On November 2, 2009 a pilot test will begin being conducted to electronically enforce course pre/co requisites at the time of registration for a select group of undergraduate courses. The group of courses includes all courses offered by the Sociology Department, Theatre Department, Health Promotion & Wellness Department, and all courses offered by the School of Business. The pilot test will continue on these courses through the Spring 2010 semester. If the pilot test proves successful it is anticipated that pre and co requisites will be electronically enforced on all courses offered at SUNY Oswego beginning with registration in April 2010.

A “prerequisite” means a course or other requirement that a student must have taken prior to enrolling in a specific course or program.

A “corequisite” means a course or other requirement that a student must take at the same time as another course or requirement.

An “advisement recommendation” means a condition of enrollment that a student is advised, but not required to meet before enrolling in a course.

When students go to register for courses offered in Spring 2010 the computer system will check if they have completed or are currently taking the pre or co requisite required for the Spring 2010 course they have selected. The system will check courses completed or being taken at SUNY Oswego as well as courses taken at other colleges that are equivalent to the pre or co requisite.

If the system sees that the student has completed or is completing the pre or co requisite the student will be allowed to sign up for the Spring 2010 course. If the system doesn’t see satisfaction of the pre or co requisite the student will not be able to sign up for the course and will get a “pre-req error” message.

The pre and co requisites for all courses can be found under the course descriptions in the college catalog (catalog.oswego.edu) or by clicking on the course number within myOswego when doing a search of courses that are being offered. Don’t refer to the paper Undergraduate catalog as those listings may be out of date. The most up to date prerequisites are in the online catalog.

If a student is blocked from registering for a course because of a “pre-req error” message and they feel there is a clerical error because they have taken the required pre or co requisite at Oswego or elsewhere, they should immediately contact the Record’s Area of the Registrar’s Office (312-3614) to resolve the situation.

CHALLENGE POLICY:

In cases where the student does not meet a stated pre or co requisite of a course and there is no “or Instructor’s Permission” qualifier in the pre or co requisite description, the student may submit a Program Deviation form to the home department of the course to seek approval for registering for it. A Program Deviation form in such cases may require additional written documentation, such as; explanation of alternative coursework, background, or abilities which adequately prepare the student for the course. The signature of the student’s adviser and the department chair of the home department of the course or someone authorized to sign for the chairperson signifies approval of the deviation. A copy of the form will be kept in the student’s permanent folder at the Registrar’s Office, with the student keeping a copy for his or her record.

NON-MATRICULATED STUDENTS ONLY:

Since the college most likely doesn’t have a record of coursework you may have completed at other colleges the pre and co requisite system won’t work the same way for you. SUNY Oswego has developed a process wherein you will be able to register for a course that has pre or co requisites and then later supply the instructor with evidence (ex. unofficial transcript) that you have met the pre or co requisite elsewhere. The process to do this is explained in your myOswego account when you go to register for courses. Once you have selected a course to take you will need to go to the “Prerequisite Registration Waiver” menu and enter the CRN for that course. Then you will need to go back and actually register for the course. Note: simply doing the prerequisite waiver will not actually register you for the course (you must do both things). After you are registered for a course with a pre or co requisite you must make sure to contact the instructor and provide evidence that you have completed the pre or co requisite at another school.

GRADUATE STUDENTS ONLY:

Course pre and co requisites will not be electronically enforced on graduate level courses. However, in the rare instance where a graduate student seeks to take an undergraduate level course they must go through the same process as non-matriculated students listed above.