Student Handbook

Contents

Sources of Information

Your Physics advisor

Your advisor’s job is to assist you with your academic program. Your advisor will help you to set up your Physics or Physics Education course of study and help you to choose the correct courses to take during pre-registration and registration. You should see your advisor whenever you have a question about which courses you should take and when and where you should take them.

Your Physics advisor is Dr. Ken Lindberg. His office is room 128 in the Science Building. Stop by anytime and pick up a Physics or Physics Education curriculum and graduation checklist (sometimes called a balance sheet). Make sure you give your advisor your contact information such as your phone number, home and email addresses.

Important notices, job and internship notices, and links to other useful web sites will be forwarded to you if your email address is on record.

BCU Catalog

The Bethune-Cookman College Catalog is your official source for college information. Get a copy from the Admissions Office if you don’t already have one.
You can download the Catalog in pdf format from http://www.cookman.edu/subpages/Catalog.asp. The file is about 14MB so be prepared to wait a while for the download. Using Adobe Acrobat Reader you can execute text searches to find information. This is much quicker and more comprehensive than using the index in your printed Catalog.

Registrar’s Office

The Registrar’s Office is on the southeast corner of MLK Blvd. and MMB Blvd. Sooner or later you will find yourself needing something from the Registrar’s Office. Find it and visit.

Financial Aid Office

If you have any kind of financial aid, including loans or scholarships, work study or work aid, you will need talk with the folks in the Financial Aid Office.

Check the Catalog for a short list of available financial aid packages.

Start in the Financial Aid Office if you are looking for University supported part-time work. There are two programs, both are very competitive:

Federal Work Study Program (FWS). This program provides jobs for a very limited number of students with financial need who must earn a part of their educational expenses. The Financial Aid Office arranges jobs on campus or off campus with public or private nonprofit agencies. You can apply for work study through the Financial Aid Office.

College Work Aid Program (CWA). University departments may employ student workers who do not qualify for the Federal Work Study Program. Check with the Financial Aid Office to see if you qualify for work aid.

Testing Center

The BCU Testing Office is in Faith Hall room #10.

Center for Information Technology

There CIT offices are in Faith Hall. Enter from the back of the building. Get a free BCU email address from CIT. This is where you go to complain when the network connection in your dorm room is not working.

BCU Web Page

Bookmark this web page: www.cookman.edu. It is your fastest access to University information. You will find links to all of the major administrative and academic departments, links to the Wildcat Web, calendars, faculty web sites, the campus phone book and lots more. Explore this site. It has lots of useful student information.

Wildcat Web

Bookmark this web page: wildcat.cookman.edu/cgi-bin/login.mbr/login. You can find current information about your academic and financial status. You can download an unofficial transcript. (For a small fee you can get an official transcript from the Registrar’s Office.) The Wildcat Web is where you will sign up for courses using online preregistration and registration. In order to access the Wildcat Web you will need your student ID number and your password.

Your Best Friend is Your Worst Advisor

Don’t trust your best friend for academic information. Your best friend usually doesn’t know what he or she is talking about. Trust the Catalog; trust your academic advisor; trust the Registrar; trust those who are paid to know what is going on. Do not trust gossip, rumor, or upper-classmen. Your advisor will help you to set up your course of study and help you to choose the correct courses to take during preregistration and registration. You should see your advisor whenever you have a question about which courses you should take and when and where you should take them.

Physics Department

This program is designed for students who are interested in careers which require an extensive background in Physics. Upon completion of the B.S. degree, the student will met the minimum course requirements for admission to graduate and professional schools.

Freshmen

Block scheduling should place you in math, English, and reading courses. See your advisor immediately if you think you are in the wrong course.
Freshman Courses You Should NOT Take BI 131, MA 131, or MA 132. BI 131 does not count towards graduation for science majors.
The math and English courses you take depend on your scores on the entrance exam. However, Physics majors rarely take MA 131 and should never take MA 132. If you are placed in MA 131, make sure you question the placement. It may be a mistake. MA 131 and MA 132 do not count towards the math requirements for a Physics major. You must take MA 135 and MA 136, or higher.
Do not take both RP 120 and RP 130, only one of them will count towards your RP requirements.
Based on your scores on the entrance exams, you may be placed in pre-college (remedial) courses. These are usually numbered either 110 or 111. These courses do not count towards graduation. However, PE 110, PE 111 and some similarly numbered music courses are not remedial and do count.

Sophomores

Make sure you take CS 230 Programming I, CS 231 Programming II, MA 241 Calculus I, and MA 242 Calculus II.

Junior Courses

Continue taking required courses in computer science, physics, and general education. Try to complete all your general education requirements. You may have problems registering for senior level courses if you still have lower division, general education courses to complete.

Try to find an internship for the summer.

Join the ACM. Student membership is not expensive.

Pass the CLAST! If you do not pass the CLAST or get a waiver, you will not be allowed to register for CS 499 Senior Seminar. This can be a big problem.

Senior Courses

File your degree application early in the fall semester. Pick up the form from the Registrar’s Office.

Register for CS 499 Senior Seminar (assuming you have passed the CLAST).

Prepare for the Senior Comprehensive Examination.

Work hard and make sure you finish your senior project during the semester you take CS 499. The only students who really mess up are the ones who do not complete their senior projects. They usually end up retaking CS 499. Some do not graduate on schedule.

Senior Project

Your project must be useful to someone.
You must have a mentor.
Your project must be approved in writing.
You must complete your project in one semester.
You must present the results in a senior thesis.
You must give an oral presentation of your results. The presentation is open to faculty and students.
You must successfully complete your project in order to pass CS 499.

Senior Comprehensive Exam

You can only take the senior exam if you are enrolled in CS 499.
The exam questions are usually taken from the final exams given in CS and CIS courses.
This is a pass/fail exam.
You cannot pass CS 499 unless you pass this exam.

Credit by Examination (CLEP)

The CS Department does not offer credit by examination courses.

Independent Study

The CS Department strongly discourages independent study.

Typical CS Course Sequence

Table 1 lists a typical sequence of courses leading a bachelor’s degree in computer science. The table also shows you when these courses are taught. Be careful when planning your schedule. Very few upper level CS or CIS courses are taught more often than once a year.

Graduation Checklist / Balance Sheet

Table 2, the CS graduation checklist, which is often called a “balance sheet”, is used by you and by your advisor to check off the courses that you pass in order chart your progress towards graduation with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science. The table lists each course requirement, credit hours, and a check off space for you to enter the grade achieved in the course. This table is also used to list transfer credits or alternative courses used to meet the requirements. Course titles shown are abbreviated and may not match the exact course titles.

There are a total of 125 credit hours listed. You need at least 124 hours to graduate.

Electives and Common Course Substitutions

CS or CIS elective: Any 300 or 400 level CS or CIS course

CS, CIS, MA or CH elective: Any 300 or 400 level CS, CIS, or MA course; CIS Internship; or CH 141 or higher.

English: EN 131 and EN 132, or EN 141 and EN 142

Free Elective: This means any course.

General Education Elective: BA 130, CJ 131, HI 131, HI 132, HI 230, HI 231, HI 232, INT 131, PS 230, POL 130, SO 131, SS 130, SS 210, and SS 220. These are freshman level courses.

RP Elective: RP 235, RP 330, RP 335, RP 337, RP 338, RP 339, RP 341

Reading: RE 260 or RE 261

Differences Between CIS and CS and MIS

Table 3 compares the CS and the CIS curricula. The courses in gray are the same for both majors. Study this table carefully if you plan on changing your major from CS to CIS, or vice versa.

The Department of Business Administration offers a degree program leading to a Bachelor of Science with concentration in Management Information System (MIS). MIS majors take the core business administration courses and the following CS/CIS courses: CS 135, CS 330, CIS 331, CIS 332, and CIS 431. Note that it takes more hours to get a CIS Minor (18 hours) than it does to get an MIS concentration (15 hours).

Also note that the curriculum we call “Computer Information Systems” is often called “Management Information Systems” at other colleges and universities. There is no universally agreed upon CIS/MIS curriculum or name for such a program.

Computer Labs

CS majors have free, unlimited use of three computer labs in the Science Building: the DOD lab in S102, the CS lab in S130, and the Mickens lab in S116. You also have free use of the computers in the Library. There are lots of other computer labs on campus. Most of these labs are reserved for students in particular academic programs. You may or may not be able to use them. The only way to find out is to ask each lab manager for an account. If you get one, then good for you. If you get an account, make sure you obey the rules. Remember that food and drink are not allowed in any of the campus labs.

Careers in CS

Give serious consideration to pursuing graduate work if your GPA is in the B+ or higher range. A graduate degree significantly widens your range of professional opportunities, future advancement, and salary base. The additional time required to earn a graduate degree in computer science, computer information systems, or management information systems will quickly pay off.

You may decide to look for a job after graduation. These days, even the smallest businesses use computers to manage operations and information. Your computer information systems preparation will be useful almost anywhere. Large corporations maintain large information technology (IT) departments. You should be able to find an appropriate professional position in any IT department. If you want to get a quick sense of the job market, pick up the Sunday edition of any newspaper from a major metropolitan area and look through the job notices. You will find out very quickly what is currently in demand.

To succeed in this type of work, you need to enjoy it. You do not need to like all of it, but you do need to find areas of specialization that you are good at and that you enjoy doing. Areas of specialization that you are prepared to do for a living on a long term basis. Change your major if you do not enjoy the work in your computer oriented courses. Change your major if you cannot get the hang of it—meaning that your grades are C’s and D’s, not A’s and B’s.

There are many sites on the Internet that discuss career planning. These sites discuss job profiles; including expected pay ranges, job requirements, educational preparation, duties and expectations, psychological profiles, and on and on. You can start with the following site:

The Occupational Information Network (O*NET). Developed for the US Department of Labor by the National O*NET Consortium. This is a good place to explore professions. You can find out job requirements, pay scales, personality fits, and so on. For instance, do you want to know what a Systems Analyst does and whether or not it looks like something you might want to do? URLs: online.onetcenter.org and onet.rti.org

Map Your Future. Find out how to choose a career and how to reach your career goal. Pick up tips on job hunting, resume writing, and job interviewing techniques. URL: www.mapping-your-future.org/planning

Occupational Outlook Handbook. The Occupational Outlook Handbook describes what workers do on the job, working conditions, the training and education needed, earnings, and expected job prospects in a wide range of occupations. URL: www.bls.gov/oco

MonsterTrak Job Search. Find jobs and internships, post your resume, etc. URL: www.monstertrak.monster.com

Peterson’s. Search on financial aid, colleges, career services, graduate programs, resume assistance, etc. URL: www.petersons.com

Internships

The Department of Computer Science strongly supports student internships. An internship is how you find out what it is like to work in the real world. You will usually do an internship during your sophomore or junior summer semester for which you will receive 6 credit hours applied to the CS/CIS/MA/CH required elective. Additional internships after the first one will receive credit as free electives. The number of credit hours for an internship is negotiated between your advisor and your internship supervisor. After the internship is approved by your advisor, an internship course, either CS 390 or CS 490, is added to next semester’s schedule. You will then register for the course. Yes, you have to register and pay for the course, just like any other course. Your advisor will usually expect you to email weekly reports on your internship. When your internship is over, your advisor and your internship supervisor will agree on a final grade for your internship course.

The inside front cover of this handbook lists several Internet sites that are good starting points for an internship search. Your advisor’s web site maintains this list and often adds new sites. Check it out.

Professional Organizations

Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) www.acm.org. The ACM has lots of student oriented programs and student membership is not very expensive. You should join. Even if you do not join the national ACM, you should join the BCU Student Chapter of the ACM. Get connected.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) www.ieee.org/portal/index.jsp. This is the other major professional organization of computing professionals. They also have lots of student oriented programs. We do not have a local student chapter.

National Technical Association (NTA) www.ntaonline.org. This is an organization of Black technical professionals.

General Academic Information

Student Classification

Freshman 0 - 27 credit hours

Sophomore 28 - 57 credit hours

Junior 58 - 91 credit hours

Senior 92+ credit hours

Change Your Major

You can change your major anytime. Get a change of major form from the Registrar’s Office. Fill out the top part, ask your current advisor and your new advisor to sign the form, and then return it to the Registrar’s Office.

Block Scheduling (Freshman)

Freshman students are block registered for their first semester at BCU. Freshman students are not allowed to drop any course during their first semester of enrollment. The only way to get block scheduling problems fixed is through the Division of General Studies.

Continuous Enrollment

Students must be continuously enrolled in English, mathematics, reading, and freshman seminar until these course are passed with a C or better. For CS majors, this means you must be continuously enrolled in one of EN 112, EN 131, EN 132, and in one of MA 112, MA 131, MA 135, MA 136, and in RE 112 or RE 260, and in GE 110 or GE 111. See your advisor if this seems confusing. The only way to get around this is if the classes are full and you cannot get an override.

Overrides

An override is a form used to get you into a class that is closed or that you cannot register for (e.g., you may not have completed the prerequisites for a class). You can get an override form from most of the division offices. The instructor for the class you are trying to get into must sign the override form before you try to get any other signatures. After you get the instructor’s signature you will then need the Head of the Department’s signature. Your advisor cannot give you an override for any course.

Recommendation Letters

Most of your instructors will write recommendation/reference letters if you have done well in their courses—this means B+ or A. Instructors do not like to write letters for poor students. Instructors will not lie for you.

You absolutely must ask permission before you list someone as a reference. Make sure the person you ask is willing to give you a good recommendation. If not, ask someone else. You should trust your reference enough so that you can check off the confidentiality statement. If not, ask someone else!

Provide your reference with a description of the position (scholarship or internship) that you are applying for. They need to know what to write about.

You should give your reference at least two weeks notice. Do not expect an overnight recommendation letter.

References are usually either online or mailed. If the recommendation letter is to be mailed, then you should provide your reference with an addressed, stamped envelope. Do not put a return address on the envelope.

Transfer Credits

Discuss with your advisor any plans you have to take classes off campus. Your advisor will want to look at the Course Catalog from the other college in order to make sure the courses you want to take match with courses at BCU. Pick up a Transfer of Credit form from the Registrar’s Office. Your advisor will complete the course substitution part of the form. Then you need to get several signatures (mostly a formality). This is the only way to guarantee that the courses you take will be used to meet your graduation requirements!

You cannot take courses at a junior college that will substitute for upper level courses (300 or 400 level courses). Do not count on taking upper level courses during the summer. Most upper level computer science courses are not taught in the summer, anywhere. Do not take programming courses in the wrong language.

Grading Scale

The computer science department generally follows the University’s grading scale:

A = 90 ‑ 100, B = 80 ‑ 89, C = 70 ‑ 79, D = 60 ‑ 69, F = 0 ‑ 59.

There is one peculiarity to this scale. If you do not turn in an assignment, you will get a zero (0), not an F. If you think this is not a big deal, consider how many A’s you need in order to average a single zero to a passing grade. For instance, suppose turn in four out of five assignments and get a 95 on each of the four. Your average is:

76 = (0 + 95 + 95 + 95 + 95) / 5

This means that four solid A’s and a zero average to a middle C. More realistically, A-students do not usually miss assignments. So let’s assume you are a C-student. How many C’s (say, 75’s) do you need in order to average one zero grade to a passing average? Give up? It takes 14. Most courses do not have anywhere near 15 assignments. This means that if you miss one assignment it may not be possible for you to achieve a passing grade on the homework component of your grade.

Dropping a Course

You can drop any course unless you are a freshman covered by block scheduling, or you are trying to drop one of the courses covered by continuous enrollment. You can only drop during the two thirds of the semester. If you get a poor midterm grade you can drop the course. The last day to drop a course is about a month before the last day of class. Look it up and pay attention to this deadline. You can get a drop/add form from the Registrar. Take it to your advisor for a signature and return it to the Registrar.

Your instructor can drop you from a course for nonattendance on the midterm grade sheet. The only reason for dropping a student is for nonattendance. However, your instructor is not required to drop you if you do not attend class. After midterm grades are turned in, your instructor cannot drop you.

Incompletes

An incomplete grade usually means that you did not complete a significant amount of the coursework during the semester and that you have six weeks into the next semester to complete the work and remove the incomplete. An incomplete that is not removed by the sixth week will automatically convert to an F. You should meet with your instructor during the first week of class to negotiate the process for removing the incomplete. If you wait too long, you are liable to be told that it is too late. Your instructor has no obligation to baby-sit someone who is too irresponsible to finish work on time.

CLAST

Students must take and pass four subsections of the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) or qualify for the CLAST Exemption prior to graduation. The four sections are math, reading, essay, and English language skills. The CLAST is administered only three times a year.

Students who meet the CLAST Exemption requirements must complete the CLAST Exemption Application form and return it to the BCU Testing Office in Faith Hall room #10.

There is also a CLAST waiver process for waiving one subtest. Go to the Testing Center in Faith Hall room #10 to see if you meet the requirements.

If you take the CLAST and do not pass one or more sub-tests, you will be enrolled (no choice) in GE 280 Communication/Computation Seminar for a prep course on the CLAST sub-test(s) you failed.

Academic Load

You are a full-time student if you are taking 12 or more credit hours. A full-time student normally carries 12 to 17 hours per semester. Students on academic probation are limited to 14 hours per semester. If you take more than 17 hours you will be charged extra for the overload. You will need at least a 3.0 GPA during the previous semester and approval from the Vice President for Academic Affairs to take more than 19 hours.

Be careful about taking fewer than 12 hours. You will probably lose your financial aid if you become a part-time student.

Dress code

Bethune-Cookman University has a University-wide dress code. Hats, caps, and do-rags are not to be worn inside and certainly not inside the classroom. You are expected to dress appropriately for a college or university instructional setting. Some instructors enforce the dress policy more rigidly than others. If your instructor considers your dress inappropriate, you may be asked to leave the class. If you are asked to leave, you should apologize, leave, change your clothes, and then return. Do not make a big issue out it. You will lose. Remember who gives you a grade at the end of the semester.

The following types of clothing and other items are not be allowed in classrooms, at University sponsored activities, in any University buildings including the cafeteria, or on the University campus grounds:

Clothing or accessories that contain obscene or profane expressions or condone or sanction violence; jewelry in the form or shape of drugs or drug paraphernalia; clothing, jewelry or other accessories with pictures of drugs or drug paraphernalia, or with expressions that condone or sanction the use of drugs; clothing which is sexually explicit or suggestive; clothing which expresses any form of ethnic degradation; and clothing, jewelry, and so forth, which tends to disrupt the educational process [BCU Catalog].

Persons who continually dress in a manner inconsistent with the University dress policy may be subjected to disciplinary measures as expressed in the BCU Student Handbook.

Cell Phones and Beepers

A cell phone or beeper that rings during class is very disruptive. Using a cell phone during class is a sign of disrespect for your instructor and fellow students. Turn cell phones and beepers off before class. Leave them home if you are incapable of turning them off. You will be asked to leave class if you continue to disrupt the class.

Disruptive Student Policy

A disruptive student will be asked to leave the classroom. An instructor will not engage in a showdown with a disruptive student. The instructor will leave the classroom, call security, and the student will be forcibly removed from the classroom, dropped from the class, placed on probation, and possibly expelled. If you are asked to leave a classroom, then apologize and leave. You cannot win in a confrontation with an instructor. If you think you can, then you do not belong in college—you are not smart enough.

Emergency Dismissal Policy

For violation of one offense, a student may be sent home. For violation of two more offenses, a student will be sent home:

Excessive class absences. Six absences are considered excessive. Students should also note that a letter will be sent to parents of those students who have six or more absences from a class.
Receiving failures or “F” grades in three courses, at mid semester.
Disruptive classroom or campus behavior.
Excessive absences from mandatory tutorial classes. Four absences are considered excessive.

Table 1. CS Typical Plan of Study

Table 2. CS Graduation Checklist

You must earn a C or better in the following General Education courses:

EN 131 English I 3_____ MA 136 Trigonometry 3_____

EN 132 English II 3_____ RE 260 or RE 261 3_____

MA 135 Pre-Calc 3_____ SC 230 Speech 3_____

You must earn a passing grade in the following General Education courses:

BI 141 Physics I 4_____ RP 120 or RP 130 3_____

GE 110 Freshman Seminar 1_____ RP 339 Logic 3_____

GE 111 Prof. Seminar 1_____ PE 111 or 112 1_____

EN 250 Technical Writing 3_____ PE 111 or 112 1_____

HI 130 African Am. Hist. 3_____ General Ed elective 3_____

HU 231, 232, 233, or 234 3_____ Free elective 3_____

ML 131 foreign language I 3_____ Free elective 3_____

ML 132 foreign language II 3_____ Free elective 3_____

You must earn a passing grade in the following Science courses:

MA 241 Calculus I 4_____ PH 251 Lab 1_____

MA 242 Calculus II 4_____ PH 252 Physics II 3_____

PH 251 Physics I 3_____ PHL 252 Lab 1_____

You must earn a C or better in the following required courses:

CS 135 Logic 3_____ CS 436 Prog. Languages 3_____

CS 230 Programming I 3_____ CS 437 Digital Circuits 3_____

CSL 230 Lab 1_____ CSL 437 Lab 2_____

CS 231 Programming II 3_____ CS 438 Architecture 1_____

CSL 231 Lab 1_____ CS 499 Senior Seminar 3_____

CS 332 Computer Org. 3_____ CS, CIS elective 3_____

CS 333 Data Structures 3_____ CS, CIS elective 3_____

CS 330 Databases 3_____ CS, CIS, CH, or MA elective 3_____

CS 335 Discrete Structures 3_____ CS, CIS, CH, or MA elective 3_____

CS 433 Operating Systems 3_____

Table 3. Differences Between CIS and CS

Quick Reference Web Sites

BCU Home Page – www.cookman.edu

BCU Wildcat Web – wildcat.cookman.edu/cgi-bin/login.mbr/login

BCU CS/CIS Advisor – www.cookman.edu/faculty/clayton

Occupational Outlook Handbook – www.bls.gov/oco

Occupational Information Network – onet.rti.org

MonsterTrak Job Search – www.monstertrak.monster.com

Peterson’s – www.petersons.com

Map Your Future – www.mapping-your-future.org/planning

ACM Career Resource Centre – campus.acm.org/crc

Black Excel scholarship gateway – www.blackexcel.org

Energy Department – www.scied.science.doe.gov/scied/erulf/about.html

Internships in science – www.science.gov/internships/undergrad.html

Oak Ridge Institute for Science Ed – http://www.orau.gov/orise.htm

Oak Ridge internships – www.orau.gov/orise/edu/uggrad/undergrads.htm

UNCF scholarships and internships – www.uncf.org/scholarship

Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) – www.acm.org

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) – www.ieee.org/portal/index.jsp

National Technical Association (NTA) – www.ntaonline.org

Daytona Beach Community College – www.dbcc.cc.fl.us

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – www.db.erau.edu

Flagler College – www.flagler.edu

Keiser College – www.keisercollege.edu/daytona.htm

Rollins College – www.rollins.edu

Stetson University – www.stetson.edu/home

University of Central Florida – www.ucf.edu

Florida A&M University – www.famu.edu

University of Florida – www.ufl.edu

University of West Florida – www.uwf.edu/uwfMain

University of South Florida – www.usf.edu/default

Florida State University – www.fsu.edu

Florida International University – www.fiu.edu/choice.html

Florida Gulf Coast University – www.fgcu.edu

Google search site – www.google.com

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