The First-Year Testing, Counseling, & Advising Program
The First-Year Testing, Counseling and
Advising Program (FTCAP), conducted by Penn State's Division of Undergraduate
Studies (DUS), assists new, first-year students in evaluating their educational
plans by providing them, prior to initial registration, with a comprehensive
program of testing and individualized educational planning and academic
advising. This program is the first stage of academic advising, and provides
students with an understanding of their scholastic preparation, academic
abilities, and educational and professional interests, and introduces them to
the academic structure and degree programs of the University.
The testing component of FTCAP is used for
educational planning and academic advising purposes, to determine a student's
appropriate starting levels in English, mathematics, and chemistry course
sequences, and for basic skills purposes. The testing component involves
approximately 3½ hours or less of the student's time. Testing is now done on-line
and must be completed before coming to campus. You should receive information
in the mail.
The educational planning and academic
advising component of the program provides students and families with an
understanding of each student's academic preparation and abilities as compared
to other Penn State students through the Profile of Academic Abilities. The
advising component of FTCAP also provides to each student an individual
interview with a FTCAP adviser in order to discuss the student's educational
plans. The program also familiarizes students and families with the wide range
of degree programs available at Penn State, acquaints them with the campus and
some of its procedures, and helps students to select courses for their first
semester of study.
For further information please review the
FTCAP site
WHAT TO EXPECT AT FTCAP
The goal of FTCAP is to provide you with some of
the information needed to make academic plans/decisions, to discuss these plans
with an academic advisor, and to develop your summer or fall course schedule.
An agenda for the day has or will shortly be mailed to you.
This will explain the times and locations for various sessions. However, we
hope to provide you with information which can make your day flow smoother.
The day will begin with registration and photo id. You may want
to take time to "look good" for your photo which is similar to a drivers license
photo. You will need to bring a photo id with you in order to obtain a PSU id
( school id, drivers license, etc).
You will view a video which introduces you to the academic
structure, opportunities, and responsibilities of Penn State students.
You will receive a copy of your "placement actions". These are
the results of the testing you did in English, Mathematics, and Chemistry.
You will then attend either an Individual Educational Planning Session with
an academic advisor or an
Academic Information Session in one of the computer labs. The groups will
reverse for the next session.
In the educational planning session an advisor will review your placement
results with you, discuss your choice(s) of majors, discuss your strengths and
weaknesses with regard to your academic choices, and possibly make other
recommendations.
In the Academic Information Session you will change your computer password and
begin to learn more about the academic structure of Penn State. You will also
learn how to read a schedule of classes, build a schedule, and enter the
schedule on e-Lion.
In the afternoon you will meet with an advisor(s) from your college or
enrollment unit. They will review the structure of the college they represent,
discuss enrollment controls if applicable, and assist you in developing your
schedule of classes. You will then go to the computer lab and enter your
schedule through e-Lion. Finally, you will go to the Registrar's Office, turn
in the registration worksheet, and obtain a copy of your schedule. We also ask
that you complete the program evaluation regarding the days activities.
Families, you will attend the video session. Throughout the day you will
participate in a family Academic Information Session, a session with Student
Affairs, and a panel discussion with staff from several offices presenting
pertinent information.
There are a few things you can do before you arrive to
make the afternoon go smoother.
This tutorial will help to
prepare you for your FTCAP day on campus. Please work your way through the
tutorial and bring the results with you on FTCAP day, along with a copy of the
"Rainbow Sheets" discussed later on this page.
Next, do you know what major
you want? If not, try some of these assessment tools to begin developing
ideas about majors.
Major Decisions
You may also want to look at
all the majors offered at
Penn State University.
The issue of majors is an important one because of
Enrollment Controls. Enrollment controls are imposed on some majors. They specify that
certain courses must be completed and a specified grade point average must be
met for certain majors or a student will not be admitted to the major. For
these majors, the admission time is in the Spring semester of the Sophomore
year. Missing the timeline and requirements can mean never being admitted to
the controlled major. More information will be provided at FTCAP. The
Enrollment Controls can change each year, however, whatever controls are placed
on your pool (Spring of Sophomore year, for you Sp07 pool) are the ones you live
with.
Next, look at
course sequencing suggestions.
Not all colleges or majors provide course
sequencing suggestions; if that is the case for your chosen college/major then
refer to the degree bulletin. Also, these suggestions are just that,
suggestions. For a number of reasons students may not or should not follow the
suggested sequencing. If you cannot find a
suggested course sequencing for your major look at the
Baccalaureate Degree Programs
Bulletin (Bluebook) or
Associates Degree
Programs Bulletin for a description of courses needed for your major.
Now would be a good time to learn what General
Education courses are. For that information follow this link to
General Education, So that's what it is.
More information will be provided in the Academic
Information Session at FTCAP. Now that you are ready to make some decisions
about courses it time to see the General Education course descriptions.
There are generic course descriptions for all university
general education courses available in the
General
Education in the Curriculum guide.
However, to see the course descriptions for general
education courses offered at Altoona please check the
Rainbow Sheets.
It is suggested that you print the Rainbow
Sheets and bring them to campus with you on your FTCAP day.
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