Here is additional information regarding important academic dates and deadlines and how to access academic advising throughout the semester.
Please read through all items carefully, but PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE FOLLOWING:
- Express Drop-in Advising available this week (item 1c) – some form of drop-in advising (no appointment needed!) will be available every day for the rest of this week to help you adjust your schedules!
- Drop-in Advising for the whole semester (item 1b) – I will be offering an additional set of drop-ins this semester – both Wednesday mornings and Thursday afternoons!
- How to schedule advising appointments this semester (item 1d)
- Graduating in Autumn 2025? (item 1f) – don’t forget to follow the instructions I sent out in late November to apply to graduate!
- First Friday (August 29) deadlines in the Important Dates list (item 2)
- You should think of this as the day your Autumn schedule should be finalized. While you may still drop courses after this date, it is the final day to add courses to your schedule without special permission, the final day to get a 100% tuition refund on dropped courses, and the final day that waitlists run for courses.
- Remember that if this is your first semester at OSU (either as a first-year or a new transfer student), then all schedule changes must go through your academic advisor. Otherwise, you can perform most changes on your own in Buckeye Link
Best of luck to you all in the first week of classes!
How to get Advising Help in Autumn 2025
Table of Contents
- Advising Location Information
- Drop-in Advising
- Express Drop-in Advising
- 30-minute Appointments
- Graduating in Autumn 2025?
Advising Location Information
I will be on campus for 4 days per week this semester. My schedule will be roughly as follows:
- Mondays: 1140 Physics Research Building
- Tuesdays: work from home
- Wednesdays: 1140 Physics Research Building
- Thursdays: 4012 McPherson Laboratory
- Fridays: 1140 Physics Research Building (morning) / 4012 McPherson Lab (afternoon)
I will be available for in-person appointments on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and I will be available for virtual appointments through Zoom every weekday. One of my offices is in the Physics Department and the other is in the Astronomy Department, but for in-person appointments, you may attend an appointment in either office regardless of your major. All virtual meetings will be held through Zoom. You are welcome to leave your video turned off or to call in to the Zoom meeting via phone if you would like, but it is easier for me to have all appointments go through one system (rather than taking a phone call through my office phone, for example). In order to access my Zoom, you must be signed in to your OSU account using Single Sign-On (SSO). Full details can be found on my staff web pages for Astronomy (https://astronomy.osu.edu/people/zach.11) and for Physics (https://physics.osu.edu/people/zach.11)
There are several ways to meet with or contact me for advising help:
Drop-in Advising
Drop-in hours are for quick 5-10 minute questions or discussions with no appointment or advanced notice necessary – just show up! If you think you will need more than 10 minutes, please schedule a 30-minute appointment (see item 1d). I will have regular, weekly drop-in hours throughout the semester at the following times:
- Wednesdays at 9:30am-12pm noon
- In-person: 1140 Physics Research Building (PRB); or
- Zoom: go.osu.edu/meetwithdavid
- Thursdays at 1:30-4:00pm
- In-person: 4012 McPherson Lab; or
- Zoom: go.osu.edu/meetwithdavid
You will be notified of any changes to this schedule via email announcement.
Express Drop-in Advising
I will provide additional drop-in times at points in the semester where advising demand is high (such as around the beginning of the semester and around major university deadlines). Again, no appointment or advanced notice is required. Some of the times where this will happen are:
- 1st week of the semester (August 25-29):
- Monday, August 25: no drop-ins
- Tuesday, August 26 at 9:30am-12pm noon
- In-person: 1140 PRB; or
- Zoom: go.osu.edu/meetwithdavid
- Wednesday, August 27 at 9:30am-12pm noon
- In-person: 1140 PRB; or
- Zoom: go.osu.edu/meetwithdavid
- Thursday, August 28 – 1:30-4:00pm
- In-person: 4012 McPherson Lab; or
- Zoom: go.osu.edu/meetwithdavid
- Friday, August 29 at 1:30-4:00pm
- In-person: 4012 McPherson Lab; or
- Zoom: go.osu.edu/meetwithdavid
- 10th week of the semester (October 27-31):
- TBD
30-minute Appointments
All other concerns should be addressed through 30-minute advising appointments. Please do not email me to set up an appointment – all appointments must be made through our online scheduling system, OnCourse (https://go.osu.edu/oncourse), most easily completed through my “Personal Advising Link” here: https://buckeyes.campus.eab.com/pal/DBhUypnYKD. Appointments must be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance. Be sure to double check whether you are choosing an in-person or phone/remote appointment reason when scheduling. Remember that your times and days might be restricted if you choose an in-person appointment because I am not on campus every day (see item 1a). Your confirmation email will give details on the location of the appointment.
Full instructions on how to schedule an appointment are available on my staff web pages: Astronomy (https://astronomy.osu.edu/people/zach.11); Physics (https://physics.osu.edu/people/zach.11)
You can always contact me via email at zach.11@osu.edu, although I may ask you to schedule an appointment to discuss more complicated matters. In general, I check and answer email during working hours (9:00am-5:00pm Monday-Friday), and I generally aim to respond to all emails within 1 to 2 business days, which does not include weekends or university holidays.
PLEASE NOTE: Students have an @buckeyemail.osu.edu email address and an @osu.edu email address that forwards to BuckeyeMail, but staff and faculty have @osu.edu email addresses only. Please DO NOT email zach.11@buckeyemail.osu.edu as that email does not exist!
Graduating in Autumn 2025?
You must meet with me to fill out your Graduation Application! Plan to schedule a 30-minute appointment with me sometime during the first few weeks of classes after your Autumn schedule is finalized so that we can fill out an application. This is a relatively painless process of filling out a short form together (most of the work happens on my end), so do not worry about preparing anything ahead of time. Be sure to choose “Graduation (in-person)” or “Graduation (phone/remote)” as the reason for your appointment when you schedule in OnCourse.
Honors students should apply through their ASC Honors advisor instead. Please finalize your Autumn schedule, then email me for your Major Program Form, and then schedule to meet with your Honors advisor