Departmental Advising Rubrics
Each department should provide departmental advising rubrics outlining core curriculum requirements as well as courses needed to complete the major.  Both the advisor and the student should keep copies of this document and update it after each completed semester.

Advising Forms 
Each department should provide advising forms which advisors should use at each advising session to keep a record of courses they advised students to take.  This form should be signed by both the advisor and the student; one copy should go to the student and one should be kept in the student’s advising file.

Course Substitution/Waiver Forms
If students transfer courses from another institution or were unable to take a particular required course, advisors must fill out appropriate course substitution forms (which must be signed by the advisor, the department head, and the dean before going to the registrar’s office. In the case of a core area substitution, the VPAA must also sign). Once these completed forms have been processed by the Registrar’s Office, copies will be returned to the student and the advisor (and filed in the student’s advising file). These forms are available in departmental offices.

Declaring or Changing a Major/Minor Form
Students are given an opportunity to declare a major at orientation. Changes in major programs should be made on the basis of careful consideration and planning with the advisor well before the registration period. Any change from one major program to another, especially if made late in the student’s college career, may necessitate additional courses which were not required in the major program originally selected. Additional semesters in residence may also be necessary. Both the accepting and releasing department must approve a change of major program. Students who change their major or interrupt their college work for more than year become subject to the requirements of the catalog in effect at the time of the change or re-enrollment to fulfill degree requirements. Approved Change of Major forms must be submitted to the Registrar.

Transient Student Forms

A regularly-enrolled undergraduate student wishing to attend another institution for one term, with the intention of returning to Valdosta State University, will be considered a "transient" student at the other school. The following procedure must be followed to obtain "transient" status:

  1. A transient request form must be obtained from the student's major department or the Registrar's Office. 

  2. The form must be completed by the student's advisor, who must approve specific courses to be taken as a transient student. (The Regents' Testing Coordinator at Valdosta State must approve Regents' testing at another institution.) 

  3. The form must be taken to the Admissions Office for evaluation of proposed transient courses. 

  4. The form must be signed by the head of the department. 

  5. All holds (such as traffic fines, library fines, etc.) must be cleared with the appropriate office before a transient request can be processed. 

  6. The completed transient request form should be returned to the Registrar's Office for processing. 

  7. Students should contact the school they are planning to attend to inquire about admission requirements. 

  8. Students must request an official transcript from the other institution for transfer credit evaluation by the ·¬ÇÑÖ±²¥app Admissions Office.

Credit will not be accepted and posted to the Valdosta State University record until an official transcript has been received from the other institution, and all transfer credit requirements have been met as specified in the current ·¬ÇÑÖ±²¥app Bulletin. Credit accepted in transfer will not be calculated into the student's Valdosta State University cumulative grade point average. Credit is not acceptable in transfer for students who are on academic suspension at Valdosta State University without their ·¬ÇÑÖ±²¥app Dean's prior approval. Valdosta State University accepts a maximum of 60 transfer semesters hours from a junior college and a maximum of 90 total semester hours in transfer. In addition, a grade of "C" (average of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale) is required for course credit to be accepted in transfer. Students who have not attended Valdosta State University for over one year must apply for readmission and must satisfy degree requirements as specified in the ·¬ÇÑÖ±²¥app Bulletin current at the time of application.

Academic Advisor Actions for Form 48 (for students in AFROTC)

Students in Air Force ROTC must complete AFOATS form 48, Academic Plan.  This form plans out the remaining time a student has in college to ensure that he/she will graduate from ·¬ÇÑÖ±²¥app on schedule.  Initially, an AFROTC faculty member, the cadet, and the academic advisor are required to sign and date the top part of the form.  Each subsequent semester, the academic advisor the signs and dates the form below the list of courses ensuring that the student is still on track for graduation.