DEN NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION

AGENDA

Welcome to DEN & USC University calendar Academic policies and procedures Advisement: D-clearance, Placement

Exams MyUSC, OASIS, Web Registration, USC ePay DEN BlackBoard DEN Homework & Exam Policies Contact Information

UNIVERSITY CALENDAR

During the DROP AND ADD period, students may try out courses and change their schedule.

Dropping courses with a FULL REFUND is permitted only till 5pm on the drop/add deadline. See the Registration Calendar for dates and deadlines.

Students may drop courses with a mark of “W” on their transcript till 5pm on the final drop deadline but no refund of tuition will be given after the third week of the semester. See the Registration Calendar for dates and deadlines.

Please see the complete Registration Calendar for a specific term at http://web-app.usc.edu/soc/

ACADEMIC POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

The document of authority is the University Catalogue, online at http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/cat2010/

Students normally follow the Catalogue of their semester of admission to the graduate program, but they are permitted to follow a later Catalogue.

SCampus also contains policies and procedures pertaining to students; go to http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/SCAMPUS/

Students should read and become familiar with the following sections of the University Catalogue:

Graduate and Professional EducationDegree requirements of their specific department and majorPlease refer to the Catalogue Index to find information on

Registration, Academic Standards, Exception Procedures, Transfer Work, Requirements for Graduation, Time Limits, Repetition of Course Work, Continuous Enrollment, Grade Point Average, Leave of Absence, Incompletes, Thesis and Dissertation, Readmission, Residency, Waiver and Substitution of Course Work, Screening and Qualifying Examinations, Guidance Committee, Application for Graduation.

ACADEMIC POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Students must also read and understand departmental materials (print and Web)

The Catalogue supersedes any information contained in any department material.

If there appears to be a difference between department materials and the Catalogue, please ask your departmental advisor, faculty, or the Dean what the correct policy is.

PLEASE ASK if you have any questions! We would rather help you get it right in the beginning than

try to fix it later

ACADEMIC POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

University Catalogue http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/cat2010/

Academic Department Websites Each department website lists program requirements and

important information for students regarding department policies and procedures.

MAPP Website http://mapp.usc.edu/mastersprograms/degreeprograms/index.ht

ml

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

Academic advisement procedures vary from department to department

Admitted MS students are advised by department academic advisors

Limited students should contact MAPP

ACADEMIC ADVISEMENT

Students must choose courses that will fulfill their degree requirements

Graduate students may not take courses pass/no pass for degree credit

Graduate students must earn at least a “C” in a course for it to count toward their degree requirements

They should contact their advisor regularly The first semester is critical; doing well is very important. Students must pay attention to course level and take lower

level courses before the higher level courses in a course sequence

This means DO NOT take a prerequisite course AFTER completing the course it is a prerequisite for: EX: ISE 460 is a prereq for ISE 561. If you take ISE 561 and later take ISE

460, ISE 460 will NOT count! MS students must earn at least a 3.0 GPA to graduate from

USC

CHOOSING COURSES AND ACADEMIC ADVISEMENT

Verify your registration appointment time Permit to Register link in OASIS

View and clear any restrictions before you attempt to register. Restrictions (holds) link in OASIS

Contact your academic advisor, if necessary. Contact information for advisors are available at

http://mapp.usc.edu/mastersprograms/currentstudents/AcademicAdvisement.htm

Obtain and “D” class permission and pre-requisite waivers 5-digit section numbers followed by “D” require departmental

clearance/authorization before a student is permitted to register for a specific course.

Pre-requisite waivers vary by department. Please contact your academic advisor or MAPP for help with pre-requisites.

Activate your USC E-mail https://email.usc.edu/

Read the instructions on how to use Web Registration http://www.usc.edu/dept/ARR/registration/webreginstructions.html

THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU REGISTER…

* Your default Password is your 6-digit birthday (mmddyy). This is also your PIN for Web Registration.

** You will be asked to change your default PIN after initial login. Your USC ID and Password/PIN is the same for OASIS & Web Registration.

* If you are unable to login, please contact the MAPP Office.

ONLINE ACADEMIC STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM(OASIS)

www.usc.edu/oasis

Find and activate your

usc email here

USE e-mail is the official and preferred method of communication between USC departments and students. Failure to check your USC email for important notification is not an accepted excuse for missing deadlines, etc.

If you have another email that you check regularly, you can set up your USC e-mail to forward to that account and create filters for unwanted e-mails.

USC E-MAILhttps://email.usc.edu

Login is your USC email

username/pw

MyUSChttps://my.usc.edu

You can access OASIS, Web Registration, e-mail, etc. will a single login.

MyUSChttps://my.usc.edu

• D-Clearance• Anytime a 5-digit course section number ends with a "D", you need to obtain

departmental clearance before you can register for the course. • Login to DEN, go to the D-Clearance Request Form link in located in DEN Tools• You can check the status of your d-clearance request through the D-clearance Status

link in DEN Tools.• After your request has been processed, you can register for the course.• D-clearances expire 5-7 days from when it is issued (depending on the dept.) so

register as soon as you obtain it to secure a seat in a course

• Pre-requisites & Pre-requisite Waivers• Waiver of pre-requisites vary by academic department. Some departments require

students to take the placement exam to waive pre-requisite requirements if the pre-requisite course was not completed at USC. Please contact MAPP to initiate any pre-requisite waiver requests.

• Placement Exams• Certain Electrical Engineering courses require successful completion of placement

exams before students are allowed to register for a course.• Please visit the EE website for placement exam information.• If you take exams remotely, contact the DEN Exams Coordinator.

D-CLEARANCE, PRE-REQUISITES, OR PLACEMENT EXAMS

*If you are unable to login due to “Invalid ID or PIN” please contact the USC Registration Dept. to request a PIN reset.

Your login info is the same for OASIS.

Review this

before you

register.

WEB REGISTRATION www.usc.edu/webregistration

• Reasons why registration transactions fail:• class is closed• d-clearance was not obtained or expired• pre-requisite was not completed or waived• restriction or hold was not removed

• Contact the MAPP Office for assistance.

WEB REGISTRATION www.usc.edu/webregistration

You can also access MyUSC, OASIS, Web Registration, e-mail, etc. from main USC site.

USC websitehttp://www.usc.edu

Verify your registration Registered Course List link in OASIS

Check your billing balance & Settle your tuition USCe.pay/Current Billing Balance link in OASIS DEN Tuition Deferment Program

Check your book list for required textbooks via OASIS or the USC Bookstore Book List link in OASIS You can buy your textbooks from the USC Bookstore or another online retailer of

your choice.

Obtain your USC ID card (optional) A USC ID card identifies you as a currently enrolled student, and also entitles you to various

other privileges and potential uses on and off campus. Obtaining a USC ID card is optional for DEN students.

http://mapp.usc.edu/distanceeducation/documents/ObtainingaUSCIDCard.pdf

Login to DEN and Accept the DEN Terms of Service in DEN Tools to trigger you course links to appear when DEN uploads registration information from the University. Course links will not appear until 2-3 days before the start of the semester.

THINGS TO DO AFTER YOU REGISTER…

Engineering Access Fee This fee creates a UNIX account for off-campus students, providing

access to the University's computing and library services.

Norman Topping Student Aid Fund This fee provides assistance to local area, low income students.

DEN Fee This fee supports DEN's e-learning infrastructure, including

advanced video streaming, note-capture, and interactive tools; staff for handling off-campus student enrollment, advisement and serving as the off-campus student liaison with other USC offices and departments; and exam scheduling and oversight.

Exam Proctoring Fee Because USC exams must be proctored, DEN arranges for off-

campus students to take their exams at certified testing centers. These centers may charge a fee ranging from $25 to $50 for their service.  The centers require payment at the time service is rendered; therefore the student pays this fee directly to the testing center.

TUITION AND FEES

HEALTH INSURANCE

USC requires that ALL students have supplemental health insurance.

You are automatically enrolled in the USC Health Insurance Plan if you are taking 6 or more units

If you already have a health insurance plan, you may be eligible to waive enrollment in the USC Health Insurance Plan by providing proof of comparable coverage. Enrollment may be waived only if documented proof of comparable coverage from another plan is presented to the Student Health Insurance Office and it meets the University’s requirements.

Health Insurance Waiver Waiver Criteria

http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/Health_Center/ins.waiver.criteria.shtml

Waiver Form http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/Health_Center/ins.waiver.form.shtml

Deadline to submit waiver form http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/Health_Center/ins.waiver.criteria.shtml

USCe.pay Pay online through USCe.pay in OASIS or MyUSC.

DEN Tuition Deferment Program The Tuition Deferment Program was established to assist students working in

industry with the "up front" payment of tuition and mandatory fees if their companies reimburse after the semester is over and upon presentation of the final grade. The program only applies to tuition and mandatory fees. This program will also defer the DEN surcharge. Other fees such as parking will not be deferred.

For requirements and information on how to participate, and paperwork deadlines, please refer to the Tuition Deferment Program page in the DEN website.• http://mapp.usc.edu/mastersprograms/tuitionandfees/tuitiondeferment.html

TUITION PAYMENT OPTIONS

ACCESSING YOUR DEN COURSESwww.mapp.usc.edu

* Login to DEN here.

ACCESSING YOUR DEN COURSESwww.uscden.net

* If you do not have a DEN profile, please create one.

DEN BLACKBOARD

My Start PageTab

DEN TOOLS

* The Academic Integrity Tutorial must be completed before you can access your DEN courses.

* The DEN Terms of Service must be accepted every semester before you can access your DEN courses.

* If you move, change jobs, or your contact info changes, please update your info here AND with the University through OASIS.

* If you were previously a Limited student and now have been formally admitted, please update your status.

* Request permission to register in courses that have a “D” after the 5-digit section number & check the status of your request.

Course evaluations can be submitted at the

end of the semester here.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Academic Integrity is extremely important at USC

Penalties for violations at the Master’s level are extremely severe

grade sanctions (e.g., “F” in course) or dismissal

On-line Tutorial You must complete the Academic Integrity Tutorial located in your

DEN Tools in order to access your DEN courses You must PASS the Academic Tutorial or your access to DEN will be

disabled until you pass the tutorial.

If you have any questions about academic integrity issues:

MAPP Office Department Advisor Faculty

SCampus http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/SCAMPUS

DEN BLACKBOARD

•If searching by course, please select the link with the corresponding term. EX: term 20103 is = year 2010 plus•1= Spring•2= Summer•3= Fall) * If you do not see your

courses 2-3 days before the start of the semester, check your registration through OASIS or Accept the DEN Terms of Service in DEN Tools.

Courses Tab

ACCESSING LIVE & ARCHIVED LECTURES

* You’ll find your course documents and posted hw here to download and print for class.

* Link to View Live

lecture and studio call-in number will be posted

here.

* Lectures are archived and available for viewing about 30

min. after the live lecture takes place.

Class notes are enlarged for better viewing; and can be downloaded and printed!

Navigation bar for jumping to different parts of the lecture

Video window and controls

Live chat and threaded discussions open in separate windows from here

Tech Requirements: Cable modem, DSL, T1/T3 or higher & Windows Media Player

DEN’S E-LEARNING SYSTEM

Virtual Meetings & Presentations

Call In During Live Lecture

Live Chat &Threaded Discussion

DEN’S E-LEARNING SYSTEM

HOMEWORK

For off-campus USC DEN students, homework can be submitted via email, fax, or regular mail (if necessary). You may check your submitted homework by logging onto the DEN portal and selecting your course. To do this, you will select the "DEN Homework" link, and then select "Check Submitted Homework.” Similarly to check your graded assignments, click on "Download Graded Homework & Exams.”

Please see http://mapp.usc.edu/distanceeducation/policiesandprocedures.html for more information regarding homework.

EXAMS

DEN's Exams Coordinator will notify students via e-mail of their examination date, time, and location approximately one week before the test. Midterm exam dates will be announced by the course instructor and final exam dates are available through the Schedule of Classes which is available on the University website.

The student is responsible for taking the examination at the time scheduled. No exceptions are permitted. Unforeseen, documented, emergency circumstances which cause a student to miss a scheduled exam will be reviewed on a case by case basis.

For off-campus students who work or reside in Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura counties, examinations will be taken at USC’s main campus on the date and time stated on the course syllabus.

For off-campus students located outside of Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura counties, DEN will arrange for exams to be proctored at local testing centers.

Please see http://mapp.usc.edu/distanceeducation/policiesandprocedures.html for more information on exam procedures.

MAPP Student Handbook

http://mapp.usc.edu/mastersprograms/currentstudents/StudentHandbook.htm

**Please note that the University Catalogue supersedes any information included in this handbook.**

CONTACT INFO

Patty TrinidadStudent Services ManagerMaster’s and Professional Programs (MAPP)213-740-4488ptrinida@usc.edu

Carolyn SuckowDirector, Student AffairsMaster’s and Professional Programs (MAPP)213-740-4488jecks@usc.edu

Websites:MAPP – http://mapp.usc.edu

MAPP Main Office213-740-4488denadmin@usc.edu

Student Affairs213-740-0123studentaffairs@den.usc.edu

Exams Information213-821-3136denexam@usc.edu

Document Support Center(Homework & Course Materials)213-740-9356denhw@usc.edu

Technical Support213-821-1321webclass@usc.edu

THANK YOU!

HAVE A GREAT SEMESTER!FIGHT ON!