Frequently Asked Questions - College of Computing and Software Engineering (2025)

A. When ready to declare your new major, log intoOwlExpressand select "Declare/Change Major or Minor" under the Student Records menu. Some degree programs have particular requirements in order to be admitted to the major. That is why we advise you to always talk to an advisorbeforerequesting a change of major.

CCSE Academic Advising Officeis here to help you make the right decision – or choose one of several possible right decisions.Make an appointment to talk tousif you are thinkingof declaring your CCSE major, switching between CCSE majors, out of CCSE or into CCSE.

If you know that CCSE majors are not right for you, but you have no idea what else you may be interested and good at, you may want toschedule an appointment with an UCAS advisorfor undecided and exploratory students.

KSU is proud to offer free access toYouScience– an integrated aptitude, interest inventory and career match assessment. Your CCSE academic advisor can provide you with an access code and help you interpret the results of the YouScience assessment. YouSciencewill help you gain insight into who you are and what your talentsare and how these align with college major and careerchoices; itis also a great tool to use when preparing resumes, cover letters, and elevator speeches to land the internship or job youcovet.

A. If and whenyou decide on a minor, after consulting with an academic advisor from the college or department offering the minor,you can declare it by logging intoOwlExpressand selecting "Declare/Change major or minor" under the Student Records menu.

Please note that students in theApplied Computer Science program(now discontinued) are required to choose a minor or concentration area as part of their major.

The KSU catalog lists all formal minors offered at KSU and specifies their requirements under the Academic Programs section. Minorsusually range between 15 and 18 credit hours, with at least 9 hours of non-duplicative credit required. Your academic advisors are here to help you in your decision and respective planning.

A. Undergraduate students can visit theUndergraduate Advising page, where they canarrange to speak with a CCSE Academic Advisorin person, by phone or by virtual appointment on Microsoft Teams.

Graduate students can visit theGraduate Advising pageand reach out to the director of their graduate program.

To get the most out of your interaction with us, please review theCCSE academic advising conspectus.

A. If you attempt to register for a class that you don't meet the prerequisites for, you will receive a prerequisite and test score error. Sometimes, you will receive this error even if you meet the prerequisites. Often this happens when you have transfer credit that meets the prerequisite or if there has been a course substitution, but there can be other reasons. If you believe you have met the prerequisites for a STAT, DATA, CS, CSE, SWE, CGDD, or IT- prefixed course and are receiving a prerequisite and test score error when attempting to register, please completethis form– this is the fastest way to resolve the issue, especially during busy periods such as registration and add/drop.

If you are receiving this error for a course that is not taught at the College of Computing and Software Engineering, please contact therespective collegefor resolution.

A. Registration holds require students to take certain actions prior to registration for the next semester. They will prevent you from registering for courses, so it is recommended you resolve them prior to the start of registration.

If you have anAdvising Hold, a scheduled meeting with an academic advisor for your current or intended major will resolve it. All Freshman students (0-29 credits completed) have a registration hold placed on their account each semester. We email all students with this hold, inviting them to schedule an appointment to meet. It is important to read the advising hold email in its entirety, as it includes instructions on actions students need to complete before meeting with a CCSE advisor. Often there is aworksheet, or a file containing important information attached to this email.

If you have another type of registration hold, please consult this information page about resolving it.

A. If you attempted a KSU course twice – withdrawals do count as attempts – and want to register for it for the third or subsequent time, you need to obtain permission to do so. The process of requesting a repeat course override is designed to help you succeed at your third attempt.

If you want to be allowed a third or subsequent attempt at a course prefixed with STAT, DATA, CS, CSE, CGDD, IT and SWE, please completethis form. You may be invited by email to meet with a CCSE academic advisor to discuss your success strategy prior to the override being issued – make sure you check your student email regularly.

If you want to request permission for another attempt for a Math or Science (BIOL, CHEM, or PHYS) course, please review the College of Science and Math course repeat requestpolicy and procedures.

If you want to request permission to repeat a course from another college (such as ENGL, POLS, HIST, ECON, etc courses) you may contact directly anadvisorfrom the college offering the course (for example, College of Humanities and Social Sciences for ENGL, POLS, HIST courses). If you are unsure who to contact,let us know– we will gladly connect you with the right person.

General Recommendations

• Windows-based (Windows 10 or 11)
• Latest gen (or within the last 3 generations) Intel i5 CPU or better, or the AMD equivalent
• 16+ GB of RAM
• 500+ GB of storage (HDD or SSD)
• Use https://desktopsoftware.kennesaw.edu to download things like Office 365

Tips: Apple/iOS/Linux machines can also be used, however you may encounter difficulties regarding software and on-campus tech support. You may need to find non-Windows software that has equivalent capabilities for some of your major classes, or use a VM (aka virtual machine) from CCSE Labs.

The demands on your computer will likely increase as you progress through your degree program. So, if you are able to afford a higher-powered computer at the start, you will likely save money in the long run.