The Academic Advising Office is working in-person utilizing our standard office hours 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to schedule an appointment please email academicadvising@stkate.edu.
In addition to helping you connect with your assigned academic advisor, we can help you:
- Change your advisor
- Refer you to other campus departments to meet your goals
- Address concerns
- Cope with academic stress
- Register for courses through the Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities (ACTC)
- Discuss the appropriateness of grade or refund appeals
Your Academic Advisor
During your first semester as an undergraduate student, St. Kate’s will assign an advisor who cares about you and your academic success. It’s your advisor’s primary goal to help you adjust to life at St. Kate’s and understand the requirements for your degree. They also can direct you to additional campus resources to help you succeed during your first semester and throughout your degree program.
At the end of your first semester, you will be assigned to:
- a faculty advisor in your major
- a pre-nursing advisor if you are pre-nursing in the College for Women
- an advisor from the Academic Advising office if you are still deciding on your major
Pre-Nursing Students
As a pre-nursing student, you will have specific prerequisites to complete and you will need to closely track your GPA before applying to nursing school. We have resources to help you navigate this process.
Preparing to Meet With Your Advisor
Your academic advisor will provide you with feedback on your academic progress and serve as a sounding board for your academic journey. Advisors have knowledge of campus resources that are available to help you when they can’t. They can also help beyond the classroom, with activities, internships, jobs and grad school preparation. You can expect your advisor to post and keep office hours, return calls and emails promptly and know the requirements and options for your degree program.
Choosing or Changing Your Major
If deciding on a major feels overwhelming, look in the academic catalog at the required courses for a field of study that interests you to see if the topics interest you. You can also connect with the Career Development Center to learn about the career opportunities related to a major or to connect with alumnae from your major.
When you want to declare, add or change your major, fill out the appropriate form from the Office of the Registrar.
Taking a Leave of Absence or Withdrawing
If you are enrolled for the next term and you wish to drop all your classes or if you are not planning to attend St. Kate’s, please let us know.
If you plan to return to St. Kate’s after one semester, ask academic advising to process a leave of absence for you. Usually, students complete this process in person. If you have extenuating circumstances, it can be done over the phone. While you are on leave, you will continue to have access to several on-campus services, including:
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Academic Advising: discuss academic requirements, select a major or registering for classes when you return
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Career Development: explore potential careers and majors, get individual counseling, take assessment tests or use the resource library
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Personal Counseling: get short-term access to counseling assessments and referral service
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Tutoring and Learning Center: work on academic skills while you are on leave
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The Butler Center: continue to use the Center until your student ID officially expires
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Office of Financial Aid: explore your financial options and the loan repayment process
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Multicultural and International Programs and Services: drop by to meet with staff or attend the socials and educational programs
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Residence Life: get updates from the office about important dates and deadlines for when you return
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Community Work and Learning: assess programs and services; however, you will be unable to work in the office or in off-campus student employment positions
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Center for Spirituality and Social Justice: meet privately with a spiritual advisor or join University retreats and justice or volunteer activities
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ServiceNow and email
If you plan to transfer to another institution, or if you have no plans to return to St. Kate’s, ask academic advising to process a withdrawal for you. Usually, students complete this process in person. If you have extenuating circumstances, it may be done over the phone.
Returning After Withdrawal
If you are a student in good standing who has withdrawn from the University, you may be readmitted by contacting the Office of Admission. Readmission is required only if you have been away from St. Catherine’s for more than one semester. St. Kate’s will not charge you an application fee.
Financial Aid and Withdrawal
The Office of Financial Aid can help you determine the impact of your withdrawal on current and future aid awards.
You may process your own withdrawal from one or more classes as long as you will still be enrolled in at least one class. For important dates and deadlines that will affect your withdrawal, see Academic Calendars.
Before the registration deadline, drop the courses. No course registration will show on your transcript.
After online registration, but before the last day to withdraw, the course will be listed on your transcript with a notation of “W.” To officially withdraw, submit a form to the Office of the Registrar.
Placement Testing for Languages and Math
Placement tests evaluate your ability and suggest which course you are ready to take.
Language Placement tests can also indicate you are ready for an additional assessment to determine whether you can satisfy your language requirement based on your language proficiency. Contact the Academic Advising office if you have questions.
If you earned college credit through AP, PSEO, or CIS, you do not need to take a placement test. You may register for the next level of language for which you received credit.
This exam presents questions of different ability levels and adapts the difficulty of your questions depending on the accuracy of your answers. Your language ability will determine the total number of questions.
- Complete an ASL assessment prior to the start of the semester or within the first week of classes. If you are seeking placement for the next/following semester, you can schedule an assessment closer to the registration date for that semester. If your ability is equivalent to or exceeds that of a third-semester ASL student, you will demonstrate your ASL proficiency in an exam proctored by a faculty member. This may be done in person or via webcam.
After completing the assessment process, if within the first week of class and after having reviewed the syllabus you feel you would be more successful in a different level of ASL, you can reschedule an assessment.
If you have questions about ASL placement, contact Bridget Sabatke - bksabatke@stkate.edu in the ASL and Deaf* Communities Department.
Math placement assessments are administered by the Mathematics Department.
Understanding Transfer Credits
If you are a transfer student, you may need to pay special attention to certain requirements and you may have unique questions.
View all information for transfer students, or map out your transfer plan through our program planning worksheets—checklists of the courses needed to graduate in a major at St. Kate's.