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New Student Advising

Welcome to CSN General Advising!

This is the one-stop, enrollment shop for all for all new first time college students at CSN.  Review the information below for guidance on placement testing, how to submit ACT/SAT scores, new student orientation, academic advising, and enrollment. Follow the four steps below to enroll for the Fall 2023 semester.  To ensure optimal course availability, enroll before June 30, 2023.

Before you start, what is your goal?

After CSN, do you plan to transfer to a four-year college or university?  If yes, you will select a Transfer Program at CSN.

After CSN, do you plan to immediately pursue a career?  If yes, you will pursue a Career or Non-transferrable Program at CSN.

This pre-recorded video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yREG1PWnols provides more detailed information about transferrable and career/non-transferrable degrees.  You will also discuss these options with an advisor later and will be able to adjust your goal later if needed; but for now, use your answer to the questions above to complete your enrollment steps.

Enrollment Step One: English Placement Survey

English - English Placement Self-Guided Survey: All new students are encouraged to use our Self-Guided Placement Survey to help determine their English placement.  Please use this link to take the survey and receive your personalized recommendation.

Enrollment Step Two: Math Placement Testing

Students who plan to transfer to a four-year college after CSN AND plan to major in Business, Education, or any of the Sciences ARE required to complete the math placement or submit qualifying ACT/SAT scores that are less than two years old. For information on ACT/SAT scores, visit see the next section on this webpage.

Placement tests ARE NOT required for students who are pursuing other majors or for students who are pursuing career/non-transferable programs.

To Test on Campus

Click on the link to your preferred campus location below to make a reservation to test on campus.  After you complete and submit your request for a reservation, you will receive an email acknowledging your appointment instantly.

Charleston Campus

North Las Vegas Campus

Henderson Campus

On the day of the test, you will need to show a valid photo ID and your student number.  You will also need to have authenticated your goCSN account and have your log-in credentials to access the exam.

To Take the Test Remotely

Math Placement tests are delivered through the ALEKS PPL Math platform and can be taken anytime. Visit ALEKS PPL Math Placement, read all downloading and system requirements to take the math placement exam from home or any off-campus location.

Wait! I have ACT/SAT Scores. Can I use my scores, or should I test?

Use the table below to determine if you should take placement exams or use your ACT/SAT scores to determine placement.

Math ACT/SAT Test Score and Placement Test Guidance for Transfer Programs

 Elementary Education MajorsAssociate of Business MajorsBiological and Physical Science Majors

Associate of Arts Majors

Computer Science Associate of Arts
No Placement
Test Required

Math ACT 22 or higher

Math SAT 500 or higher

Math ACT 22 or higher

Math SAT 500 or higher

Math ACT 28 or higher

Math SAT 600 or higher

Math ACT 19 or higher

Math SAT 450 or higher

Math ACT 25 or higher

Math SAT 550 or higher

Placement Test Recommended

Math ACT 21 or under

Math SAT 450 or under

Math ACT 21 or under

Math SAT 450 or under

Math ACT 27 or under

Math SAT 550 or under

Math ACT 18 or under

Math SAT 400 or under

Math ACT 24 or under

Math SAT 500 or under


Math Placement Guidance for AAS Degrees and Certificate Programs

 Associate of Applied Science MajorsCertificate Programs
No CSN Placement Test Required

No scores/tests required for most programs

No scores/tests required


English Placement Guidance for ALL Majors & Programs

No Placement Test Required

English ACT score 18 or above

English SAT score 500 or above

Placement Test Recommended

English ACT score 17 and under

English SAT score 450 and under

Two ways to submit ACT/SAT Scores

  1. You may submit a scan or copy of your ACT/SAT score report. Bring it to the Testing Office at any of the three main CSN campuses or email the score report as an attachment to one of the offices below.
  2. If your ACT/SAT score is posted on your high school transcript, you can submit your transcript to report your score.  High school transcripts must be submitted in a sealed envelope.  Your high school counselor or administrator can email your transcript to the CSN Testing Center to any of the email addresses listed above.
Enrollment Step Three: Complete the CSN New Student Online Orientation

Complete the online orientation to become familiar with your CSN community and resources available to you.   Access is available in your GoCSN account.  Use your NSHE student ID number and password to login to GoCSN and select the New Student Online Orientation Tile. Visit the Orientation webpage or email us at fye@csn.edu for more information.

Enrollment Step Four: Academic Advising

At CSN, advising departments are designated based on your major. Health Sciences majors should visit https://www.csn.edu/health-sciences for more information about advising. Not sure which majors fall under Health Sciences?  Visit https://www.csn.edu/healtharea to see a list of our health programs.

Students pursuing all other majors should read and follow the information below for the General Academic Advising Department services.  There are three ways for students to meet with General Academic Advising staff.

Option 1: Attend a Registration Event. If you are a new, first time in college student, we strongly encourage you to attend a Registration Event.  To make a reservation, visit FYE Registration Events | CSN.

At these events you can:

  • Get enrolled and leave with a schedule in hand
  • Talk with a representative from the Financial Aid Department
  • Get help with removing completed holds from your account
  • Meet with an Academic Advisor.  Note that Health Advisors may not be present at all events.

*If you have an IEP or 504 Plan and wish to speak with someone before scheduling your appointment, please contact us by phone: 702-651-3165.

Option 2: Schedule an appointment through June 30, 2023. Appointments are 30 minutes and are scheduled on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 8:30 am -3:30 pm.  Follow the steps below to schedule an appointment.

  1. Visit www.csn.edu and click "Login".
  2. Log-in with your GoCSN username and password.
  3. Click MyCoyotePLAN Icon (or search for MyCoyotePLAN ).
  4. If required, log in again.
  5. Click on the Academic Advising box.
  6. Find an academic advisor who works with your major or area of study.
  7. Click “Schedule”.
  8. Choose the primary reason you wish to meet with an Academic Advisor.
  9. Click "Continue".
  10. Select a day and time that works best for you.
  11. Click "Continue".
  12. Enter any additional information related to your appointment.
  13. Click "Confirm" to secure your appointment.

*If you have an IEP or 504 Plan and wish to speak with someone before scheduling your appointment, please contact us by phone: 702-651-3165.

Option 3: Attend Open Advising beginning Monday, July 3rd through Wednesday, September 6. During Open Advising, students can meet with an advisor on a first come, first serve basis beginning Monday, July 3.  Open advising will be available Monday through Friday 8:30 am – 3:30 pm.

Please be advised that Open Advising may require a wait time of an hour or greater. Line(s) may close early during times of extremely high volume. During Open Advising, students can meet with advisors on campus or by phone.

  • To meet with an advisor on campus, students should check into the advising queue online or at their preferred campus and select the ‘In-person Academic Advising’ queue.  You will receive a text message alerting you when it is your turn to see an advisor.
  • To meet with an advisor by phone, students can use the check into the advising queue at https://www.csn.edu/coyoteq and choose the “Academic Advising by Phone” queue.  When you reach the front of the queue for "Academic Advising by Phone," you will receive a phone call from an academic advisor.

Open Advising sessions provide the following services:

  • Course Recommendations
  • Advising Hold Removals
  • General Questions
  • Campus Referrals

*If you have an IEP or 504 Plan and wish to speak with someone before scheduling your appointment, please contact us by phone: 702-651-3165.

Still have questions?  Email us at advising@csn.edu.  Messages sent Monday through Friday will usually receive a response on the same day and always within 24 hours.  Messages sent over the weekend will receive a response by the close of business on the following Tuesday.

Enroll in Classes, Pay Your Bill, Contact the Office of Financial Aid

Upon the completion of steps 1 through 4, you can register for classes.  For support in the online class registration process, please view our video recorded demonstration at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX3VIcwYWuw or make an appointment for live, individual assistance with the Virtual Students First Station.

The Cashier’s Office provides information about cost of attendance and payment deadlines.

Visit CSN Financial Aid webpage for information on the application process.  If you have already applied for financial aid, you will be contacted via email.

Help! I cannot open my CSN account!

If you have not validated your user account, please follow the instructions at https://csnstudent.csn.edu/stuverify/.

If you forgot your password, follow the steps to reset your password at https://www.csn.edu/csn-password-administration.

If neither of the options above work, select one of the following options:

  • Contact the CSN Call Center at 702-651-4357 Monday through Friday from 9 am-7 pm.
  • Visit the OTS Help Desk page at https://www.csn.edu/helpdesk for chat, phone, or email assistance.
I took the AP exam or have IB credit. Does CSN accept AP and/or IB credits?

Advanced Placement (AP) Credit

Advanced placement and/or credit may be granted to entering students who have achieved appropriate scores on one or more of the Advanced Placement Tests offered by the College Entrance Examination Board (College Board).  Please submit AP scores to the Office of the Registrar.

The College Board allows one free official score report per test.  If you did not use the free report to send your scores to CSN, you will need to contact the College Board to request the release of an official score report for CSN.  Contact the College Board at https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/sending-scores.

Results for AP tests completed in spring 2023 will be released in July 2023. If you took the exam this spring and are waiting for your results, please be sure share this when you meet with the advisor.

International Baccalaureate (IB) Program

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides internationally accepted credentials for entry into higher education.  CSN credit may be awarded for each higher-level examination passed with a score of 4 or above.

Students who have IB test credit should forward official test scores to the Office of the Registrar, College of Southern Nevada, 6375 W Charleston Blvd, Las Vegas NV 89146.  To request official test scores, visit the International Baccalaureate website at https://www.ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/assessment-and-exams/getting-results/.

How to Declare or Change Your Major

For a demonstration on how to declare/change your major in MyCSN, Go To MyCSN.

For printable instructions on how to declare/change your major in MyCSN,  View Printable Instructions.

NSHE Gateway Enrollment and Corequisite Policy

Effective Fall 2021, Nevada public colleges and universities will require all new, beginning students to enroll in the gateway college-level English and math courses required for their program/major within their first year of study. Some gateway courses will include college-level coursework only, while others will include the same college-level coursework along with corequisite instruction. Corequisite instruction delivers in-class, in-time support to ensure student success. While enrollment in courses featuring corequisite instruction will be open to all students, a qualifying test score may be required to enroll in courses without the corequisite support. Please see the chart which contains an overview of gateway and co-requisite courses, but does not replace an advisor's recommendation.

Advising Questions & Answers

Please use the links below to access video recorded messages on the following:

*Still have questions? Contact Us!

*Please contact us by phone at 702-651-3165 if you have an IEP or 504 Plan and need assistance in meeting with an academic advisor.