ChE Advising Updates

This page contains miscellaneous advising updates.
Please check it periodically for advising information.

The courses required for the curriculum are listed on the ChE web page .

Thanks -- Dr. P.

Lab Changes: Important Notice!

As many of you know, the growing enrollment in both chemical and paper engineering has resulted in some crowded labs, especially CHEG 3110 and 3120. We faculty believe that good laboratory experiences are a key component of our program and this is supported by feedback from you, graduates, and our advisory board. To help ensure that all of you continue to receive the benefit ofa strong laboratory experiences, starting in Fall.,2009, we are rearranging the laboratory component of CHEG 3110, CHEG 3120, and CHEG 4200. In short, the laboratory component of these three courses will be replaced by a single, 2 credit course called CHEG 4810. CHEG 3110 and 3120 will continue to meet as currently scheduled with two scheduled lectures and a three hour "lab". No experiments will be done in the lab; rather the instructor will spend an hour or so extending the material in the course and the remaining time will be used as the instructor deems appropriate. In the future these will be scheduled as normal three hour lecture courses. CHEG 4200 will be dropped from the curriculum, hence decreasing total credits by 1 credit hour. (CHEG 4200 will be offered this spring to accommodate this year's senior class.) CHEG 4810 will be scheduled at least two times per year and will consist of a series of laboratory experiments (with reports and oral presentations) that cover the experimental material currently covered in the CHEG 3110, 3120, and 4200.

Note that there will be a companion, 1 credit course, called PAPR 4810 for the paper engineers which will focus on the experimental material in CHEG 3110 and 3120. It will run concurrently with PAPR 4810 but will not have as many labs.

ME 2530 & CHEG 3550
Graduation Audits

Grades & Stuff

Minors

Community College Transfer Credits:

To take classes at one of Michigan's community colleges, you will need to complete a guest enrollment form. It is also your responsibility to ensure that course credits will transfer back to WMU. Follow this link to the transfer equivalency area.   You will also need to ensure that the institution transfers the grade back to WMU.   Note that this guest enrollment form can be used at Michigan public universities as well. However, course equivalencies are made on a case-by-case basis. Before taking a course at another four year university, please see me.

General education equivalents can be found here.

EIT / FE Exam
The Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam is a precursor to professional registration. It is recommended that students desiring to become registered engineers take the FE exam around the time they complete the BS degree. There are no prerequisites in Michigan for taking the exam, including graduation from an accredited program. I encourage all seniors to consider taking the exam. More information is available at:
FE exam info

Grades and Stuff
Policy Reminder:

You must have a grade of "C" or better in all pre-engineering courses to advance into a designated program.
You must have a grade of "C" or better in a prerequisite course to take the succeeding course.
You must earn a "C" or better in all CHEG, PAPR, and IMAG courses that you submit for graduation.
Grades less than "C" will not be accepted by WMU for transfer credit.

If you receive less than a "C" grade in a required course, you can take it at another institution and transfer the credit back to WMU. The transferred grade will be used in the graduation audit and the low grade in the WMU course will not be included in the limit of two "D" or "DC" grades. However, the low grade at WMU will continue to be included in your GPA calculation. Grades from courses transferred to WMU are not included in your GPA.

Transfer Credits

To determine transfer equivalencies from community colleges in the state of Michigan visit:

Transfer Credits

I suggest discussing all summer courses, particularly general education, with me prior to enrollment. General education equivalents for Michigan community colleges can be found at:

Gen Ed Transfer Evaluation

Soon to be seniors:
You should complete a graduation audit request two semesters before you plan to graduate. One semester is all that is “required”, but if the auditor discovers a problem, you want lead time to fix it. I

The audit process is as follows:

Make an appointment with me to review your program check list . I will review the courses you have taken and need to take to complete the program. I need your signature, e-mail address, and local phone number to complete the curriculum guide.

See the program advisors in the departments in which you want a minor and ask them to make out a minor slip and send it to the CEAS Advising Office.

When the Advising Office has received all your minor slips and the curriculum guide is complete, you will be notified by the Advising Office to stop by and pick up the paper work. At that time you will be given the audit request form.

Take the completed audit request form, the curriculum guide, and the minor slips to the Cashier's Office (in the Admin. building), along with a check for the appropriate fee.

You will receive a letter from the auditor a few weeks after submitting the audit request form that indicates the courses you need to complete the degree. If all goes well, this agrees with what we discussed in step 1.

There should be no surprises, but doing the audit two semesters in advance of graduation ensures there is time to fix any surprises.

Minors

Minors at Western are typically 20 credit hours in courses approved by the department. Most departments list the minor requirements in the catalog right after the requirements for the major. Read the minor requirements carefully, as some departments have constraints on how many credits must be earned at WMU and in what sequence. Common minors for chemical engineers are mathematics and chemistry. Less common is biology. Some additional information on these minors:

Mathematics:  The minor consists of 20 hours which includes Math 1220, 1230, 2720, & 3740.   IME 2610 or STAT 3640 are accepted as part of the minor. Courses transferred from one of Michigan's community college "count". If all your math classes were taken at WMU or transferred from one of the community colleges, you do not need to get a minor slip -- it will be generated automatically.

Chemistry: The 20 hours in the minor are satisfied by CHEM 1100/110, CHEM 1120/30, CHEM 3750/60,70,80, CHEM 4300, and CHEG 4100. Note that the last 7 credit hours must be take at WMU. Please see the chemistry advisor to obtain a minor slip.

Biology: Students in the Life Science option can obtain a minor by taking the appropriate courses in the option and an additional course or two. It is strongly recommended that you see the Biological Sciences advisor fairly early on to complete the minor slip so that you know what courses in the option, and what additional work, will be required. Waiting until you do your audit may be too late.

Other: Students contemplating a minor in another field should see that program's advisor as soon as possible to determine what courses are necessary.   We have students pursuing interests in music and languages, but these areas take careful coordination in addition to the extra work.