General FAQs

 

Q: I took MATH 1300 instead of APPM 1350 before I transferred to ChBE. Do all 5 credit hours from MATH 1300 apply to the 128 credit hours required for my B.S. degree? 

A: No. Since most students take the 4-credit-hour APPM 1350, you cannot arbitrarily increase your calculus credit hours and reduce the other requirements of your curriculum. Only 4 of the 5 credit hours from MATH 1300 will apply to your 128 credit hour requirement, although your transcript will reflect the 5-credit-hour course and your GPA will be calculated using 5 credit hours.

 

Q: I had a full year of English composition at "good ol' Moo U" before I transferred to CU. Do I still have to take WRTG 3030? 

A: Generally, yes. WRTG 3030 is considered to be an advanced-level composition course. Lower-level English composition courses or equivalent AP credit will not satisfy the WRTG 3030 requirement.  You may consult with the Program for Writing and Rhetoric if you have further questions about this.

 

Q: I have an opening in my sophomore year schedule. Can I take the WRTG 3030 course during my sophomore year rather than waiting until my junior year?

A: No, unless you have more than 60 credit hours completed already. Upper-division standing (junior or senior) is required for this course.

 

Q: I have AP credit for both CHEM 1111 and CHEM 1131, a total of 10 credit hours. Do all these credit hours apply to the 128 credit hours required for the B.S. degree in ChE?

A: Possibly. A score of 4 on the AP Chemistry exam will count for CHEM 1111 ONLY but a score of 5 will count for CHEM 1111 AND CHEM 1131.  Since the Standard Curriculum allows only for the 5-credit-hour Chemistry for Engineers course (CHEN 1211/CHEM 1221), any substitute may only apply 5 credit hours toward this requirement. However, it is possible to count the additional 5 credit hours as a free elective. You are still required to complete an advanced chemistry elective. If you follow one of the options where all free electives are specified, then the additional 5 credit hours for general chemistry will be add-on credit.

 

    Similarly, if you have taken CHEM 1111 and CHEM 1131 (many transfer students from Arts and Sciences are in this boat), you may apply 5 credits towards CHEN 1211/CHEM 1221 and the remaining 5 credits can be applied towards free elective credit.

 

Q: Pre-med requirements include a full year of general chemistry. Since Chemistry for Engineers is only 5 credit hours and one semester, what should I do? 

A: To ensure your eligibility for medical school, you should take General Chemistry 2 (CHEM 1131) at some point during your undergraduate program. You will not be allowed to take General Chemistry 1 (CHEM 1111) as an engineering student. You must take Chemistry for Engineers (CHEN 1211/CHEM 1221) as your first general chemistry course. It may be of interest to you that General Chemistry 2 (CHEM 1131) is offered in the Summer term, in addition to the Fall and Spring semesters.

 

Q: Are the prerequisites enforced for all courses?

A: Perhaps not, but the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering will enforce prerequisites for all CHEN courses. You are advised strongly not to take courses whose prerequisites you have not satisfied. If you do not satisfy a prerequisite, you must petition to stay in the course.

 

Q: How do I determine what the prerequisites are for a course?

A: The Boulder Campus CU catalog lists prerequisites with the course descriptions. The on-line Registration Handbook published each semester may or may not list prerequisites. The curriculum checklist form at the back of this Guide shows prerequisites for the required courses of the curriculum. The Department also maintains a Learning Goals sheet for each CHEN course that includes a description of prerequisites.

 

Q: When have I satisfied a prerequisite requirement?

A: By taking the prerequisite course and achieving a grade of C- or higher. If you received a grade lower than C- in the prerequisite course, you must retake that course.

 

Q: Do I have to achieve a grade of C- or higher in all my CHEN courses that are specifically required for graduation?

A: Yes, and your GPA in all CHEN courses must be 2.00 or greater.

 

Q: I recently changed majors to ChE during the fall of my sophomore year, and I missed taking Chemical Engineering Material & Energy Balances (CHEN 2120). Does that put off my graduation by an entire year?

A: Not necessarily, but it is likely to put it off by at least a semester. You will probably take CHEN 2120 in the Spring and MCEN 3021 (Fluids) next fall. Also, CHEN 3200 (Fluids) may be offered in the Summer semester. Consult an advisor.

 

Q: I've heard that it is impossible to complete the B.S. program in ChE in four years and that all students take at least 4-1/2 and many take 5 years.

A: Not so. The curriculum is designed to be completed in 4 years, and we encourage you to do so. We cannot, however, require you to do so.  Some students do take longer to complete their degree. Reasons for this vary, but include  other demands on the student's time require reduced academic loads, by transferring or changing majors partway through the program, the student has a curricular mismatch, academic difficulty requires the student to repeat one or more courses, and the student wants to explore academic areas outside of the standard ChE curriculum.

 

Q: How are MAPS deficiencies handled in the context of the ChE curriculum?

A: Minimum Academic Preparation Standards (MAPS) are State-mandated requirements placed on the academic preparation you received in high school and prior to entering CU. They are actually graduation requirements (yes, requirements upon graduation from CU). If you have any MAPS deficiencies, you must remedy them before graduation. University policy requires that you remedy deficiencies by taking appropriate courses, at least one course per semester upon entering CU. That may mean that your progress in the ChE curriculum will be altered or delayed because of the requirement to remedy MAPS deficiencies. There are cases, e.g., foreign language courses, where the course(s) you take to remedy a MAPS deficiency can actually count toward your B.S. ChE degree program. However, there are also situations, e.g., MAPS deficiencies in math, where the preparatory courses taken to remedy the deficiencies will not count toward your degree. It is most important to consult an advisor regarding MAPS deficiencies.

 

   MAPS requirements are different for the various colleges at CU. For example, Arts and Sciences requires one high school unit of geography and Engineering does not. See page 8 of the 2007-2008 CU Catalog.

 

Q: I received notice of academic suspension after my freshman year. What am I supposed to do? I want to continue studying at CU in the fall.

A: Suspension is just that, and it normally lasts one semester and a summer. The University is sending you a very strong message: we do not believe, given current evidence, that you can be successful in your present course of study. For most students, it is best that they take a break from all academic pursuits and spend a considerable amount of time re-evaluating their situation. Such absence and reflection may lead to a change of plans, or, less frequently, to a return to the University after the suspension with a different focus and attitude. You can take courses at another institution during a suspension. However, the grades earned will not impact your CU GPA even though the credits may appear on your CU transcript. It may be necessary for you to improve your CU GPA before you attempt to return to CU, if your suspension was due to a GPA below 2.00. You may do this by taking summer term courses or correspondence courses only.

 

Q: Should I consider taking one of the curricular options? They really limit my elective choices.

A: You should decide to take one of the options if you want to specialize in the theme of that option. The options do specify most or all of your technical electives in a way designed to provide that specialization. If you complete one of the options, the Department will provide you with a certificate at the time of your graduation. On the other hand, you should not feel pressured to take one of the options if it doesn't fit your interests.

 

Q: What types of courses can I take in the summer term?

A: The foundation courses in the sciences and mathematics and a variety of humanities & social science courses are available in the summer term. There are also several sections of the WRTG 3030 course offered, and the Herbst seminar courses, HUEN 3100 and 3200 have been offered in recent years. A few engineering courses may be available, e.g., GEEN 1300 and CHEN 3200.

 

Q: I have been put on probation. As a result, I may lose my financial aid. Can I meet with my last semester's instructors and ask them for grade changes so that I can get off probation retroactively?

A: The only justification for asking an instructor for a grade change is that an error has occurred in assigning your grade for that course. It is unfair to approach an instructor, asking for a change of grade, when it is based on a circumstance external to the course, such as probation, suspension, or loss of financial aid. You are putting the instructor in an unfair position. Don't do it. You may ask for an IF grade during the semester if an external circumstance beyond your control, e.g., a medical condition, has affected significantly your ability to complete the course.

 

Q: The semester is half over. My course workload seems to be too much. I need to bail out of a couple courses. What do I do?

A: After the six-week drop deadline, it is difficult to bail out of courses. When you enroll in courses at the beginning of the semester, you make a commitment to complete them. You have the first six weeks of the semester to make decisions about dropping courses. After that, you may ask for an IF grade during the semester if an external circumstance beyond your control, e.g., a medical condition, has affected significantly your ability to complete the course. You may also consider withdrawing from the semester if your personal situation is most severe. Starting in Fall 2006, the Boulder Campus has made the forgiveness program permanent, under the title “course repetition program.”. This program will allow students to repeat up to 10 credit hours of course work with the first grade in the same course not calculated into the CU grade point average or the total credit hour calculations. The exact same course must be repeated on the Boulder Campus. Meet with the Dean’s Office staff for additional details on this experimental program.

 

Q: I am having a real problem with an instructor. I feel as though I'm being harassed unfairly by this individual, but since s/he controls my grade in the course, I'm afraid to complain about it. Help!

A: This is always a tricky area. Your feeling of harassment may be the result of a mis-communication with the instructor. If you can possibly do it, you should discuss your feelings with the instructor.   That will often take care of the matter right away. If you feel uncomfortable about doing this alone with the instructor, ask a friend to accompany you. You may also wish to contact the ombudperson's office or a faculty advisor on the matter. If you are female, you may wish to contact the Women In Engineering Program. If you are an ethnic minority student, you might want to contact the MEP Program. These are not matters to be taken lightly and good communication is most important.

 

Q: I missed taking Biology for Engineers my freshman year. Are there alternate courses I can take in the summer or fall to fulfill this requirement?

A: The Biology for Engineers requirement can be satisfied in several ways. A 4 or 5 on an AP/IB biology exam will meet the course requirements. MCDB 1150 (offered in the fall) would also be equivalent. Students looking for a summer course can take the two-semester sequence EBIO 1210 and 1220.

 

Q: Can I take courses on a Pass-Fail basis and have them apply to the 128 credit hours required for graduation in ChE?

A: Yes, the Department policy is that any course that is not specifically required for graduation, is taught outside the College of Engineering and Applied Science, and is at the 3000 level or above, may be taken on a Pass-Fail basis. You must also follow the College of Engineering guidelines on Pass-Fail courses: no more than 16 credit hours of Pass-Fail total. Note: advanced chemistry electives and electives specified for the options may not be taken Pass-Fail.

 

Q: If I receive a D+ in a course that is a prerequisite for another ChE or ChBE course, do I have to take that course again?

A: Yes, a grade of C- or better is required in a course that is a prerequisite for another ChE or ChBE course.

 

Q: Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering (CVEN3414) for the environmental option curriculum is listed as a course that I need to take in the spring of my sophomore year.  However, it is only offered now in the fall.

A: You should take Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering (CVEN3414) in the fall of your junior year and instead take an environmental engineering elective during the spring of your sophomore year.

 

Q: Does PHYS3070 (same as ENVS3070) count as an environmental tech elective?

A: No, this class does not fulfill the requirements for a technical elective in the environmental engineering option.

 

Q: Is there a list of all the technical electives that I can take?

A: Yes, consult the ChE/ChBE Help Guide or the list can be found here:Tech_Electives,_H&SS_&_AP_Mapping.pdf

 

Q: If I transfer from CHEN to CBEN late as an undergraduate, do I have to go back and take Foundations of Bioengineering?

A: Yes, Foundations of Bioengineering is a required course for the B.S. degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering.

 

Q: Where can I get a list of the courses that are being offered each semester?

A: In CUConnect, you can search for courses that are being offered in a given semester.  This is found under the "Courses" menu of CUConnect.