Frequently Asked Questions

How do I contact an instructor?
You can always send an e-mail to your instructor.  Not all who teach in the MLS program are on the FHSU campus, so you may not be able to reach an instructor by calling the main FHSU number (1-800-628-3478).  If you know the name of your instructor, you can go to the FHSU webpage http://www.fhsu.edu and do a search there.  If you do not know the name of your instructor, or have not been able to locate your instructor on the Web, you are welcome to contact the MLS Program Director either by e-mail mls@fhsu.edu or by phone (785) 628-5578.

How do I contact my advisor?
You can always send an e-mail to your advisor.  You are strongly encouraged to keep in regular contact with your advisor.  If you do not know the name of your advisor, or do not know your advisor’s e-mail address or phone number, your SWS webpage http://www.fhsu.edu/sws/ will tell you the name of your faculty advisor.  You are also welcome to contact the MLS Program Director either by e-mail mls@fhsu.edu or by phone (785) 628-5578 to obtain the name your faculty advisor.

 What is a program of study? 
A Program of Study lists the courses included in the curriculum for your MLS degree.  It also includes your name, address, social security number, e-mail address, and the names of the faculty on your MLS faculty committee.

What are comprehensive exams? 
Comprehensive exams provide an opportunity for you to demonstrate mastery of your program of study.  More information about these exams is found in the section titled MLS Program of Study.

What is the culminating experience? 
The culminating experience occurs at the end of your program.  It can be thought of as a capstone experience.  It is an opportunity to bring all of your skills and abilities to bear on a single piece of work (that may have more than one part).  More information about the culminating experience is found in the section titled MLS Program of Study.  Also, check out the MLS internship page, the MLS project webpage, and the MLS thesis webpage.

 What is Blackboard?
Blackboard is a web-based learning technology.  Check with your instructors to see if they use Blackboard.  A tutorial is available to you once you have accessed the Blackboard website.  If an instructor does use Blackboard, you will be able to access that course by going to http://blackboard.fhsu.edu then click the “login” button.  Typically, your username is the initial of your first name, the initial of your second name, and your last name – all jammed together as a single string of characters.  Your password would be the last four digits of your social security number.  Once you ‘login’ to Blackboard, the courses in which you are currently enrolled – if they use Blackboard – will be listed on the right side of the screen.  Click on the link for whichever course you wish to access.

Can I transfer credits from another school?
Your faculty advisor determines whether courses will transfer.  While FHSU policy allows for a maximum of 15 hours to be transferred, don’t expect more than six or nine hours to be transferred.  Only courses that meet the following criteria can be transferred:

1. Taken for graduate credit
2. Taken from an accredited school
3. Taken for a letter grade, which cannot be lower than a “B”
4. Not more than six years old when you graduate with your MLS degree.
5. Not part of another program.  For example, a class taken as part of another Master's degree could not be transferred.
   

 How do I add or drop a course?
Prior to the beginning of a semester you can work with your advisor to drop or add courses.  Once the semester has already begun, you need to submit requests to add or drop courses by using the online form found at http://gold.fhsu.edu/add-drop/  If you want to completely withdraw from school for a semester, you will need to contact the Registrar’s Office at (785) 628-4222. To find the dates for adding and dropping courses, and the refund schedule, please see the FHSU Academic Calendar.  It is important to realize that when you use the on-line request to add or drop a course, what you are in effect doing is submitting a request that will be processed later.  So it is very possible that you attempt to submit a request to add a course at the time a course is open, but then the course will close prior to your request being processed.  You should also realize that the online listing of courses is not in 'real time' - that is, it is possible that the online list shows a class as being open when it is in fact closed.

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