Undergraduate Student Resources
Our advisors and comprehensive resources offer tailored guidance, tools and support to help you successfully navigate your academic journey at the College of Nursing.
As an undergraduate student, you have access to a wide range of resources designed to support your success. Dedicated academic advisors provide individualized guidance to help you navigate course scheduling and serve as a vital connection between you and university resources and information. You also have access to a peer advisor you can meet with individually and they can advise you on a variety of topics and share their experience as a College of Nursing student.
Our comprehensive collection of resources and frequently asked questions offers quick answers to common concerns and forms, helping you troubleshoot challenges and stay on track. Together, these resources ensure that you and every student have the support to thrive academically.
Undergraduate student advising
Academic advisors in the College of Nursing support students with course scheduling, general education and degree options, career services, study abroad and university resources such as financial aid, petitions and graduation requirements. Advisors provide accurate, confidential guidance tailored to your skills and interests, helping you take ownership of your education and develop strong planning and problem-solving skills.
You can find your assigned advisor’s contact information in Buckeye Link, to the right of your current schedule in the box labeled “program advisor.” Students recently admitted to the College of Nursing may not yet have an advisor assigned. If that is the case, you may reach out to con-advising@osu.edu for assistance.
- Host 1 on 1 advising appointments scheduled through Oncourse
- Discuss potential impacts of scheduling and academic decisions (ex: what happens if you add/drop a course)
- Help you understand helpful tools like the degree audit, schedule planner and other features of Buckeye Link
- Provide information regarding University and College policies
- Respond to emails within 1-2 business days
- Direct and refer you to campus resources
- Outline time to degree, potential academic pathways and graduation requirements
- Clarify degree applicability of transfer credit
- Call or making contact with a campus resource on your behalf
- Select courses for you
- Speak to the difficulty of a specific course
- Explain how a course will be graded other than the grade scale listed in Buckeye Link
- Provide information about the teaching style, preferences or strengths of specific instructors for a course
- Decide what course of action is best for the you, however advisors can assist in weighing the different factors to consider when making a decision
- Know how you’re performing in a course until the final grade is submitted to the University
Academic advisors
Meet with your advisor
To schedule an appointment with your assigned advisor or peer advisor, log in to Oncourse and select a time that works best for your schedule.
Email con-advising@osu.edu if you have challenges using Oncourse for scheduling an advising appointment.
Peer advisor
My name is Ashley Khatib, and I am a student in the BSN program. I grew up in Pickerington, Ohio, and I love spending my time on campus. The Ohio State University has so much to offer students beyond the classroom. Some of my favorite involvements are BuckeyeThon, The Running Outreach Initiative and the Honors Nursing Program. I am very excited to serve as your peer advisor and get to know fellow aspiring nurses. I will do my best to guide you through what can be an overwhelming, but exciting process. We are in this together!
The peer advisor is an upper-class student enrolled in the Traditional BSN program. They are trained by the Office of Student Affairs and Success professional advising staff and complete university required training for the management of FERPA protected information. The peer advisor meets individually with pre-nursing and nursing students to advise on course registration issues, assist in the selection of degree requirements such as the General Education curriculum, and serves as a representative of the college at special events. In addition, the peer advisor acts as an advocate for students through coordinating the agenda for the Student Forum and representing the undergraduate student body on the Undergraduate Studies Committee.
Resources
Beacon
A comprehensive student portal for currently enrolled students in a degree- or certificate-granting program. Pre-nursing students do not have access to Beacon. Students can view personalized curriculum plans and find out information about program compliance status. Beacon also posts updates from the College of Nursing related to academic deadlines, special events and leadership opportunities. Beacon can be accessed via web browser or via iOS devices by downloading the app. To log into Beacon, use your Ohio State username and password. Your username format is name.#.
Policies and forms
Beacon provides a listing of most undergraduate student forms and petitions available from the College of Nursing. Forms are also included on relevant sections of this page. If you do not see what you need contact your academic advisor. Students in Pre-Nursing do not have access to Beacon and should reach out to con-advising@osu.edu for assistance.
If you need an advisor or faculty leadership to complete or sign a form, upload your documents. Examples of forms that may be submitted with this process include but are not limited to: Standards of Academic Progress Appeals, ROTC forms regarding academic plans, Veteran's Affairs paperwork related to enrollment and degree plans or scholarship forms requesting advisor or dean signature.
Virtual admissions packets
A resource to help you transition into your academic program. It contains information related to scheduling for your first term, compliance requirements (if applicable for your program) and other important dates and events.
Student handbooks
Provide you with the resources you need for your specific program. For students currently enrolled in a program, you can find the handbook for the year you were admitted below.
Compliance requirements
Compliance is required to maintain enrollment in the College of Nursing and eligibility to participate in clinical and health assessment activities.
Additional Guidance
Curriculum plan
A curriculum plan is an order and timeline for enrolling in required coursework for your major or certificate in the College of Nursing. Curriculum plans do not include all potential graduation requirements such as General Education Courses or total hours required. You must follow your curriculum plan and take the nursing coursework in the semester, session and order outlined in Beacon. Only students in degree or certificate programs have a curriculum plan. Pre-Nursing and students in the prerequisite year of the Direct Enrollment pathway do not have curriculum plans.
It is important to look at your curriculum plan carefully as some courses are assigned a session as well as a semester. If a course lists 7W1, that means it must be taken in the first session of the term. If the course lists 7W2, that course will need to be taken in the second seven weeks of the term. You must enroll in the correct session as well as semester according to your curriculum plan. If enrolled incorrectly, you will be required to drop the currently enrolled courses and enroll according to your plan.
The ability to change your curriculum plan and process to do so, if allowed, varies by program. Contact your academic advisor for more information. Some programs may not allow changes, or some changes may not be able to be accommodated.
Your curriculum plan demonstrates the order, semester and sometimes the session in which your College of Nursing coursework must be taken. General education courses may be taken any time before graduation. Use this to note when your required nursing coursework must be taken. This is a projective tool and does not note completion of previous courses.
Your degree audit in Buckeye Degree Planner includes all the required components of your degree and your progress on these components. It includes requirements for your major, the General Education Curriculum, total hours and if you have any declared minors or certificates. Your degree audit is a helpful resource to see remaining degree components. Use this to track your progress to graduation and remaining degree requirements. Learn more about this helpful tool here.
Scheduling and adding courses
The academic calendar provides a listing of important dates, registration, fees and payment. The academic year is broken into three semesters: autumn, spring and summer. In autumn and spring semesters, classes may be offered in 14-week intervals or during sessions, broken into seven-week intervals. The first session runs from the start of the term until week seven. The second session runs from the mid-point of the semester to the end of the term. Summer term is unique and operates with more interval options. Those are outlined here.
You should begin planning your enrollment early. This guide provides helpful University level information and an overview of processes as you plan for your upcoming semester. You should also review your enrollment window to learn at what date and time you can begin enrolling in courses.
Before enrolling, students in degree or certificate granting majors should consult their curriculum plan in Beacon to learn their required major courses for that term. Students should also consult their Degree Audit through Buckeye Degree Planner and be sure to incorporate additional degree requirements such as General Education Courses and total hours needed into their semester plans. Note: Pre-Nursing students do not have access to Beacon. Students enrolled in Pre-Nursing should refer to the prerequisite coursework outlined on the admission webpages to learn the required courses to enter into each major. To learn which general education coursework and major courses are required for your degree, you can run a degree audit for your program.
After the first semester of study at Ohio State, you have the responsibility to enroll in classes and complete the registration process on your own through Buckeye Link. The University and the College of Nursing offer you resources to reference when selecting and enrolling in coursework.
Central Advising provides comprehensive enrollment and scheduling related resources including but not limited to:
- Searching for specific general education courses and general education related resources
- Finding distance learning courses
- How to use schedule planner and classes.osu.edu
- How the waitlist works
- Understanding instructional modes
Some courses have multiple required components you must enroll in (examples of this include: lecture, lab, clinical and recitation). Courses that require multiple components will indicate that in the class details. SIS will also not allow you to enroll in the course without designating all the required components.
Sometimes a course will have one lecture time and multiple recitations or labs. In this scenario, you will need to select the available lecture and then choose from the available labs. If multiple components are required, you do not have the option of enrolling in only one of the components. For example, you cannot just enroll in the Biology 1110 lab, you must also enroll in the lecture.
The university institutes specific deadlines which may prohibit you from modifying your class schedule. The deadlines are based on the designated session or term for that specific course.
If enrolling in a course past university stated deadlines, additional forms, permission or documentation is often needed, and late fees may be assessed. For more information, contact your advisor directly or reach out to con-advising@osu.edu.
Questions related to university fees can be directed to the Buckeye Link Office.
Required summer coursework varies by major or certificate. Major and certificate students can use Beacon to learn if the plan requires summer courses. If enrolled in Pre-Nursing, or planning to apply to program, review that program’s admissions page to be sure summer coursework aligns with desired application timeline. Students interested in enrolling in summer term should familiarize themselves with the different options available for course length and facilitation.
Per university policy, you are required to seek college permission to enroll over the 18-credit hour limit. To obtain College of Nursing permission, complete the Curriculum Petition Form in Beacon. Students in Pre-Nursing do not have access to Beacon and should contact their academic advisor.
Additional fees may be assessed by the university for exceeding the 18-credit hour limit. Late registration fees may also be applied, depending on the date of the enrollment transaction. Questions related to university fees can be directed to the Buckeye Link Office.
Per university policy, you are required to seek instructor permission for these scenarios. You may obtain this permission via Ohio State University email or using the Course Enrollment Form. This permission must then be forwarded to your academic advisor via email to enroll you.
Late registration fees may be assessed depending on the date of the enrollment transaction. Questions related to university fees can be directed to the Buckeye Link Office.
If you want to enroll in a course that conflicts with another course on your schedule, you must receive permission from both instructors even if you only plan to miss time from one of the courses. Complete the following steps to obtain permissions:
- Contact the instructors of the two courses that conflict by email for written permission.
- Permission may be granted via email or via the Course Enrollment Form.
- The instructor’s names are listed in the Class Schedule.
- The contact information for the instructors can be obtained through the Ohio State directory.
- Once permission is obtained from both instructors and the Course Enrollment Form is complete, submit the completed form to your assigned academic advisor by email.
- The form must be submitted to your academic advisor according to the registration deadlines set by the university. The advisor will enroll you in the course if you complete these instructions by the deadline.
Grade forgiveness is when a student repeats a course and has submitted the paperwork required to utilize the grade forgiveness policy. This policy allows the second grade earned to be calculated into the student’s GPA. The first attempt remains on the student’s transcript, and only the second attempt is calculated into the student’s GPA. This policy is not automatically applied, and students should reference the grade forgiveness page to familiarize themselves with this policy before submitting a petition.
A consortium agreement is a binding agreement between eligible schools which enables a student to receive various types of aid from Ohio State while being enrolled as a visiting student at another school. Ohio State is considered the student's home school, and the visiting school is referred to as the host school. The host school must be an approved Title IV school (have a federal Title IV school code and can process federal financial aid). Visit Buckeye Link to learn more about the consortium agreement.
If you are a senior in good academic standing, you can request to enroll in eligible Graduate Level Nursing courses using the Senior Petition form. Eligible courses for Senior Petition are:
- Nursing 7342 Motivational Interviewing
- Nursing 7343 Intro to Nurse Coaching
- Nursing 7345 Advanced Nurse Coaching
- Nursing 7483 Quality Improvement and Informatics
- Nursing 7770 Fundamentals of Medical Product Development and Regulation
- Nursing 5111 Introduction to Palliative Care
You are required to receive instructor permission for Senior Petition, and you should discuss this with your advisor before obtaining instructor permission.
Enrollment in the course must take place no later than the first Friday of the semester or session. No Senior Petition enrollments will be accepted after the first Friday. The grades you earn through Senior Petition are factored into your curriculum undergraduate GPA. However, the hours are not counted towards the number of hours earned for an undergraduate degree per the rules of our program. Additionally, the hours cannot be used towards the 12 credit hours needed to be full-time.
The grades you earn through Senior Petition are factored into your cumulative graduate GPA once admitted to a graduate program at the College of Nursing. The hours are counted towards the number of hours earned for a graduate degree, per the rules of our program. You must be sure to request that the course be transferred to your graduate program once accepted. Instructor permission does not guarantee entrance into the course, there must be space available and priority is given to current graduate students.
Dropping and withdrawing from courses
If interested in dropping a course and it is prior to the “W” deadline, you may do so yourself via Buckeye Link. Dropping after the “W” deadline requires the assistance of an academic advisor.
The University provides general information about dropping and withdrawing from courses and how dropping can impact eligibility for other programs or services. Students should also consult their student handbook to learn how dropping or withdrawing may impact their progression and academic status in their program.
After a point in the semester, dropping a course is considered a withdrawal and “W” is assigned to a course. This deadline will vary depending upon the semester and length of the individual course. Learn more about grades and marks.
There is a point in the term where courses are no longer eligible for withdrawal. This date will vary by course and is listed on the academic calendar. Exceptions are only considered via petition and also depend upon a student’s extenuating circumstance, documentation, and last date of class participation. Students wishing to withdraw after this date should petition using the Forms section of Beacon. If you do not have access to Beacon, email con-advising@osu.edu for assistance.
If you wish to remain full time (between 12-18 credit hours for undergraduate students) and dropping the course would place your credit hours below the threshold, you may consider adding a course(s) to maintain full-time status. Consider tuition and fees and important dates when deciding if they would like to add a course in place of the dropped course.
This will depend on a myriad of factors. To learn how it could impact you, contact Buckeye Link.
Guidance on navigating challenges in a course
The following information is general guidance. You should consider all factors related to your personal situation before making a decision. The tips outlined below provide information related to university and college policy, but ultimately you must make the decision that is right for you.
Talking to the instructor or TA of a specific course should be the first step if you’re having trouble in a course. Each instructor should have listed office hours during which they are available for support. Some may require appointments or only be available at specific times, so be sure to reference your course syllabus for more information.
Seek tutoring if it is available. There may not be centralized tutoring resources for every department. Reach out to the department teaching the course to learn if such services are available. The College of Nursing does not offer tutoring for prerequisite coursework.
If you are struggling with more general academic success skills, you can reach out to The Dennis Learning Center for support and academic coaching and workshops.
If your challenges are related to mental health, you can seek support from our embedded counseling support at the College of Nursing or Counseling and Consultation Services.
You may repeat a course based on the University’s course repeatability policy, but you must submit a petition if you wish to use the Grade Forgiveness Policy. Under the Grade Forgiveness policy, you can petition to repeat a course and if approved, use the grade of this course to replace the first in the calculation of your cumulative GPA. Additional information is available regarding this process, and the form to request Grade Forgiveness.
The petition to use the grade forgiveness rule must be submitted in consultation with your academic advisor to the college of enrollment by the last day to drop that course without petitioning (usually the 10th Friday of the term for full semester classes). Approvals will be processed and added to your records after the tenth Friday of the term. Grade forgiveness is never automatically applied.
Changing or adding to your plan of study
If you are a currently admitted major student speak to your academic advisor before changing majors.
Pre-Nursing resources
You can find more information on BSN admissions, including information on prerequisite courses, timelines and minimum eligibility requirements.
Adding or dropping a prerequisite course may impact your eligibility for consideration of desired major. Consult the admissions page for the program you are applying to understand prerequisite course requirements and deadlines for completing those requirements. You may also consult with your academic advisor.
View more Pre-Nursing FAQs.
To change your major, you will need to speak with an advisor from the new major/program. Do this by calling the advising office (that offers your chosen program) to inquire about the major change process. The new department/major will change your major and assign you a new advisor. When considering a major change, that Pre-Nursing students are given preference in the Traditional BSN admissions process.
If you are in the process of researching other programs, you can also reach out to the University Exploration Office. The Exploration advisors have knowledge of all majors offered at Ohio State and they can provide further guidance.
To apply to the Pre-Nursing major as a current Columbus campus student, review all information outlined on the BSN Admissions page and complete the Pre-Nursing Student interest form. This form will then be reviewed at the end of the current semester. If you meet the admission requirements listed above at that time, you will then be switched to the Pre-Nursing major.
After you have submitted the major change, if you require assistance with the BSN application process or would like to schedule an appointment with a Pre-Nursing peer advisor email con-advising@osu.edu
You can find your Ohio State GPA on your advising report or degree audit.
The course instructor will provide the grading scheme for the class through the course syllabus. Different courses may have different assignments, evaluations and grading schemes. If you have questions about how a particular course is graded, consult the instructor for the course.
Graduation and Commencement
This information can be found in your degree audit through Buckeye Degree Planner.
The apply to graduate page provides more information on steps to apply to graduate based on your enrolled program.
The graduation application deadline for all undergraduates across the university is the 10th Friday of each semester. Note there are no applications accepted after the deadline. You can apply here.
The College of Nursing organizes Convocation (spring semester event for College of Nursing students only) and the university organizes Commencement (every semester event for all Ohio State students). Learn more about both.
You must earn at least 60 graded credit hours at The Ohio State University, as well as meet minimum GPA requirements in order to qualify for Latin Honors upon graduation. Transfer credit does not count toward this minimum hour requirement as the hours must be earned at Ohio State. In addition to details noted in the student handbook, a full outline of this policy can be found in the faculty rules, 3335-9-33.
Submit the commencement excused form at least two weeks prior to the commencement date if you are not planning to attend the commencement ceremony.
Reactivation and reinstatement
Use this form if you been on a leave of absence from the university for more than one semester (excluding summer) and want to return to our program. You can access this form in the forms section of Beacon. If you do not have access to Beacon, email con-advising@osu.edu for assistance.
Petition for reinstatement is to be used if you have been academically dismissed from a program and would like to petition to re-enroll. You can access this form in the forms section of Beacon. If you do not have access to Beacon, email con-advising@osu.edu for assistance.
Once a decision is made, a member of the Office of Student Affairs and Success will contact you via email. If your petition is approved, you will be responsible for completing the following items:
- Ensure all holds have been removed from your Buckeye Link account. Find and remedy holds via the Registrar.
- Activate and use OSU.EDU email. OSU.EDU is the official mode of communication between faculty, students and staff.
- Review university deadlines: The list of university deadlines will help you navigate processes such as course registration, tuition and fee payments and other university procedures.
- Run a degree audit report: Buckeye Degree Planner will outline the degree requirements you must meet to graduate
- Resolve transfer credit
- Verify Compliance Status: The undergraduate programs require students to be compliant for program compliance requirements. Your personalized compliance report will be available to you upon enrolling in classes. Beacon provides more information.
Course Enrollment: You must enroll in classes 3-5 business days after you have received your decision for your petition. Enroll in classes outlined in your personalized curriculum plan.
Email your program director regarding the NCLEX preparation software. Depending on your time away and what course work you will be returning to, your package information may need to be updated or alternative software may need to be purchased.
Other topics
This form is used to allow the dissemination of your academic information to an individual other than you. Without this signed form, university officials cannot share personal academic record information with anyone other than the you. Review information about FERPA and how to complete an authorization to release your information.
Complete the request for change of record through University Registrar if you have a life event resulting in a name change that needs to be updated with Ohio State.