Something to Think About GLY 4200C, Fall 2012

Mineralogy Prerequisites Mineralogy has prerequisites of 1 semester of college chemistry, and 1 year of college physics Unfortunately, the BANNER system does no handle the prerequisites correctly, so many students register without sufficient background

Results in 2011 18 students started the course in the Fall of 2012 6 students had the prerequisites, 12 did not 2 of those without prerequisites dropped, losing their tuition Final grades Those with prerequisites averaged B+ Those without prerequisites averaged C-

Physics Physics is not really needed until about the last third of the course Some students are doing well until they hit that material It is too late to drop, and there is little time to bring your skills up to the proper level

Results Students who receive a grade below C will need to repeat the course Some students from last year appear to have left the program Students passing (C or better) often received a grade at least one full grade level below what they were capable of

Graduate School This will make getting in Graduate school much more difficult Students may only be able to get in second or third tier graduate schools Students without M.S. Geology degrees will earn much less money in their careers, and may be trapped in jobs with limited upward mobility

Repeating Courses Repeated courses do not look good on transcripts The cost is high – currently $177.65 per credit hour for residents, or $710.60 for this course Students enrolled in the same undergraduate course more than twice, shall be assessed an additional $163.38 per credit hour charge in addition to the fees above Source: http://www.fau.edu/controller/student_information/tuition_breakdown.php

Success Everyone at FAU wants our students to succeed When you do well, program credibility increases This helps attract more students, and improves funding Students who do poorly, or leave without graduating, have the opposite effect

But I need to graduate by…. When you obtain a grade lower than C, it will probably delay your graduation It your choice, but when you roll the dice, beware the snake-eyes

Advising In order to prevent this type of problem, Geosciences has an advising system I am the advisor for undergraduate Geology students To make an appointment, send your request and your schedule of Free Times for several days after the request date by e-mail to warburto@fau.edu