BACS and BSCS Advising before Course Registration (Fall 2024)

  1. New Process for Advising for BACS and BSCS Majors during Fall 2024
  2. Holds on your Registration
  3. Important Dates
  4. Who to See for Certain Kinds of Advising or Help

New Process for Advising for BACS and BSCS Majors during Fall 2024

The CS department is using a new process for advising BACS and BSCS majors before course registration for Spring 2025 begins. We first used this process in Spring 2024, and we’re using it again in Fall 2024. In the past every student was required to see their faculty advisor to get their registration hold released. But now things are different, so please read the following carefully.

Holds on your Registration

You may have a department advising hold that must get removed before you can register. You may have a hold added by someone other than CS (e.g. financial aid) that will stop you registering. Important: you must take are of all holds before your sign-up time, as CS courses fill up very quickly and a delay in signing up can have a serious impact.

New! Some students will have their CS department advising holds removed automatically by October 18 without needing to see their advisor. Each CS major will be in one of three groups:

  • Newly-declared BACS majors: BACS majors who declared after 3/1/2024 must see your faculty advisor before you’re allowed to register for fall courses.
  • Newly-declared BSCS majors: BSCS majors who declared in Spring or Summer should have already met with an advisor by now. You will not have a hold, but please see one of our advising staff or your faculty advisor if you have questions before you register for fall courses.
  • Students needing extra support: Some majors have been identified as needing some extra support through advising. We are emailing these students, who will need to meet with one of the department advising staff (SJ Jimenez or Sheri Grimes) before they can register.
  • All other students will have their hold removed automatically by October 18 without needing to see their advisor. But, these students are encouraged to see their advisor or get assistance from another source, as appropriate. See below for more info!

You can see your CS Faculty Advisor’s Availability

Important Dates

  • Friday, October 18 – Courses for Spring 2025 are listed on SIS
  • Friday, October 18 - CS majors who will have holds that wil be automatically dropped should see this reflected in SIS (but not before this date)
  • Friday, October 25 – Shopping Cart opens in SIS and enrollment appointments for Spring 2025 are visible
  • Monday, November 4 – Undergraduate Enrollment begins for Spring 2025

Who to See for Certain Kinds of Advising or Help

Many majors assume their faculty advisor is the best person to answer every kind of question, but that’s not often the case. UVA and CS have specialized opportunities for getting help, as described below. Also, see our main page on advising about getting help about a particular issue.

  • CS department’s Advising Staff, SJ Jimenez and Sheri Grimes: SJ and Sheris are staff in CS who take the lead on supporting students with advising questions and helping the department better meet student needs. Students can contact them if they have particularly tricky issues (even those associated with “life” issues rather than academics). If they is not the person to handle your problem, they can get you to the right person. SJ is in Rice 420 with walk-in office hours posted on the door, or email smj4z@virginia.edu. Sheri is in Rice 425, with email prk2zq@virginia.edu
  • CS student Ambassadors: These are students CS has hired and trained to help provide advising information. They can give a “student view” and know to whom to direct any questions they can’t answer. They’re available at the walk-in table in the 4th floor Rice Hall common area for most of the day Monday-Friday.
  • Your CS Faculty Advisor: CS faculty can talk to you about the field of computing in general, especially areas of advanced study or research. If you’re thinking about research or grad school, they’re a great resource. And if you’re just looking to make a personal connection with a faculty member, don’t hesitate to visit them during office hours etc. to say hello or just to talk. And if you have a question they can’t answer, they’ll know who you can contact. You can find when your faculty advisor will be available on this page: CS Faculty Advisor Availability
  • The BACS or BSCS Program Director: The Program Directors in CS can help with more complex issues beyond the “routine”, including those require coordination with the Deans office or other departments.
  • Questions about General Education Requirements?
    • For BACS majors, your Advising Dean (formerly called Association Dean) is the one to ask about general education requirements, not anyone in the CS department.
    • For SEAS majors, if one of the CS resources listed here can’t help, contact Jesse Rogers, Undergrad Registrar.
  • Career, Job, Internship issues: All our majors have access to the Engineering Career Development Center. They’re the experts hired to help computing students with all that! They have Drop-In Hours: Tuesday - Thursday 1:30 - 3:00pm, Thornton Hall A-Wing
  • Other things, like rooms, SIS issues, or you just don’t know: CS has a large staff who solve can help with many things or can forward to the right person! cs-office@virginia.edu
  • Search this website! You’re on the CS Advising website, which has a ton of answers and helpful info. Use the search bar at the top of each page if the links on the left don’t help you find what you need.
    • In particular, see the page Getting Help / Advising which has info about study abroad, SDAC, transfer courses, etc.