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Advising Procedures and Policies

Advising Procedures and Policies

Jun 17, 2020


Initial Advising

When you were admitted to the Department of Special Education you were assigned an Academic Adviser. As mentioned previously, this is a faculty member from the concentration area in which you plan to primarily focus your study. Advising for the fall semester occurs at orientation. You must make an appointment with the faculty member who has been assigned as your Academic Adviser to broadly plan your Master’s coursework and to specifically discuss your POW.

Registration and Advising

During each registration and advising period, you must schedule a meeting with your Academic Adviser to be advised for coursework to be taken the following semester. An advising bar is placed on all students’ registration each semester and remains in effect until advising is completed. This means that you will not be allowed access to the registration process until this bar is removed.Your Academic Adviser must indicate approval of the coursework by signing the I Have Been Advised Form. Once the signed form has been submitted to the Graduate Program Administrator, your registration bar will be lifted and you will be allowed to register. (Note: Instructions on how to register can be found at http://registrar.utexas.edu/schedules.)

Advising Checklist

International students: If you have a J-bar on your registration, complete the English Skills Screening. Take the results of this screening with you to your advising meeting and provide a copy to the Graduate Program Administrator in SZB 306 for your files. 

Visit the Registrar's website at www.utexas.edu/student/registrar/schedules/ or view the current Course Schedule online for a listing of course offerings and specific registration instructions.

Schedule an appointment with your Academic Adviser. 

Obtain a Master’s I Have Been Advised Form. Be sure to update your mailing address and other contact information on this form.

In consultation with your Academic Adviser (and the certification officer, if applicable), design your Program of Work and determine which courses you will need to take during the upcoming semester.

Complete the I Have Been Advised Form for the following semester. When enrolling in independent study or practicum/internship courses, you must fill in the name of the faculty member who has agreed to supervise you.

Have your Academic Adviser sign the word version of the “I Have Been Advised” form. Ensure that you also sign the form at the bottom.

Submit the I Have Been Advised Form electronically to the Graduate Program Administrator.

The Graduate Program Administrator will lift your advising bar and, assuming you have no other bars, you will be allowed to register during your next scheduled access period.

Important: You must confirm your registration even if your fee-bill is zero. Failure to complete this step will result in your registration being cancelled!

About the I Have Been Advised Form 

  1. I Have Been Advised Forms are color-coded differently for master’s and doctoral students, and marked for each semester; please make sure you have the correct version of the form for the semester of registration.
  2. Fill out the top portion of the form each semester; the Department uses this information to contact you in case of questions or changes in the course schedule, or your registration.
  3. Because course numbers are associated with a variety of topics, be sure to write in the course title as well as the unique number.
  4. If you are taking an independent study course, report, or thesis, please write in the name of the faculty member who has agreed to supervise you. For grading purposes, this name is important to include
  5. Your Academic Adviser must sign this form and you must return this form electronically to the Graduate Program Administrator before the Graduate Program Administrator can clear your registration bar.

Ongoing Advisement

In addition to meeting with your Academic Adviser to complete the Program of Work, there are several reasons and benefits to meeting with your Academic Adviser on an ongoing basis:

  • Your relationship with your Academic Adviser is the foundation for a successful Master’s experience. This is the individual who may (though not necessarily) serve in a variety of roles in your program, including thesis/report supervisor;
  • Your Academic Adviser can assist you in becoming familiar with the program, the department, and other university resources;
  • Your Academic Adviser represents you at Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) meetings for any matters concerning your degree plan that must go before the GSC.

What is a ‘J’ Bar? (for New International Students)

Some international students may have a departmental condition placed on their admission to the graduate program, which requires that they complete an English Skills Screening within their first semester of coursework at The University of Texas. A J-bar is placed on certain international students' records to require them to go through English screening before they can register for classes. In order to remove a J-bar, international students must go through English screening. This is done by ESL Services in the International Office. This screening is done anytime that the International Office is open for new international student check in.

The screening consists of a 30-minute essay and a 15-minute oral interview. After the screening is done, the results are discussed with the students and they are informed whether or not there is a requirement for further coursework in English. If English classes are required, then information on those classes is provided to the students, and a copy of the requirement is sent to the students' individual departments.

Based on the results of the screening and the recommendations of the International Office, the student’s Academic Adviser may require completion of the appropriate ESL course(s) or courses related to academic communication and writing offered by the Graduate School. Such courses are considered prerequisites and do not count toward the Master’s degree.

Important: If requirements for additional English coursework are not fulfilled, the J-bar will appear again for the following semester.

What is Admission with Conditions?

Some students may be admitted to the Master’s program with conditions. According to the Graduate Catalog, the Graduate Studies Committee:

May require the student to maintain a certain grade point average or to take a certain number of semester hours of coursework. A conditionally admitted student may also be required to remedy deficiencies in undergraduate preparation by taking upper-division or graduate courses. The Graduate Adviser notifies the student of these conditions at the time of admission. A student who does not fulfill the conditions within the specified time may be barred from subsequent registration in the Graduate School. If the student changes his or her major before the conditions have been fulfilled, the conditions remain in effect unless the Graduate Adviser for the new program, on behalf of the Graduate Studies Committee, petitions the graduate dean and receives approval for them to be changed.

If any conditions were placed on your admission, please make sure that your Academic Adviser and the Graduate Adviser are informed when you have fulfilled these requirements, so that the appropriate procedures may be initiated to remove your conditional status.

Changing Your Academic Adviser

When you were admitted to the Master’s program, you were assigned an Academic Adviser in your area of concentration, based on information about your career interests and/or faculty availability. The Academic Adviser typically also assumes other roles such as thesis/report supervisor. Should you decide to change your Academic Adviser, you must follow the steps below:

  • Identify the faculty member in your concentration area who will serve as your new Academic Adviser, and make sure that s/he is willing to serve in this role;
  • Inform your current Academic Adviser of the proposed change;
  • Submit your request by completing the “Change of Academic Adviser” form (available from the Graduate Program Administrator). This form requires that you obtain signed consent from both faculty members involved;
  • The Graduate Adviser will review your request, consult with your current and proposed advisers, and confirm the change.

Transfer to Another Concentration in the Department

Once they are in the Master’s program, a few students discover that their professional interests may be more suitably addressed in another concentration area within the Department. Requests for a change in concentration should be made only after careful thought and discussion with your current Academic Adviser and other mentors as such a change signifies a considerable shift in your emphasis in the program. It can also affect course requirements and the total number of credit hours required to obtain the Master’s degree. Before you take any formal steps to change your concentration, be sure that you thoroughly understand the impact of the change on your Program of Work and degree requirements, and that you have identified a faculty member in your proposed concentration area who is willing to serve as your Academic Adviser and mentor. All requests for a change in concentration are subject to review and approval by the faculty in the proposed area; change to a new area is contingent on space availability in the new concentration area.

Students who wish to request a change in concentration should submit the following materials to the Graduate Coordinator:

  1. A Request for “Change in Concentration” form;
  2. A revised personal goals statement explaining the rationale for the change; and
  3. A current transcript of Master’s courses completed to-date (may be unofficial, available from the Graduate Coordinator).

Once area faculties have reviewed the request, a recommendation will be made to the Graduate Adviser and the student will be notified of the decision. A revised Master’s Program of Work should be sent electronically to the Graduate Program Administrator as soon as possible with any changes resulting from the change in concentration. Students are expected to complete all degree requirements related to their new concentration area in order to graduate from the Master’s program.

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