Index: Find Answers to FAQs

All majors and certificates must be declared through their respective academic departments. You can find declaration instructions for each major & certificate in the Guide. Locate the major/certificate you wish to declare and click on the “How to Get in” heading.

If your questions are primarily about course selection and academic options, we will go over this at SOAR, when you will meet with an academic advisor. We generally do not meet with incoming students before SOAR, since we will not yet have all the necessary academic records to properly advise you. 

Prior to academic advising at SOAR, we encourage prospective/admitted students to attend one of UW’s prospective/admitted student events and information sessions that take place throughout the year.

If you have additional questions, please e-mail advisingaas@ls.wisc.edu.

To request an AAS advisor assignment, please carefully read over the guidelines on our Advisor Assignment Request page and, if appropriate, submit the advisor assignment request form.

Yes. Please note that, following FERPA guidelines, we will need you and anyone joining you to sign a release form before the appointment.

The Office of the Registrar has a number of tutorials on how to access and understand a DARS report. If you have access to our online Canvas course, L&S Academic Advising 101, you will also find DARS tutorials in Module 3.

AAS advisors do not place nor remove enrollment holds. In most cases, you will need to contact whichever unit/department initiated the hold (e.g., Housing, Office of Student Financial Aid, etc.). You can find who placed the hold, as well as how to contact them, in your Student Center.

Remember to complete your Pre-Enrollment Checklist each semester before enrolling. If you do not, a hold will be placed on your enrollment until you do so. Once you complete it, that hold will automatically be removed.

For questions about AlcoholEdu, U Got This!, Our Wisconsin, and GetWIse online programs, including questions about holds, please contact:

AlcoholEdu: alcoholedu@uhs.wisc.edu
Our Wisconsin: ourwisc@studentaffairs.wisc.edu
U Got This!: violenceprevention@uhs.wisc.edu
GetWIse: violenceprevention@uhs.wisc.edu

There could be a number of reasons why you may be seeing an enrollment error. This “Common Issues and Error Messages” page is a good resource for understanding what those messages mean. It also offers some helpful advice on how to move forward if you receive an enrollment error.

If you are receiving “validation” errors in Course Search & Enroll about holds, and you are sure you do not have a hold after checking your Student Center, go ahead and try enrolling and/or follow the “revalidation” steps outlined here.

While we can offer some general advice for proceeding with waitlisted or closed courses, we do not have control over closed courses nor waitlists. We also cannot grant any enrollment permissions for classes. Each academic department (e.g., Computer Sciences, Political Science, etc.) manages access to their courses.

For courses that have a waitlist option, we recommend adding yourself to the waitlist (more information about waitlists on this page).

If you have additional questions or concerns about this, you will want to contact the appropriate academic department.

UW–Madison uses Transferology, an online transfer credit tool, to show how credit may transfer from colleges and universities across the U.S. Although AAS advisors cannot approve transfer courses, they can answer questions about transfer credit.

The DR is a neutral grade and is not factored into a student’s GPA.  It does not communicate failure or irresponsibility — it reflects that a student made a choice to discontinue a course. 

You can find semester deadlines on the Office of the Registrar’s Dates and Deadlines webpage.

Maybe. There are many restrictions as to which courses can be taken as P/F. It’s a good idea to look over this page on P/F policy as a starting point and let your advisor know if you have questions.

Academic Probation is a warning system that is meant to help students take steps to improve their academic standing. If you find yourself on academic probation, we highly encourage you to connect with your academic advisor to discuss your situation, campus resources, and steps for moving forward. You can learn more about probation policy on this L&S academic probation policy webpage.