to register for summer classes is the same as the code you used to register for your spring classes. Be sure to discuss summer classes with your advisor, especially if your cumulative GPA is below 2.0, as the classes are very fast paced compared to your fall and spring semesters.
- Exploratory Majors: You must attend a scheduled meeting with your assigned academic advisor in order to receive your advising code. Schedule your meeting through Starfish.
- Degree Works is your personalized degree evaluation. Based on your declared major(s) and/or minor(s), it shows you what you need to graduate, and helps you track your progress towards degree completion.
- Degree Works also includes a What-If tool, which allows you to see the degree requirements for different major/minor combinations.
- For instructions for running a What-If analysis, see our Advising Tools 101 resource.
Spartan Central has a helpful tutorial video and comprehensive FAQ list for Schedule Hero.
- Yes, you may change your schedule before your classes start and through schedule adjustment. Please refer to the parts of term calendar to reference when the schedule adjustment period ends.
- If you are a new student at UNC-Greensboro, we strongly recommend meeting with an advisor in advance to discuss any changes you may be considering.
There are few different reasons why you may not be able to register for a particular class. Any class that you can’t register for will have a “registration error” message explaining why. The Registration Guide on Spartan Central has some valuable information about troubleshooting common registration errors.
- Course prefixes are acronyms based on subject (e.g. ENG = English, PSY = Psychology) and course codes are a combination of the course prefix and course number (e.g. ENG 101, PSY 121).
- If you see a prefix that you don’t know, consult the comprehensive list of course prefixes.
The first week of class is considered “schedule adjustment.” During schedule adjustment you can drop a full term class without any permanent record of the class on your transcript – we call this “dropping” a class. Oftentimes, students drop one class and add a new one in its place.
After schedule adjustment ends, the withdrawal period begins. Withdrawing from a class is different from dropping a class because withdrawn courses are permanently on your transcript. You are only permitted to withdraw from a maximum of 16 credit hours during your time at UNCG.
Before you withdraw from a class, it is important to double-check the Academic Calendar for the last day to withdraw from classes without academic penalty. It is also important to discuss withdrawing from a course with your academic advisor to understand any potential consequences to your financial aid, progress towards your degree, or GPA.
Note: you may need your advising code in order to drop/withdraw from classes.
The Registration Guide on Spartan Central shows you how to add/drop classes in Schedule Hero.
Here are the steps to withdraw from a class in UNCGenie:
- Log in to UNCGenie with iSpartan
- Select the Students tab
- Select Student UNCGenie Main Menu
- Select Registration
- Select Add/Drop Classes
- Select the term from the drop down list and click Submit
- The classes you are registered for are now displayed. Use the drop down menu beside the course you wish to withdraw to select “Withdrawn Course”
- Click Submit Changes
- You can search for majors on the Degrees and Programs page. Filter by Degree Type: Bachelor’s.
- You can search for majors and minors on the Find a Program page of the Catalog. Filter by Academic Level: Undergraduate and Program Type: Major or Minor.
To submit a request to change or add your major or minor, you must complete the UNCG Curriculum (Major/Minor) Change Request form.
Our Graduation Plan 101 resource provides you with helpful step-by-step instructions.
- You can contact your assigned academic advisor or advising center to request a signed graduation plan. The Students First Office can also review graduation plans for most majors, but some exclusions apply**.
- If you wish for your graduation plan to be reviewed by an advisor in the Students First Office, please submit a complete graduation plan to [email protected]. Your graduation plan will be assigned to the next available advisor, and you will receive feedback within three business days.
** The Students First Office cannot review graduation plans for Bryan School of Business and Economics majors, majors in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, International and Global Studies majors, Environment and Sustainability majors, Professional Studies Online majors (formerly Integrated Professional Studies – BIPS), and Liberal Studies majors.
- Log in to UNCGenie with iSpartan
- Select the Students tab
- Select Student UNCGenie Main Menu
- Select Student Records
- Select Midterm Grades
- Select the term from the drop down list and click Submit
- You can now view your midterm grades
- Log in to UNCGenie with iSpartan
- Select the Students tab
- Select Student UNCGenie Main Menu
- Select Student Records
- Select Final Grades
- Select the term from the drop down list and click Submit
- You can now view your final grades
*Please note that the grades you see in Canvas are NOT your final grades. If there is a difference between your Canvas grades and your final grades in UNCGenie, your official final grades are in UNCGenie.
- There are two main types of GPA:
- Term GPA: the GPA based on your grades each semester
- Cumulative GPA: overall GPA based on all your grades at UNCG
- Learn more about how your grades impact your GPA in the University Catalog
- Your GPA can impact your academic standing, your financial aid eligibility, and your eligibility for some academic programs.
- The SFO GPA Calculator is a great tool to help you predict how your current grades may impact your GPA.
- Incomplete grades are given at the discretion of the instructor when extenuating circumstances impact your ability to complete your coursework. In order to get a final grade of an “I” posted for the class, you must work with your instructor to confirm the missing work needed to finish the course and establish a timeline on which you will complete the work.
- If you do not complete the missing work and have a final letter grade posted within six (6) months, the incomplete will be automatically changed to an F and will negatively impact your GPA.
- You can find the Incomplete deadline in UNCGenie by viewing your final grades.
Learn more about sending your official transcripts on Spartan Central.
- The Transfer Credit Planner is a database of classes that have previously transferred to UNCG from other institutions. This is an unofficial way to predict how classes will transfer from other schools to UNCG.
- Only grades of C or higher are eligible to be considered for transfer.
- If you cannot find your school in the Transfer Credit Planner, contact the Transfer Articulation team in the University Registrar’s Office at [email protected].
- Learn more about transfer credit on the Transfer Credit Information page on Spartan Central.
- FERPA is an educational privacy law that protects your academic information. Learn more about FERPA by reviewing the FERPA at UNCG website.
- You need a FERPA on record specifically with SFO if:
- You want someone to join your SFO appointment
- You want SFO to be able to communicate with somebody about your academic performance
