REGISTERING YOUR FIRST QUARTER
Welcome to the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences! As a transfer student, this page will walk you through registering for your first quarter so you can get started with confidence. And remember — your academic advisor is here to help every step of the way.
Step 1: Understand Your Degree Requirements
The information below will help you understand your degree requirements. It is important you know what you need to earn your degree.
- Understanding your Curriculum Sheet
- Understanding your Degree Progress Report
- YOUR TRANSFER CREDIT
- Graduate Writing Requirement and United States Cultural Pluralism Requirement
Your Curriculum Sheet displays all of your degree course requirements in a one-to-two-page snapshot.
How to access your Curriculum Sheet
Go to the Academics Tab of your Cal Poly portal and click on "curriculum".
The Curriculum Sheet is broken down into four main sections:
- Major Courses are the courses that make up your major curriculum. In some majors, this includes technical electives or concentrations.
- Support Courses are courses chosen by your department to provide foundational support for your Major Courses. These courses sometimes double count as General Education Courses.
- General Education (GE) Courses are broken down into several areas. You may notice some of these areas are completed through your Support Courses. In most cases, transfers still need to complete some GE courses at Cal Poly including the Upper Division GE courses.
- Free Electives: If your major has Free Electives, you should have already fulfilled this requirement with transfer credit.
Your Degree Progress Report (also known as your DPR) – like the Curriculum Sheet – displays all your degree requirements to graduate. The Evaluations Unit uses the Degree Progress Report to post your degree, so it is important to make sure the courses you have, and will be taking, are fulfilling the requirements you expected in your DPR.
Your Degree Progress Report should be checked by you, the student, at least once per quarter to track your progress to degree.
As a reminder, your Degree Progress Report will not be accurate until you receive an email from the Office of the Registrar letting you know that your Transfer Evaluation is complete.
How to access your Degree Progress Report
Log in to my.calpoly.edu
- Go to your Student Center under My Apps on the left side
- Click on Degree Progress Report under the drop-down menu
- Click on the arrows
It is important that you read all the notes for each section in the DPR to ensure you do not miss any information or take a class that is not necessary.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to email cafesadvising@calpoly.edu. We are here to help!
As a transfer student you have already put in the time studying and passing classes at your prior school. Now let’s figure out how those courses transfer to Cal Poly. You can see the details about your transfer credits in your Poly Profile under "Higher Ed Credits Detail."
Transfer credit will continue to be evaluated and processed by Cal Poly until you register for your first semester. When your transfer evaluation is complete, you will receive an email from the Office of the Registrar - Evaluations Unit. At that time, you will be able to view your transfer credit transcripts in PolyProfile, and how those classes apply towards your degree in your Degree Progress Report.
Finding your transfer credit
1. Access PolyProfile through your Cal Poly Portal under your Academics Tab.
2. Click on the Higher Ed Credits Detail link located on the right side of the page.
Under Additional Higher Education Credits Detail, you will find the transcripts we received from you.
On the right side are the courses you took. On the left side, you will see how they transferred over to Cal Poly.
After reviewing your courses, you can access your Degree Progress Report to view your overall degree requirements. You can then see what you have completed and what you still need to graduate.
If you believe you did not receive full credit for a course, or if you have any questions, please email us at cafesadvising@calpoly.edu.
There are two requirements that are important for you to know about. Since you may be transferring a majority of your General Education (GE) courses, you will want to review both requirements below so that you are not duplicating efforts while completing your degree.
Graduation Writing Requirement (GWR)
The Graduation Writing Requirement (GWR) is a CSU-mandated program designed to ensure that students can write proficiently before they enter the professional workforce. All Cal Poly students who are seeking a degree must fulfill the GWR before a diploma can be awarded.
Undergraduate students with 90 or more completed units should attempt to fulfill the GWR before their senior year.
United States Cultural Pluralism (USCP) Requirement
Students are required to complete one United States Cultural Pluralism (USCP) course to meet the Diversity Learning Objectives. This course also fulfills a requirement for Major, Support, General Education, or Free Elective category.
USCP courses must fulfill all of the criteria according to AS-836-17 and they must also address the Diversity Learning Objectives.
Step 2: Select Courses to Take in Fall
Fall semester transfer students: the list of suggested courses for each major will be available by July.
Step 3: Create and Save Schedules in Schedule Builder
Schedule Builder lives within the Student Center and is one of the tools you may use to prepare for registration. This tool allows you to view available courses and seats for an upcoming term, organize a schedule of courses in a calendar view, save favorite schedules and enroll.
Learn how to use Schedule Builder
Fall Registration
Your transfer student registration day and time will be available in your Cal Poly Portal under the Student Center.
We want to make sure you feel prepared to register.
At Transfer SLO Days in July you will be able to attend informational sessions led by an advisor and representative from your department. Your advisor will offer major-specific information, answer individual student questions and guide you through the registration process.
There will be time during Transfer SLO Days, and the days following, to meet individually with an advisor to plan for registration.
If you are unable to attend Transfer SLO Days, please email us cafesadvising@calpoly.edu.
Students can enroll in courses using one of two options.
- Student Center allows you to search for classes, add/enroll in classes, swap classes (exchange one class for another), edit classes (change a lab or grading style), drop classes and view your waitlist position.
- Schedule Builder allows you to search for classes, see all sections and open seat capacity, arrange a variety of classes into possible schedules and add/enroll in classes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I meet with an advisor before registration?
Yes, you can meet with an advisor before registration, however, we do want you to know that all of the information you will need for registration will be reviewed during our Live Transfer SLO Days Session.
What should I do if I am waitlisted for my classes?
The two reasons you may have ended up on a waitlist are:
- There are no more open seats available in the course.
- Another transfer student tried to enroll in the course, but since they have enrolled past 18 units or did not meet the course pre-requisites, the waitlist system has been "turned on" and every student after them has been placed on the waitlist.
WHAT TO DO IF THIS HAPPENS
- REMEMBER THOSE BACK UP COURSES: We encouraged you to identify all courses you meet the pre-requisites for and write them down as back-up courses. Now use those options to continue to register or waitlist in any classes that you need. Remember you can waitlist for up to 16 units.
- CHECK OUT OTHER SECTIONS: You may be waitlisted in a section of a course, however a different section may have available seats. Take a look at other sections and register for or waitlist those as well.
- REVIEW YOUR SUGGESTED COURSE LIST: Some courses require a permission number to enroll. If a permission number is needed, we have indicated this on your major's suggested course list.
How many units should I enroll in for my first quarter at Cal Poly?
Since Cal Poly is on the quarter system, our courses move quicker than the typical semester system and could be more challenging during your first quarter here. We recommend staying between 12-16 units, keeping in mind important prerequisites you will need to complete to stay on track for graduation.
More Support is Here
Additional resources are available through the Cal Poly Transfer Student Advising.