Academic advising at LSUS offers you a unique opportunity to engage with a faculty member who is an expert in your chosen field and whose insights will help you attain academic success as you prepare for your career beyond college. Advising helps you take responsibility for your own education by directing you towards online and campus resources, as well as guiding you successfully through your curriculum towards graduation.

Which comes first: Advising or Registering?

Registering for classes is one of the most important, and perhaps daunting, tasks for a student.  In order to register for courses at LSU Shreveport, you must first talk with your advisor to plan which courses to take. Below are some tips to having a great advising experience, as well as the lists of academic advisors and program directors.

Academic Advising

  1. Know who your advisor is! Login to MyLSUS, hover over the "Advising" button on the yellow bar at the top of the page. Click "Advisor Information" to see their name and contact info. NOTE: Be sure you have selected the right term to see the correct advisor's info. If no one is listed, contact the Department Chair to find out who the appropriate person is. If you're a graduate student, contact your Program Director. Lists of these individuals can be found below as well.

  2. Use the university catalog to understand your degree program and look up the descriptions of individual classes.

  3. Prepare for advising sessions by reviewing your graduation plan, looking over your curriculum sheet, and making sure that your transcript is correct. Check the schedule of classes from the "public access" column in myLSUS to see what's being offered, then put together a draft schedule to discuss with your advisor. Use this handy Advising Preparation Checklist to be sure you're ready for your meeting with your advisor.

  4. Register for classes at the earliest opportunity! Many classes have "caps" - a maximum number of students allowed to enroll. Registration dates for spring, summer, and fall are sent out via your student e-mail well in advance of registration dates, so check frequently to make sure that you get the courses you want. 

Registering

  1. Visit the myLSUS website and login with your Student ID and Pin.
  2. Under "Registration" on the navigation bar, click "Add/Drop."
  3. Choose the appropriate term, then click "Select Term."
  4. Enter the Course Reference Numbers or use the search option to view the class schedule. If you wish to view an entire listing of all courses offered, leave the Course ID section blank, and click the Search Now button at the bottom of the webpage.
  5. Select desired class (es).
  6. Click "Save to Cart" when complete.
  7. Once you have added all the courses you wish to take for the semester, click the Proceed to Checkout Button on the bottom right side of the page.
  8. Enter your Student ID and PIN Number and click the Green Sign In button
  9. Review the courses in your cart, and if these are the courses that you have been advised to take, click the red Register Now button.

* SPECIAL NOTES
Audit and special permission courses require approval of the chair of the department in which the course is offered and/or the approval of the appropriate dean.

Students who plan to attend another college or university while registered at LSUS must have prior written approval from their dean.

A financial aid recipient who wants to drop below the minimum credit hours required to receive their financial aid should contact the Financial Aid Office, AD 159, by phone at 318-797-5363, or via e-mail, finaid@lsus.edu, prior to dropping the course.

A student attempting to drop his or her last class must resign from the university. Students may resign by dropping all classes on the web and completing the web resignation survey.

Hold on Registering?

You might find that you are unable to register for class. Automatic holds occur for a number of reasons (the reason is usually specified on myLSUS):

  • Student has not been cleared to register
  • Time conflict between selected classes
  • Student has exceeded credit hours
  • Student has not fulfilled prerequisites
  • Class is full
  • Off-campus transcript has not yet been assessed
  • Academic suspension

The process for granting overrides differs from department to department. You need to be aware of the protocols established by various departmental Chairs. Please contact your appropriate Department Chair for specific details.

Ready to pilot your future?

Department Chairs/Advisors

Dept. Chairs
Arts & Media: Jason Mackowiak
Biological Sciences: Dr. Stephen Banks
Chemistry & Physics: Dr. Brian Salvatore
Computer Science: Dr. Richard Watson
Education: Dr. Joyce Farrow (interim)
English: Dr. Terry Harris
General Studies: Mary Jarzabek
History & Social Sciences: Dr. Gary Joiner
Kinesiology and Health Science:Dr. Jill Rush-Kolodzey
Leadership Studies: Dr. Kevin Baxter
Mathematics: Dr. Zsolt Lengvarszky 
Nursing: Monica Jones
Psychology: Dr. Yong Dai

College of Arts and Sciences Academic Advisor
Christopher Floyd, Academic Advisor

College of Business Advising
Tracie Johnson, Advising Coordinator
Hannah Barnett, Academic Advisor

College of Education and Human Development Advising
Nicholas Zagzoug, Academic Advisor

Downloadable PDF of this information.

Graduate Program Directors

Doctorate in Leadership Studies (Ed.D.):
Dr. Kevin Baxter

Master of Science in Biological Sciences Program:
Dr. Amy Erickson 

Master of Business Administration: 318-797-5383
Coordinator, Tracy Elbert
Coordinator, Pradhi Kohli 
Coordinator, Shakyra Gibson
Coordinator, Melanie Telsede

Master of Computer Systems Technology:
Dr. Subhajit Chakrabarty 

Master of Counseling:
Dr. Kacie Blalock 
Coordinator: Megan.Davenport@lsus.edu

Master of Education in Curriculum & Instruction (accelerated online):
Interim Director, Dr. Nelson Coulter
Coordinator, LaTienda Pierre

Master of Education in Educational Leadership (accelerated online):
Interim Director, Dr. Nelson Coulter

Coordinator: LaTienda Pierre

Master of Health Administration:
Director, Dr. Justin Lord 
Coordinator, Matt Vines

Master of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences:
Dr. Elisabeth Liebert 

Master of Nonprofit Administration:
Dr. Heather Carpenter

Master of Public Health:
Dr. Jill Rush-Kolodzey 
Coordinator: Renae.Taylor@lsus.edu

Specialist in School Psychology:
Dr. Kevin Jones
Coordinator: Megan Davenport

Downloadable PDF of this information.

What's My GPA?

Checkout this handy GPA Calculator to help you figure out what your GPA is this semester. 

At-Risk Email Alerts

If you earn a D or an F in any class by midterm, you and your advisor will be sent an at-risk email alert. These go directly to your LSUS e-mail account, so you'll want to check that account several times each week.

If you receive an at-risk email alert, you should take three steps immediately:

  1. Contact your advisor to make an appointment.
  2. Discuss your progress with the class instructor and ask for advice on how to improve your grade.
  3. Update your Steps for Success worksheet in myLSUS and see if you can identify any study skills or time management skills that need improvement.

And please don't simply drop the class. Midterm grades are designed to give you time to figure out how to improve your class performance.  Meet with the instructor to see if there are tutoring or coaching options (likely through the Student Success Center) that can help you move toward mastery of the subject matter.

Remember that a D is a passing grade for most classes.  If you are doing well in all other classes but you are struggling with just one in a field that is new to you, stick with it so that you can earn credit for passing the course.  If you are struggling in several classes, you might want to tweak your work/life balance.  This would be a good time to chat with someone on the counseling services staff. 

Your success is important to your academic advisor. Never ignore an at-risk email alert or a request from your advisor to meet.