Understanding Your Schedule

How Your Schedule Was Built

Before you arrived on campus, an Academic Advisor was already working on your schedule. Here's what happened behind the scenes:

You filled out the Building Your Schedule Survey when you enrolled. That survey asked about your interests, intended major, and academic background.
Your Academic Advisor reviewed your high school transcript and SAT/ACT scores to determine your placement levels in math, foreign language, and chemistry.
Your advisor used all of that information to build your first semester schedule, balancing your interests, your placements, and the General Education requirements you need to satisfy.

The result is the schedule waiting for you in PASCAL/WebAdvisor — and it was put together specifically for you, not randomly assigned.

Want to request a change? Fill out the Schedule Change Request Form and an Academic Advisor will review it and work with you on options. Or schedule an advising appointment to talk it through in person.

How to Read Your Schedule

Your schedule in PASCAL has two types of entries: courses (your actual classes) and placements (not classes — just information about which level you should start at in certain subjects). More on placements below.

Each row on your schedule looks something like this:

Sample schedule row: POLS*111*01, Intro to Political Science, 4 credits, SS general studies code, instructor Schwennicke, location BLOK 215 LEC MW 1:00pm–2:15pm

Here's what each column means:

Course Number: Three parts separated by asterisks: department code (e.g., POLS), course number (e.g., 111), and section number (e.g., 01). You're enrolled in one specific section — you attend that class, not any other section of the same course.
Title: The name of the course. When talking to advisors or faculty, you'll usually refer to a class by its department code and number (e.g., "POLS 111") rather than its full title.
CR — Credits: How many credits the course is worth. Most courses are 4 credits. Some labs or special courses are 2 or 3. You need 128 credits total to graduate.
GS — General Studies Code: If a course satisfies a General Education requirement, it gets a code here. PL means it's a placement entry, not a class. See the full list of codes below.
Instructor: The professor teaching your section. If it says "Staff," an instructor hasn't been assigned yet.
Location, Date & Time: Building code, room number, course type (LEC, LAB, SEM), the days it meets (M, T, W, R, F), and start/end time. See the building codes and course type keys below.

General Studies (GS) Codes

CA Creative Arts HUM Humanities MN Math LAB Natural Science with Lab SS Social Sciences PS Professional Studies PL Placement (not a class)

Course Types

LEC Lecture LAB Required Lab SEM Seminar PL Placement info — not an actual class

Building Codes — View full list

BLOC Blocker Hall BIRD Birdsong Hall CLAR Clarke Hall GRAY Graybeal Hall ROOP Roop Hall LIB Hofheimer Library BATT Batten Center GPAC Goode Performing Arts Center VIRT Virtual / Online OC Off Campus

What the Course Number Actually Tells You

The first digit of the course number indicates difficulty level, not what year you're supposed to take it. Don't be surprised if your first-semester schedule has a 200-level course — that's normal. A 100-level course isn't just for freshmen; plenty of juniors and seniors take them. The level is about depth, not seniority.

Each academic department has its own code prefix. View the full list of department codes.

Understanding Your Placements

Placements are not classes. They're entries on your schedule that tell you which level of a course you should start in based on your high school coursework and test scores. You'll see them labeled PL in the GS column.

Placements only appear on your schedule during your first semester. After that, they move to your Academic History in PASCAL/WebAdvisor.

Transfer students: Send your high school transcripts to the Registrar at reg@batten.edu to make sure your placements are set correctly before your first semester.

There are three placement areas to know about: Math, Foreign Language, and Chemistry. Expand any section below for the full guide.

To graduate, you must complete one math or quantitative course from the list below that matches your placement level — or have AP, IB, or transfer/dual enrollment credit already on file with the Registrar.

H AP Calculus

What it means You took AP Calculus in high school. Contact Dr. Margaret Reese at mreese@batten.edu for a course recommendation. AP or IB exam credit may already satisfy this requirement.

A Calculus-Ready

What it means You have the preparation for Calculus I — but you don't have to take calculus. Plenty of A-placement students choose Math 150 or a CS course instead.

B Pre-Calc Ready

What it means You've had Algebra 2 with a B or better but aren't quite ready for Calculus I yet. If calculus is in your future, start with Math 170 Precalculus.

C Algebra First

What it means You'll start with Math 104 Algebra and Its Applications. This course gets you where you need to be.

Courses by Placement — First-Year Students

Placement	Course Options
H	Contact Dr. Margaret Reese at mreese@batten.edu
A	CS 107 Introduction to Python Programming CS 110 Introduction to Programming with Visual BASIC (Spring) CS 112 Programming I (Fall, Spring) Math 150 Topics in Modern Mathematics (Fall, January, Spring) Math 171 Calculus I (Fall, Spring)
B	CS 107 Introduction to Python Programming CS 110 Introduction to Programming with Visual BASIC (Spring) CS 112 Programming I (Fall, Spring) Math 150 Topics in Modern Mathematics (Fall, January, Spring) Math 170 Precalculus with Trigonometry (Fall, Spring)
C	CS 100 Computer Concepts and Applications (Spring) Math 104 Algebra and Its Applications (Fall, January, Spring)
D	Algebra Readiness Program — required for all D placements. Support available through the Learning Center. The Algebra Readiness Assessment is offered each semester during Advising Weeks.

A few things to know:

Math 210 Introductory Statistics is not open to first-year students. It's available from sophomore year on.
Business majors with H, A, or B placement should wait until sophomore year and take Math 210.
If you're planning pre-engineering, take Math 171 and CHEM 120 in your first semester.
Not a math person and have an A or B placement? Math 150 Topics in Modern Mathematics is a great fit.
To challenge your math placement, contact Dr. Lydia Kennedy at lkennedy@batten.edu.

Every Batten student must demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English. Depending on your background, you may already satisfy this requirement — or you may need to take up to three courses in a language sequence.

You can satisfy the requirement by:

Completing one language in high school through the third level with a final grade of C or higher
Scoring 4 or higher on an AP exam in French, German, Latin, or Spanish
Scoring at least 600 on the CEEB Foreign Language Achievement test
Transferring college-level coursework through the intermediate level
Completing Batten's 111 / 112 / 213 language course sequence
CLEP exam (Registrar's approval required)
Demonstrating native proficiency in another language (interview required)

Don't put it off. If you need to complete language coursework, the Foreign Languages faculty strongly recommend starting in your first semester. If you wait, you must begin within three semesters of enrollment.

What Your Placement Code Means

Code	What It Means
FLP 1	Begin at the 111 level in a language of your choosing.
FLP FR / GER / SPAN / LAT 2	You're prepared to begin at the 112 level of the indicated language. You can also choose to start fresh at 111 in a different language.
FLP FR / GER / SPAN / LAT 3	You're prepared to begin at the 213 level of the indicated language. You can also choose to start fresh at 111 in a different language.
FLP 7	You've already satisfied the Foreign Language Proficiency requirement. Nothing to do here.
FLP 6	Your placement is still pending. Contact your advisor.

Questions about your foreign language placement? Contact Dr. Benjamin Haller, Chair of Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Classics, at bhaller@batten.edu or 757.233.8811.

The short version: CHEM placement only matters if you're planning to take CHEM 120 — and most students aren't.

CHEM 120 Introductory Chemistry is generally only required for science majors. If your major doesn't require it, there are plenty of other ways to satisfy your natural science with lab requirement.

If you do want to take CHEM 120, the placement works like this: if you took a high school chemistry course and earned at least a B, you're prepared. If you didn't, talk to your advisor about alternatives.

Questions? Contact your Academic Advisor at studentsuccess@batten.edu.

If you took AP courses in high school, you may already have college credit waiting — depending on your exam scores. AP credit can satisfy both specific course requirements and General Education breadth requirements.

For the full list of which AP scores earn credit at Batten, see the Advanced Placement Guide on the Registrar's page. If you have questions about how your AP credit applies, contact the Registrar's Office.

Reference

The pages below are quick-reference guides you'll use throughout your time at Batten. Bookmark them — they come in handy especially around registration time.

Department Codes — the two-to-five letter prefixes on every course number
Class Meeting Location Codes — building abbreviations on your schedule
Advanced Placement (AP) Credit Guide — Registrar's office, full AP score chart
myBeacon — your hub for student resources, forms, and important links

Still confused by something on your schedule? Your advisor has seen every version of this question. They don't mind.

Schedule an Appointment