Freshman Scheduling

 

Setting up a well-planned course schedule each term is a crucial piece to your academic success, and making sure you have a strong foundation during your first semester is particularly important.

 

Freshman information

The University will tentatively create a schedule for your first semester based on information you provide in your Freshman Scheduling Form, which should be sent to you by the Admissions Office. In that form, you can inform us of any special needs or requests, including time requirements, campus preferences and general education preferences.

You will receive your tentative class schedule at New Student Orientation. Changes can be made to your schedule during and after New Student Registration based on course availability and placement exams.

Your class schedule can be viewed on S.C.O.T.S. as soon as it is constructed. Please be sure to check your class schedule on S.C.O.T.S. the day before classes begin to be sure you have the most up-to-date schedule.

Please note: A class schedule is developed for you only for the first semester. You will be responsible for scheduling your classes for subsequent semesters. Class scheduling for the fall semester begins each April. Class scheduling for the spring semester (and winter session) begins each November. Please be sure to make contact with your academic advisor shortly after you begin classes at Edinboro for help putting together a course of study for future semesters.

Placement tests help the University determine the level at which you should be taking certain courses and if any remedial courses are needed.

Math: A placement test will be given at New Student Orientation to determine the appropriate level of Math for your skill set.

English: A placement is determined based on your SAT or ACT scores. If you did not take the SAT or ACT, you will need to take a placement test at orientation.

Chemistry: An online placement test is required for students who need CHEM 140, General Chemistry, or CHEM 240, Principles of Chemistry I.

In addition to courses in your major, courses are selected from the General Education Core, Skills and Health and Physical Education components. Courses from the Distribution component are generally not selected since these may be upper-level courses not appropriate for a first-semester freshman student.

A typical first semester class schedule contains fifteen credits. By completing fifteen credits each semester in courses that apply toward your major, you should graduate in four years. In some cases, remedial courses (ENGL 010 and MATH 020) are required but do not meet degree requirements. However, they prepare you to be successful in required courses.

Unless you request classes to be scheduled on specific days of the week and times of the day (provided the requests can be accommodated), a typical class schedule will contain courses and their meeting days and times.

Classes are generally offered in the following patterns:

  • Monday, Wednesday, Friday (50-minute period each day)
  • Tuesday, Thursday (75-minute period each day)
  • One day a week usually in the evening or on Saturday (2.5 hours each day)
  • In addition to class periods, each course has a 2-hour final examination intended to provide a culminating experience. The final exam period is the last week of each semester and is preceded by a reading day during which no classes are held.

The First-Year Experience, or Common Hour, program is time reserved in each first-year student's schedule (12:30 - 1:45 p.m. on Tuesdays) for activities designed to help first-year students become successful college learners, such as note-taking skills, time management skills and learning styles. Other Common Hour activities help first-year students become familiar with campus resources, student organizations and the myriad academic majors and career opportunities available to them. Each academic major has dedicated first-year student advisement; the first-year academic advisor assists students in learning about their major and their department, meeting their faculty, navigating the curriculum, understanding certification or licensure requirements where appropriate and becoming acclimated to both PennWest Edinboro and their major.

Contact Us

Office of Records and Registration
Hamilton Hall
210 Glasgow Road
Edinboro, PA 16444
Email: registrar@pennwest.edu
Phone: 814-732-3501
Fax: 814-732-2130

Hours of Operation:
Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.