Important academic dates and deadlines and how to access academic advising throughout the semester. This is a summary of the email you received from David Zach. "I" in this case is David.
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 will be available every day!
- How to schedule advising appointments this semester (item 1d)
- First Friday (August 29) deadlines in the Important Dates list (item 2)
- 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!
Table of Contents:
Autumn 2025 Academic Advising
- Advising Location Information
- Drop-in Advising
- Express Drop-in Advising
- 30-minute Appointment Scheduling
- Graduating in Autumn 2025?
Autumn 2025 Academic Advising:
There are several ways to meet with or contact me for advising help.
- Advising Location Information:
- Mondays: 4012 McPherson Lab
- Tuesdays: Online Only
- Wednesdays: 1140 Physics Research Building (PRB)
- Thursdays: 1140 PRB (morning) / 4012 McPherson Lab (afternoon)
- Fridays: 1140 PRB (morning) / 4012 McPherson Lab (afternoon)
- Advising Appointments: I will be available for in-person appointments on 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 CarmenZoom. You are welcome to leave your video turned off or to call into 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). 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)
Drop-in Advising:
Drop-in hours are for quick 5-10 minute questions or discussions with no appointment necessary. 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 on Thursdays at 1:30-4:00pm, US Eastern Time. Information on accessing my Zoom room for drop-ins can be found on my staff web page (scroll down to “Zoom Instructions”): https://astronomy.osu.edu/people/zach.11 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 when advising demand is high (such as around the beginning of the semester and around major university deadlines). Again, no appointment is required. Some of the times when this will happen are:
- 1st week of the semester (August 26-29):
- Tuesday, August 26, 9:30am-12:00pm US Eastern Time
- Zoom (go.osu.edu/meetwithdavid) or in-person (1140 Physics Research Building)
- Wednesday, August 27, 9:30am-12:00pm US Eastern Time
- Zoom (go.osu.edu/meetwithdavid) or in-person (1140 Physics Research Building)
- Thursday, August 28, 1:30-3:30pm US Eastern Time
- Zoom (go.osu.edu/meetwithdavid) or in-person (4012 McPherson Lab)
- Friday, August 29, 1:30-4:00pm US Eastern Time
- Zoom (go.osu.edu/meetwithdavid) or in-person (4012 McPherson Lab)
- 10th week of the semester (October 27-31): TBD
- Other possible times TBD
30-minute Appointment Scheduling:
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).
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)
- Email:
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 emails during working hours (9:00am-5:00pm Monday-Friday), and I generally aim to respond to all emails within 1 to 2 business days, not including university holidays. - 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.