Academic Advising

Advisors are available outside of drop-in office hours by appointment. Using the Navigate app, you can view advisors' availability and reserve an appointment. You can choose the meeting format (in-person or remote). For remote meetings, an advisor will call you on Microsoft Teams at the time of your appointment.UVM Navigate app

• Career (in-person): Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:00pm - 4:00pm
• Academic (in-person and remote): Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, 1:30pm - 3:30pm

For in-person drop-in office hours, please visit us in Perkins 101. If you would like to join office hours remotely, use your Navigate App to add your name to the queue, and an advisor will call you on Microsoft Teams when it’s your turn.

• Primary advising for first-year engineering majors and undeclared students in CEMS
• Secondary advising for all CEMS students
• Connecting students to available resources on campus
• Monitoring academic progress
• Coordinating requests for substitutions, waivers, and credit-by-examination
• Determining degree completion status and eligibility to graduate
• Notifying faculty when students are missing classes due to serious illness or an emergency
• Advising on academic components of the study abroad process
• Certifying students for engineering licensure exams (FE, PE)
• Providing registration support and assistance with schedule conflicts
• Implementing the academic standards of the College and in cooperation with the CEMS Studies Committee
• Coordinating requests for late withdrawals, leaves of absence, and incompletes
• Signing student forms that require the Dean’s signature (for example, the Change of Student Status form)

This video is a short tutorial about navigating the myUVM student portal and registration system:

UVM considers full-time status as 12-19 credits per semester. However, some students with accommodations through Student Accessibility Services may receive a waiver to enroll in fewer than 12 credits while still being considered full-time students.

Undergraduate students enrolled in more than 19 credit hours per semester will be charged the per-credit-hour tuition rate for each additional credit above 19. If you are interested in taking more than 19 credits, you should talk to your advisor and email CEMS.Student.Services@uvm.edu to inquire about a permission override.

When encountering an error while attempting to register for a class, it is important to follow these steps:

1. Ensure that you are registering for the lab simultaneously with the lecture class, if applicable.
2. Verify whether you meet the necessary prerequisites for the course by referring to the SOC comments available in the Schedule of Courses.
3. Identify the specific error message you are receiving during the registration process.
4. Seek further assistance by contacting an Advisor (cems.student.services@uvm.edu) who can provide additional guidance and support in resolving the issue.

1. Explore alternative courses while awaiting confirmation of enrollment in your desired class.
2. Monitor seat availability in the desired class, as students often adjust their schedules, leaving seats open.
3. Check if there are different sections available for the courses you are already registered for. This could enable you to rearrange your schedule and potentially secure a spot in a different section of the desired course. Please note that obtaining your preferred time slot for a course may not always be feasible.
4. Reach out to the professors of the desired class to inquire about the existence of a waiting list or any other recommended actions.
5. Seek further assistance by contacting an Advisor (cems.student.services@uvm.edu) who can provide additional guidance.

It is not at all uncommon for students to change majors at the end of their first or second year at the university. Selecting a different major sometimes involves changing from one undergraduate school or college within the university to another. Provided a student is in good academic standing, has met prerequisites, and space is available in the selected new area of study, requests for a major change are, in most cases, easily accommodated, even when a school or college change within the university is involved. You can check the internal transfer guidelines on the College’s main web pages.

Students should submit a change-of-major form (you can use the same form to add or remove a minor) through their MyUVM student portal. Once you submit the form, if you are changing colleges, a representative from the college that offers that major will be in touch to discuss next steps. Please refer to the UVM Catalogue and/or Curriculum Check Sheets to understand what the major/minor change means for the rest of your time at UVM.

CEMS Curriculum Check Sheets/Sample Four-Year Plan

If you are ill and missing classes, you can contact professors by phone or e-mail directly and leave a clear message that includes your name, the section of the class you are in, and that you are ill and will be missing class. You will also need to work with that instructor to discuss their expectations regarding your absence. You should be able to find the attendance policy in your course syllabi.

If you are experiencing any other personal or health issues, we are here to help and can connect you with other resources, such as the Center for Health and Wellbeing, Counseling and Psychiatry Services (CAPS), or Student Accessibility Services. Please reach out to us at cems.student.services@uvm.edu.

From the eleventh day of instruction until the second business day after the 60% point in the semester, students may withdraw from courses (this date is found on the UVM academic calendar for each semester). To do so, students must use the registration system to withdraw from the course. The student's advisor(s) and dean(s) will be notified. The instructor(s) will be aware of the withdrawal by the withdrawal status on the class roster and the presence of a grade of W on the grade roster. 

Between the second business day after the 60% point in the semester and the last day of classes, students may withdraw from one or more courses only by demonstrating to their college/school that the withdrawal is necessitated by medical and/or extenuating circumstances.
Students with questions about how withdrawals may impact their financial aid and/or scholarships should contact UVM Student Financial Services directly.

For more information, please see UVM's withdrawal policy.

If you have concerns about the GPA requirement for your scholarship, we recommend contacting Student Financial Services for assistance. They possess the necessary information about your scholarship and can address any inquiries you may have in this regard. You can contact them through the following channels:

UVM Student Financial Services
Email: sfs@uvm.edu
Phone: 802-656-5700

The minimum required semester and cumulative grade point averages (GPAs) for good academic standing in the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (CEMS) are 2.00. Additional regulations for each CEMS degree are outlined in the individual department, program or degree sections of this catalogue.

Academic performance is reviewed at the end of each regular (fall and spring) semester. CEMS Student Services – a division of the CEMS Dean’s Office – is responsible for reviewing academic performance and notifying students who are not in good academic standing. Notification of trial status and dismissal for low scholarship is sent to the student’s UVM email account.

Criteria for placement on trial

A student earning less than a 2.00 semester or cumulative GPA will be placed on trial.

Criteria for continuation on trial

A student who has been on trial for one or more semesters but does not meet the criteria for removal from trial or dismissal for low scholarship (see below) will be continued on trial.

Criteria for dismissal for low scholarship

A student earning less than a 2.00 semester GPA for two successive semesters, or less than 2.00 cumulative GPA for three successive semesters, will be dismissed for low scholarship. A student will be dismissed for low scholarship only after the student has been on trial for the preceding graded term of attendance.

Appealing dismissal for low scholarship

A student who has been dismissed for low scholarship normally has the opportunity to appeal the dismissal in writing to the CEMS Studies Committee within the timeframe stipulated in the dismissal letter. As a condition of a student’s reinstatement following an initial dismissal, the CEMS Studies Committee may prohibit a future dismissal appeal as specified in the student’s reinstatement letter.

Criteria for removal from academic trial

A student who has been placed on trial or continued on trial is removed from trial when both the semester and cumulative GPA are 2.00 or higher.

CEMS Facullty Advising Handbook

Faculty Resources