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Individualized Studies advising

The advisors in the College of Individualized Studies are committed to your success. We believe the student - advisor relationship is a partnership with open and timely communication on both sides.

Undergraduate and Graduate Advising

Your Advisor's name and contact information is on the Degree Audit Report. Login to eServices, click Academic Records, Degree Audit, Request a Degree Audit, Run Declared Programs, and View Audit.

Undergraduate Academic Advisors

Britney Iacono 
Academic Advisor 
651-793-1784 
Britney.Iacono@metrostate.edu

Bryan Maurer 
Academic Advisor 
651-793-1785 
Bryan.Maurer@metrostate.edu

Meng Vang
Academic Advisor
Meng.Vang@metrostate.edu

Graduate Academic Advisors

Richard Bohannon 
Associate Professor, CIS Graduate Program Director, Fall 2023 
651-793-1417 
richard.bohannon@metrostate.edu

Sheila Kunkle  
Professor, CIS Graduate Program Director, Spring 2024 
651-793-1779 
sheila.kunkle@metrostate.edu  

Daniel Woldeab 
Associate Professor, Adult Education Certificate Director 
651-793-1785 
daniel.woldeab@metrostate.edu  

Individualized Studies frequently asked questions

Below are answers to Frequently Asked Questions from students in the Individualized Studies program. If you have any questions that are not listed below, please feel free to contact us at CIS.Advising@metrotate.edu. 

“I’m newly admitted to Metro State. What do I do now?”

Congrats! It may take up to two weeks to have your transfer credit evaluation completed. In the meantime, you should:

  1. Activate your StarID and Metro email. 
  2. Complete Online Orientation. 
  3. Finish any required Placement assessments.
    1. An additional option is guided student self-placement, which requires consultation with an advisor prior to registration.

“How do I get my Orientation hold released?"

Complete new student Online Orientation. Orientation is mandatory for all new and readmitted students.

It may take up to three (3) business days to for the Student Life and Leadership Development (SLLD) staff to verify the successful completion of online New Student Orientation. You will receive an e-mail notification to your university e-mail account (StarID@go.minnstate.edu) confirming your online New Student Orientation completion.

  • Students cannot register for courses until the Online Orientation has been completed.  
  • Students must: (a) register for the Online Orientation, and (b) take both the survey and quiz at the end to validate they have completed it.
  • If you have completed the online Orientation but the hold has not been removed, contact Gateway Student Services (help is available via live chat, phone, email; click for hours).

“How do I get my Placement assessment hold released?”

Complete the required Placement assessment or score the appropriate level for the class.

“I am on Academic Warning or Academic Probation. What do I need to do to get registered?”

Students on Academic Warning: You must first complete the Academic Success Workshop (ASW), then meet with your academic advisor to review the three (3) ASW worksheets and receive approval to register.

Students on Academic Probation: You must meet with your academic advisor to plan for a successful semester and receive approval to register. The advisor may require that you take the ASW again, or may waive it.

  • Once the advisor has determined that you have made appropriate plans for registration, the advisor can request an override of the Academic Hold. 
  • Contact CIS.Advising@metrostate.edu if you need help with an Academic Warning or Academic Probation hold.

“I have other holds on my registration but they are not listed here. What should I do?”

You will need to have them released before you can register. 

  • Check for holds by logging into eServices. On the left-side menu click on Registration Holds. Active holds are shown along with what you must do to release the hold. 
  • Visit the Registration holds webpage for directions on how to get other holds released.

“I am thinking about choosing or changing my major to Individualized Studies. Is this the right choice?”

If you are early in the processing of choosing your major, ask yourself these questions. 

“Tell me about the Degree Plan and how I might go about self-designing my focus area.”

In the College of Individualized Studies, you design your degree plan around an educational goal statement and a self-designed focus/concentration (terminology that is similar to a major). 

Students create a unique focus that is integrated thematically and includes study from many disciplines.

Most important, students self-design focuses not found in any other area of the university and that are unique to their personal, educational, and career aspirations.

“Can I change my faculty approved degree plan after I complete PRSP 301?”

Yes. Contact your academic advisor if you need to request an amendment to your degree plan.

“I have transfer courses still showing as ‘IP’ or in-progress on my DARS. How do I get them updated?”

If your coursework is from a Minnesota State college or university,  Request a transfer update for new transfer work to be evaluated and appear on your DARS report. (Excludes the University of Minnesota)

For any other transfer coursework outside of the Minnesota State System, please provide an official transcript to the Admissions Office. 

  • Please request a transfer update only after your transfer coursework has been graded; we cannot complete the transfer update if you have ungraded courses.
  • Requests are processed in the order we receive them.
  • Depending on volume, requests take approximately 10–20 business days to process.
  • Transfer GPA is not recalculated after the point of admission, and will not change when a transfer update request has been processed.
  • An e-mail notification is sent to your Metropolitan State student email account when your transfer update request has been processed.

NOTE: You will need to request a transfer update every time you have additional coursework to transfer to Metro State.