Academic Publications

General Bulletin is the official title of the document produced by this office that contains the University polices, procedures, admission requirements, colleges, departments, course descriptions, and much more. The General Bulletin (or "Catalog") is produced annually, in parallel graduate and undergraduate editions.

The General Bulletin is only available online, at http://registrar.fsu.edu/bulletin/ and may be accessed in HTML and in PDF formats. The advantage of the PDF format is that it is friendlier to searches and printing.

To view the General Bulletin online in .HTML format, follow the steps below. As an example, let's say that you are looking for the undergraduate Communication department in its Fall 2008 iteration.

1. Go to http://registrar.fsu.edu/bulletin/
2. Click the appropriate year range (i.e., 2008-2009*)
3. Click Academic Departments
4. Click the appropriate department (i.e., Communication)
5. You may now scroll through the file and read what interests you

* The year range marks the Fall semester (first year) and then the Spring and Summer semesters (second year). For instance, the 2008-2009 academic year or year range encompasses Fall 2008, Spring 2009, and Summer 2009.

This format lends itself better to searches and to printing. To view an online course description in .PDF format, follow the steps below. We will keep the same example we used above.

1. Go to http://registrar.fsu.edu/bulletin/
2. Click the appropriate year range (i.e., 2008-2009)
3. Click "The General Bulletin is also available in PDF format."
4. Click the appropriate year range again (i.e., 2008-2009)
5. Scroll to the Table of Contents*
6. Look for and click the appropriate department (i.e., Communication)

You may save the PDF file to your computer for faster searches and printing.

You may read the instructions for preparing your content for inclusion in the General Bulletin here. The instructions are also available as a PDF file.

For the latest contact information, please email glaws@admin.fsu.edu and specify what information you need (i.e. who gets a specific bulletin file, or what files go to a specific reviewer).

The Registration Guide is the official title of the document produced by this office each semester and containing registration, chronological, and fee information.

The Registration Guide is only available online, at http://registrar.fsu.edu/dir_class/ and may be accessed in HTML and in PDF formats. The advantage of the PDF format is that it is friendlier to searches and printing.

The Registration includes academic, general, and registration information.

• Registration Information
  • Academic Calendar
  • Exam Schedule
  • Fee Information
  • Registration Information (Course Loads)
  • Registration Windows
  • Web Registration Worksheet
• General Information
  • Academic Advising Codes
  • Administrative Offices and University Web Sites
  • University Notices
  • A link to University Teaching Award Winners
  • A link to University Teaching Award Nomination Form (PDF)
• Academic Information
  • A link to Courses for Liberal Studies Credit
  • A link to Courses for Multicultural Credit
  • A link to Service Learning Information

The Registration Guide is published in three editions, one for each semester. The Spring Edition is published in October and the Summer and Fall Editions in March.

For instance, the Spring 2010 edition is published in October 2009, the Summer 2010 edition is published in March 2010, and the Fall 2010 edition is published in March 2010.

Curriculum Request Forms and more information are available at http://facsenate.fsu.edu/curriculum.htm.

1. Internal Curriculum Committees
   Internal Curriculum Committees are typically headed by the chair and/or dean of the respective department, school, or program. Such reviews ensure that curriculum requests follow any applicable internal policies and procedures.
2. The University Curriculum Committee (UCC)
   The University Curriculum Committee is a standing committee of the Faculty Senate working in conjunction with the Office of the Dean of the Faculties and the Faculty Senate Coordinator, Ms. Melissa Crawford. The UCC meets periodically to approve curriculum requests, as illustrated at http://facsenate.fsu.edu/curriculum.htm
3. The Statewide Course Numbering System (SCNS)
   The Statewide Course Numbering System is a state system providing a database of postsecondary courses to all state institutions and to participating nonpublic institutions. The SCNS assigns course prefixes and numbers to facilitate the transfer of K-20 students. For more information, please visit http://scns.fldoe.org/scns/public/pb_index.jsp
4. Registrar Curriculum Coordinator
   The Registrar Curriculum Coordinator, Ms. Sheila Mitchell, processes curriculum in the Master Curricular File (MCF) and in the Course Schedule Master (CSM).
5. Registrar Academic Publication Coordinator
   The Registrar Academic Publication Coordinator, Ms. Geo Laws, processes course descriptions in the Master Curricular File (MCF) and in the General Bulletin.

• Master Curriculum File (MCF)
  Housed by the Northwest Regional Data Center (NWRDC), this administrative tool is the official repository of curriculum for Florida State University. The MCF keeps track of everything from course prefix, number, and title to its co-/pre-requistites, department(s), and major code(s). The Registrar Curriculum and Publications Coordinators are the only entities able to make changes to the MCF. Changes to the MCF take place immediately.
• The Course Schedule Master (CSM)
  Housed under Blackboard, this administrative tool pulls data from the MCF. Administrators from every department may use this tool to create course sections in which students enroll every semester. Changes to the CSM take place immediately.
• The Course Lookup
  This tool is available at http://apps.oti.fsu.edu/RegistrarCourseLookup/SearchForm and allows students to search for courses/sections available. Course Lookup pulls some data (related to course sections) from the CSM and some data from the MCF (related to the course itself). A change in the CSM or MCF will be visible in Course Lookup the following business day.
• The General Bulletin
  This publication is available online at http://registrar.fsu.edu/bulletin/ and through the Registrar's office (for older versions in our archive). Each department in the Bulletin lists courses that were in effect at the time of publication. Students and/or alumni may request photocopies of course descriptions from the Bulletin from specific semesters and years. The Registrar Publications Coordinator is the only entity able to make changes to the Bulletin. Changes to the Bulletin are published online once a year.

Curriculum additions, changes, or deletions take about a year from request to publication, as explained below:

Steps

1. Internal Curriculum Committee
   1. The departmental curriculum representative initiates an internal review, according to their department's policies and procedures.
   2. The course gets internal approval from a chair or dean.
   3. The departmental curriculum representative goes to http://facsenate.fsu.edu/forms.html to download the latest curriculum forms and find out when the next University Curriculum Committee (UCC) meeting will take place.
   4. The departmental curriculum representative fills out the appropriate curricular request forms (see the latest Curriculum Committee and Undergraduate Policy Committee manual ) and sends them to the UCC c/o the Faculty Senate Coordinator, along with any other necessary supporting documentation.
2. University Curriculum Committee
   1. The UCC meets and reviews the curricular request form. Note that the University Curriculum Committee typically meets monthly during Fall and Spring and usually meets once during the Summer.
   2. The UCC may deny, hold (for incomplete or incorrect applications), or approve curricular requests.
   3. The Faculty Senate Coordinator forwards courses to the Statewide Course Numbering System (SCNS).
3. Statewide Course Numbering System
   1. The SCNS gives courses a prefix and number and forwards the Faculty Senate Coordinator the respective documentation. This may take 4 to 6 weeks.
   2. The Faculty Senate Coordinator forwards the approved course request (including the SCNS-allotted prefix and number) to the curriculum coordinator in the Registrar's office. IV. Curriculum Coordinator
   3. The curriculum coordinator creates or updates an entry for the respective course in the Master Curricular File and sends out a notification to the departmental curriculum representative that the course has been processed.
   4. The curriculum coordinator forwards the approved curriculum request form to the academic publications coordinator in the Registrar's office.
4. Academic Publications Coordinator
   1. The academic publications coordinator edits and enters the course description in the Master Curricular File (typically within a week of receipt) and in the General Bulletin (ongoing, whenever files are not in layout).
   2. The General Bulletin is reviewed twice by content owners (in September and January) and is published at http://registrar.fsu.edu/bulletin/ in June (undergraduate edition) and August (graduate edition).

All curriculum additions, changes, or deletions at Florida State University must be reviewed by the University Curriculum Committee (UCC), a standing committee of the Faculty Senate working in conjunction with the Office of the Dean of the Faculties.

However, changes to course elements which do not appear on transcripts (as depicted in the table below) only need a request in writing sent to the Faculty Senate Coordinator, Ms. Melissa Crawford (mcrawford@admin.fsu.edu, MC 1480). Once she notes the request, she forwards the memo to the Registrar s office, to be processed in the Master Curriculum File and in the Bulletin.

Courses not taught in five years will appear on a report, run once a year (typically, in March), called the "purge list". Typically departments with courses appearing on this report are notified via email that the course(s) in question will be purged (i.e., removed from the Master Curriculum File), unless otherwise specified. Courses that have been purged from the MCF as a result of this process will also be removed from:

• the appropriate edition of the General Bulletin
• the University Curriculum Committee
• the Statewide Course Numbering System

The Statewide Course Numbering System (SCNS) conducts periodic field reviews aimed to correct curriculum issues throughout the State. A field review results in changes in course prefixes and/or numbers. When the SCNS conducts a field review that involves courses at Florida State University, the Registrar Curriculum and Publications Coordinators update the MCF and the Bulletin and notify departmental contacts of the change. While changes entered in the MCF take place immediately, changes entered into the Bulletin are published just once a year.

Recent edition of the University General Bulletin as an HTML and as a PDF document, are available online. If the course descriptions you need are from the years listed below, you may view them online.

1. Graduate Courses:
   • From 1999-2001 on, are available in HTML format
   • From 2003-2005 on, are available in PDF format as well
2. Undergraduate Courses:
   • From 1997-1998 on, are available in HTML format
   • From 2002-2003 on, are available in PDF format as well

To view an online course description in .HTML format, follow the steps below. As an example, let's say that you are looking for a course description for the COM 3110 course you took from the Communication department in Fall of 2008.

1. Go to http://registrar.fsu.edu/bulletin/
2. Click the appropriate year range (i.e., 2008-2009*)
3. Click Academic Departments
4. Click the appropriate department (i.e., Communication)
5. Scroll to the list of courses (always located at the end of each department)
6. Locate the course by its prefix and number (i.e., COM 3110)

* The year range marks the Fall semester (first year) and then the Spring and Summer semesters (second year). For instance, the 2008-2009 academic year or year range encompasses Fall 2008, Spring 2009, and Summer 2009.

This format lends itself better to searches and to printing. To view an online course description in .PDF format, follow the steps below. We will keep the same example we used above.

1. Go to http://registrar.fsu.edu/bulletin/
2. Click the appropriate year range (i.e., 2008-2009)
3. Click The General Bulletin is also available in PDF format.
4. Click the appropriate year range again (i.e., 2008-2009)
5. Scroll to the Table of Contents*
6. Look for and click the appropriate department (i.e., Communication)
7. Scroll to the list of courses (always located at the end of each department)
8. Locate the course by its prefix and number (i.e., COM 3110)
9. Print the page if you wish

* You can use the search engine built into Adobe Reader to search the PDF file, however you may have to look at dozens of iterations of that course (in various places in the Bulletin) before reaching the departmental list where the description is housed.

Based on the number of course descriptions requested, we have different procedures, as detailed below.

Up to 10 Courses

To request up to 10 course descriptions in writing, please email registrar@admin.fsu.edu with the following information (see below) and include the words "course description request" in the subject line. We will send photocopies of our archived course descriptions as well as a cover letter on FSU letterhead, summarizing your request. Once we receive your request, please allow us at least 24 hours to process it.

1. Your Contact:
   • your name
   • your 10-digit phone number
2. Receiver's Contact:
   • the name of the institution or organization receiving the descriptions
   • the contact person we should address in our cover letter
   • the fax* number you'd like us to use to send the descriptions
   • the mailing** address you'd like us to use to send the descriptions
3. Order***:
   • course prefix (e.g., SPC)
   • course number (e.g., 1600)
   • course title (e.g., Fundamentals of Speech)
   • semester or quarter when you took the course (e.g., Fall)
   • year when you took the course (e.g., 1998)

* Faxed documents arrive immediately at your desk, yet may be hard to read (if your course description happens to originate from an archive document that is too dark, has very small font, etc.).

** Mailed documents will always contain legible course descriptions, yet may require up to 7 business days to reach you (depending on your location and the speed of the Post Office).

*** Can't remember the details of the course(s) you took? You may view your unofficial transcript by clicking here.

Over 10 Courses

To request more than 10 course descriptions, please follow the instructions above and, additionally, include a written request (on letterhead) from the institution or organization requesting the descriptions. Once we receive your request, please allow us at least 48 hours to process it.

Please send this request to the attention of Registrar Academic Publications and include the words "course description request" to ensure that it is routed properly. You may send us this letter via:

• Email: registrar@admin.fsu.edu
• Fax: (850) 644-6140
• Mail: Florida State University, Registrar Academic Publications, 282 Champions Way, 3900 University Center A, Tallahassee, FL 32306-2480

The Campus Map is printed to assist those new to campus. The Office of the University Registrar (UCA 3900) distributes a limited number of copies to each department before the beginning of the Fall semester. Each new FSU student gets a campus map at Orientation.

The University offers online access to a Campus Map at http://www.fsu.edu/Campus/newmap/. Please note that this map is not maintained by our office.

Small Quantities

To request up to 100 campus maps per year, please email registrar@admin.fsu.edu with the following information (see below) and include the words "campus map request" in the subject line. Please allow at least 24 hours for your request to be processed.

1. Contact:
   • your name
   • phone number
   • email
   • campus mail code (if you wish to have up to 50 copies of the map delivered to you by campus mail)
   • the FSU office you represent
2. Order:
   • how many maps you need
   • when you need them
3. Pick up or delivery:
   • to pick up the maps, you may come to 3900 UCA between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. This option gives you control over when you come in possession of the maps. This option is for orders over 50 maps and for situations when you need the maps immediately.
   • to have the maps delivered to you, make sure you take into account the time Campus Mail needs to get the maps to you. We cannot guarantee an exact delivery time but will let you know when we mail your order. This option is available for orders of less than 50 maps and when you have a week or more before you need the maps in-hand.

Large Quantities

There are two options available for quantities above 100.

• You may request to be added to a waiting list for consideration after regular distribution is finished.
• You may request last year's maps, if available. (There are only minor differences between the 2008-09 map and the current 2009-10 map.)

To place a request for a larger quantity of maps please email registrar@admin.fsu.edu with the information requested above and your order preference (last year's maps or be added to the waiting list.)