Welcome to the Department of

Computer and Information Sciences

Welcome to Our Departmental Family

•All of you have selected one of the following majors/programs• Computer and Information Science

Commonly referred to as CS• Computer Information Systems

Commonly referred to as IS• Network and Computer Security

Commonly referred to as NCS• BS/MS in Computer and Information Science

Commonly referred to as BS/MS

Distribution of Information Packages

•We have a personalized info package for each of you

•We will distribute them now

Information Package Contents

• Program of Study/Transfer Evaluation (POS/TE) that is tailored specifically for you This includes course recommendations

• SUNY Poly Catalog information for your specific major• CS Department's Transfer Student Enrollment Guide• Instructions for Using Banner and Forwarding E-mail• SUNY Poly Gen Ed Courses• SUNY Poly Open Courses for Fall 2015• A copy of this presentation

What Are We Covering Today?

• Technology and Your Future• CS Department Faculty and Staff• Important Academic Topics • Your Courses for this Semester

- We will help you select courses and register

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Technology and Your Future (1)

"The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do what they want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people learn things they didn't think they could learn before, and so in a sense it is all about potential."

- Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft

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Technology and Your Future (2)

"… everything we called the 'IT revolution' over these past 20 years was just the warm-up act. It was just the sharpening and distribution of the tools of horizontal collaboration. Now you are going to see the real IT revolution."

- Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP

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Technology and Your Future (3)

Technology is going to be hugely

important to EVERYONE

in the future.

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Technology and Your Future (4)

You are here to prepare to take part in

the continued IT revolution as a contributor.

We are here to help you attain the

knowledge and skills you'll need to

contribute to the continued IT revolution.

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Meet the CS Department Faculty

I will introduce you.

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Computer Science Department Faculty (1)

Computer Science Department Faculty (2)

CS Department Network Administrator

• Nick Merante (Kunsela C107) will help you with:• CS network (DogNet) accounts• Free software ( http://www.cs.sunyit.edu/ )• Paid DogNet internships (if you’re good

enough… suggest you see Nick and learn more)

• Nick is the NCS Club advisor

CS Department Location

• This figure also shows new construction!

CS Departmentin Kunsela Hall

Academic Topics of Importance to You

• Academic Topics:• Important dates• Academic standing and course load• Academic polices• Changing major• Transfer of credits• General Education (Gen Ed) requirements

Important Dates for Fall 2015 Semester

• Important dates for Fall 2015 include:– Aug. 31: Classes begin… drop/add Free until Sep. 8 – Sep. 8: Drop/add fees begin– Sep. 14: Last day to add (register) for classes– Sep. 21: Last day to drop without academic

record (W grade begins)– Nov. 9: Withdrawal deadline

(W grade does not impact GPA)– https://sunypoly.edu/home5/cmsfiles/academiccalendar/

fallcal2015.pdf

Student Course Load

• Full-time course load is 12 credits

• Dropping below 12 credits may jeopardize financial aid

• Consider starting every semester with 16 to 18 credits…this allows you the flexibility to drop a course

• Need permission to take more than 18 credits

Academic Standing

• Overall GPA must remain over a 2.0 (C average)

• GPA of 2.0 required for graduation (all SUNY Poly programs)

• Academic warning: first semester with GPA < 2.0

• Academic dismissal: 2 consecutive semesters with GPA < 2.0

• Readmission is possible

Course and Program Requirements

• CS and IS Majors– MAT 115 or 413….. minimum grade of C– CS 108……………..minimum grade of C– CS 240……………..minimum grade of C

• NCS Majors– Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 in professional

coursework required to graduate

• All other courses: you need a passing grade

Academic Integrity

• See Student Handbook (pg 39) for polices and procedures relating to academic integrity and misconduct:

• www.sunyit.edu/pdf/student_handbook.pdf

• What is integrity? Doing the “right thing” when no one is looking.

• What is the “right thing?” Anything you’d be proud to tell your parents, grandparents, or someone your really, really respect and admire.

Academic Misconduct

• Academic misconduct is a very serious matter• NEVER paste text from the Internet into a document

you will submit for a grade• NEVER copy code from anywhere and submit it as

your own work• DO collaborate to help understand concepts, BUT do

your own work on anything you submit for a grade• DO NOT collaborate when it is not allowed

• Penalties determined by each instructor… first offense may result in an "F” grade for the entire course

What Do You Need to Graduate?

–Generally:• satisfy all Gen Ed/Arts and Science requirements• satisfy all major/program requirements• attain a 2.0 GPA overall• attain a 2.0 GPA in "major" courses• attain 124 or more credits… about 16 credits per

semester

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Program of Study/Transfer Evaluation (1)

–Each of you has a Program of Study/Transfer Evaluation (POS/TE) in your folder… the POS/TE:

• contains the latest information we have about your academic work at other institutions

• shows how courses at other institutions are applied toward satisfying specific SUNY Poly program requirements

• is composed of three major categories General Education/Arts and Sciences Requirements Program/Major Requirement Open Electives

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Program of Study/Transfer Evaluation (2)

–Let's look at a few examples:

–http://web.cs.sunyit.edu/~urbanc/CS_XFER_POS.pdf

–http://web.cs.sunyit.edu/~urbanc/IS_XFER_POS.pdf

–http://web.cs.sunyit.edu/~urbanc/NCS_XFER_POS.pdf

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General Education (1)

• SUNY-wide requirements that specify minimum Arts and Sciences coursework for all degree programs

• Currently the requirement is one course from 7 of 10 categories such as Social Sciences, American History, Humanities, etc… and a total of 30 credits• Gen Ed requirements are determined by SUNY

matriculation date• It is possible to petition for the current (7 of 10

categories) Gen Ed requirements

General Education (2)

• Some of major program requirements also satisfy Gen Ed requirements (so called "two-fers")

• Your Program of Study/Transfer Evaluation (in your info package) helps you track your Gen Ed progress

General Education (3)

• See catalog page for SUNY Poly courses that satisfy various Gen Ed requirements

• SUNY Master List of Gen Ed courses/transfers:

– http://www.sunyit.edu/registrar/general_education

General Education (4)

• Special Rules:• Some courses like HIS 306 and HIS 370 satisfy

two Gen Ed requirement categories like "Western Civilization" and "Other World Civilizations"

• You can double-count requirements, however you cannot "double-count" credits

• Humanities courses can never be double-counted with one exception: the "Freshman Gen Ed Core"

SUNY Poly Degree Requirements

• SUNY Poly writing requirements:• All students must take ENG 101 (or equivalent)• All students must take an upper division writing course

• SUNY Poly CS Dept Science Course requirement:• All CS Dept students must take 2 science courses, one

of these must incorporate a lab – Note: NCS students must satisfy this requirement

with PHY 101 and PHY102

Degree Programs in the CS Dept

• BS Computer Science (CS)• BS Computer Information Systems (IS)• BS Applied Computing (AC)• NS Network and Computer Security (NCS)• MS Computer Science (MS/CS)• MS Network and Computer Security (NCS)• MS Telecommunications (MS/TEL)• BS/MS Computer Science (BS/MS)

Changing Majors

• Changing majors is generally easy• Complete and submit a Change of Major form• Form available online or at CS Dept office

• Low grades may prevent admission into a new program• For example, GPA < 2.0• Another example: Low GPA in professional

coursework in new major

Program Information: CS, IS, NCS

Common Core During the first year or two, there is a large overlap in required coursework for all three programs – it is relatively painless to change majors in your first two years

CALCCALC

Accelerated Program: BS/MS (1)

• Get a BS-CS degree and an MS-CS degree in just 3 years

• How? Overlap of 3 courses during senior year!!

• Those in the BS/MS Program must maintain a 3.0 in all courses and in major

• Admission requires 3.0 in all courses and 3.2 in major, and you must have less than 94 total credits earned

Accelerated Program: BS/MS (2)

• If you are interested in the BS/MS program• Talk to to your advisor• Seriously consider taking MAT 413

You don't need to be interested in the BS/MS program to take MAT 413

Talk to Dr. Cavallo

Advisement

• You should meet with your advisor each semester• Plan your next semester• Make sure you’re signing up for the right courses• Make sure you’re not signing up for the wrong

courses (that don’t apply to degree requirements)

• NOTE: Final responsibility rests with the student to assure that all degree program requirements are satisfied for graduation.

KNOW the College Catalog

The SUNY Poly College Catalog is tremendously important because it contains academic requirements, policies, guidelines, descriptions, details, etc…

It’s a GREAT advantage to be knowledgeable of the catalog's contents

Our Catalog is found at this link:

http://www.sunyit.edu/apps/catalog/undergrad/

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Registering for Spring 2016Classes

• Online registration opens in November (16 - 20) for the Spring 2016semester• Seniors allowed to register first so they get

courses needed for graduation• Add classes required by your major first, then add

in Gen Ed courses that (1) you need, and (2) fit your schedule

Common Registration Problems

• In the future you may experience registration problems.• E-mail your advisor the following:

the error code you received (like "test score/ prereq error"),

the CRN of the course (like "2365"), the course number (like "CS 240") your "U" number

• Your advisor will help you resolve problem and reply to your e-mail

Registration for This Semester (1)

• Courses that must be taken during Spring 2015 OR transferred-in from another institution (if transferred, it should be on on your POS/TE… if not: talk to us to avoid repeating a course) • For CS, IS, and BS/MS students

CS 108, MAT 115 or 413, and two other courses

• For NCS students: see your Program of Study (which includes a 4-Year Plan)

Registration for This Semester (2)

• Use your POS/TE to guide you in selection of courses

• CS, IS, and BS/MS students have Transfer Registration Worksheets

–http://web.cs.sunyit.edu/~urbanc/CS_XFER_RW.pdf–http://web.cs.sunyit.edu/~urbanc/IS_XFER_RW.pdf

• NCS students should use their 4-Year Plan

Registration for This Semester (3)

• Please think about your schedule… if you have taken college or AP courses that are similar to the courses we help you select, please tell us (we don't want you to take duplicate courses)

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Registration for This Semester (4)

• As you attend the first week of classes, you may decide that you want to change a course (see advisor about this) or move from one section to another of the same course (no need to see an advisor about section changes)

• Be aware: a full course/section can be a challenge to enter… you need permission from the instructor of that specific course/section

Registration for This Semester (5)

• Select Courses for the Fall 2015 Semester• Use your Program of Study• Use the SUNY Poly• You must use a course's CRN to register for a course• Read the notes column (far right) for important info• We will help you select the correct courses and answer

questions

Welcome to The SUNY Poly CS Department

• That wraps up my presentation

• If you have questions, please talk to us

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