If your question doesn't appear on this page, please send your question to John Clark, Office of Registration & Records, BGSU. Click HERE to send an email now, or call 419-372-8441.

Q: How do I find what I'm looking for in the catalog?
A: The answer depends upon what you're looking for. For instance, course information (both current and archived) is available under the link "Course Descriptions." Areas of study (majors, etc.) may be found via the "Areas of Study" link or by searching the contents of individual college sections (see "Colleges and Programs"). If you know the name of what you're looking for, you also may find it by doing a keyword search via the search function on the catalog index page (click HERE to display catalog index). "Academic Policies," "General Information," and so forth also are useful to scan for particular kinds of information. The "site map" option (see link in middle of catalog index page) is also useful if you would like to scan a comprehensive text listing of the entire catalog contents.

Q: How do I use the "Policies/Programs" search?
A: As for most web searches, you initiate a catalog Policies/Programs search by clicking your cursor in the search entry box and typing a key word or phrase. By default, the catalog search finds "and" plus "or" for the words you enter, meaning that it will show "hits" for catalog pages containing all words you have entered plus any words you have entered. For instance, typing "marine biology" in the keyword search and then clicking the "Search" button shows you all pages with the phrase "marine biology" plus all pages showing just "marine" and all pages showing just "biology." The search also shows all pages containing "marine" (or any other search term) as part of a word: e.g., aquamarine. To restrict the search to just the specific term you are seeking (and exclude close-but-not-quite-matches), put quotation marks around the search term that you enter.

Q: What are "Other Catalogs"?
A: This is a catch-all heading for links to past undergraduate catalogs and to a page containing links to graduate studies catalogs. All previous editions of online undergraduate catalogs at BGSU are linked under the "Other Catalogs" heading in the current catalog. This availability is particularly useful if a previous catalog is your official "catalog year." Please bear in mind, however, that past catalogs are not updated and may contain obsolete or inaccurate information.

Q: If I am interested in learning more about a program of study and know that it's offered by a particular BGSU college (e.g., Arts & Sciences) but don't know the program's title, how can I effectively search for it?
A: One method you can use to search for program information (or other information) when you have a general idea of its section but don't know the title or heading in question is to enter a catalog section and "page" through the section using the arrow-forward method. To pursue this method, go to the index page of the section in question—for instance, "College of Arts and Sciences" under "Colleges and Degree Programs." In the upper right-hand portion of the page, click the "next page" link. By continuing to click the same link on each page that appears, you can quickly skim through all of the pages of a given catalog section, possibly finding the item you seek.

Q: What is the quickest method of returning to a higher-level index from a specific page?
A: To quickly move to a higher-level index, look just beneath the title "Undergraduate Catalog 200x-200x," where you will see a "breadcrumbs" trail with links to upper-level indexes. Brackets separate the organizational levels. Click the bracketed item representing the level to which you wish to navigate.Higher levels are to the left; your current level is farthest right. Alternatively, you could use your browser "Back" button to return to a previously visited section index.

Q: How can I tell what is or isn't a link in the catalog?
A: You could click it, or you could roll your cursor over any item you think might be (or you hope will be) a link. All of the text-based links in the catalog are programmed to change color when your mouse cursor passes over them. All image-based links are programmed to display text telling you which catalog area or page will be displayed when you click on the image. Here's an example of a text-based catalog link that directs you to the catalog index: Catalog Index LINK.
Here's an example of an image-based link, allowing you to quickly return to the top of a long page: .
Try rolling your cursor over each example.

Q: I've read one of the "Academic Policies" in the catalog but remain uncertain about its application to me. How can I get further information about or explanation of this policy?
A: Various approaches are available to you for elucidation of academic policies. For instance, the Office of Registration and Records deals with and/or administers most academic policies; the footer of each catalog page contains contact information for the Office of Registration and Records and the catalog editor. If Registration and Records or the catalog editor cannot answer your question satisfactorily, they will forward your question to the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. Your college advising office also can be an excellent resource with regard to academic policy questions.

Q: What advantages does the online, interactive course search offer over the "flat text" yearly listings of all the course descriptions which are part of the catalog?
A: The "flat" course listings are prepared once per year, using the official course descriptions current at the time of catalog publication (late March). However, course modification is a constant process, and the Online Course Search is updated weekly throughout the year. Because significant elements of a course such as course credit hours, course prerequisites, and offering locations could change at any time (though not during a term, effective for that term), course information obtained from the online course search is much more reliable than the information in the annual course listings. Historical course information is useful, however, if your goal is to view course information that was valid at some time in the past.

Q: How do I use the online course search?
A: The online course search, linked from the catalog under the heading "Current Course Descriptions," contains its own context-specific "Help" facility. (Context-specific means that different help options are shown depending upon the page you are viewing when you click "Help.") Click HERE to go to the course search now.

Q: What does this listing from the online course search page signify: "Effective for Spring 2005 -- As of 10-01-2004 21:13"?
A: Course attributes such as course descriptions, listed prerequisites, offering locations, credit hours, and so forth are term-specific, meaning that these attributes may change for future terms but not during a term when students may be enrolled in that course. (Imagine the difficulty if the credit hours for a course changed for an active term once that term had begun.) But students also need course information for future terms, because they may register during spring semester for summer semester or fall semester classes. Therefore, the course search always displays effective term (see above) plus the date and time the displayed information was obtained from BGSU's student information system. If you need even more up-to-the-minute or detailed course information, click HERE to email your question to the Office of Registration and Records.