Calling ALL Juniors! You planning to graduate next year? You SURE?

Juniors only (everybody else can just skip this one):

EDITORIAL NOTE: Thank you VERY MUCH to the reader who reminded me that this process is also a REQUIREMENT for seniors who plan to graduate in December. I knew that - but forgot to mention it in my earlier posting. So all of this applies to current seniors planning to graduate in December 2009, too (thanks again!).

OK, guys: You're about ready to register for classes for your last (final. done. terminal. you get the idea) year of studies at Ithaca College.

You're about to become a senior.

That means you and those who love you are probably assuming that one year from May -- as in May, 2010 -- you will be donning those black robes and marching across campus to pick up that diploma (well, at least you'll be receiving the case that will eventually hold your diploma, once it's confirmed that you've finished all your courses, passed them, and actually completed your degree).

And that is the point of this blog posting (yes, yes, I'm getting to it...hang in there with me).

Here's the thing:

Every year (and I do mean EVERY YEAR), we have what we kindly call the "senior problem list."

That's a collection of the names of the students who somewhere along the way got confused, lazy or just plain silly and didn't enroll in the courses they needed to get that diploma. (Most of them, as it turns out, are those students who never found the time to go see their advisers....go figure.)

Sometimes, we don't find out about those problems until it's too late to fix them. That's a huge hassle for everybody, and a staggering disappointment for family members who have already booked their hotels for graduation weekend (can you imagine having to make one of those phone calls home? Me, either....)

To avoid that problem going forward, we've instituted this year something called the REQUIRED (yes, that means you. Every one of you) JUNIOR AUDIT.

And it has nothing to do with your taxes.

You have recently received an email saying that you MUST fill out a form that confirms that you know which courses you need to take to graduate, and that you know which semesters those courses will be offered (that info is on Homer) - that you have a plan that will ensure your graduation on time.

You can figure that out on your own. OR (and I would recommend this step), you can go to see your adviser BEFORE registration for the fall semester and figure it out together.

But in any case, you need to turn that form in to the Dean's Office -- to Tracy Frenyea, our advising coordinator -- by March 6. Failure to do so could result in all kinds of problems, including a freeze on your registration for the fall.

Questions? Contact Tracy (tfrenyea@ithaca.edu), or stop by our office on the third floor of Park to see her.

See you on graduation day! (And before that, too, of course....)