Get Registration Right the First Time
Here at WCSU, like almost any other college, it’s important to be ready when course registration time rolls around. If you’re new to college, you may be struggling more than is necessary. There are three basic steps to follow to make your registration process simple and headache-free. Be prepared – know what it is you’ll need to do before you can register. Write it out – writing out your courses and their times can help you visualize your schedule. Follow through – always make sure you set your alarm so you don’t get locked out of a popular class prior to waking up.
If you want registration to go smoothly for you, you should try and be as prepared as you can. Many schools require you to meet with an advisor prior to registration. At Western, it is protocol that you meet with your advisor to discuss your academic future and receive a PIN number, which you will need in order to register. Meeting with an advisor can be very informative, as they often know more about your major than you do, and can tell you what classes may not be important to take, and which ones are imperative. Sometimes students are unaware of this requirement. You are held responsible if you fail to contact your advisor and get your PIN, which can be very stress inducing if you are all set to register and are stopped by a mere six-digit number.
The second step is to “write it out”. It is wise to visit the school’s website and look at the list of courses to see which ones are available for you to take. WCSU students need to visit the “BannerWeb” page to view the “Open/Close” tab, which will enable you to view all offered courses. It would be a good idea to write down what courses you want to take and the times they are offered, and see if any other courses you need conflict with those times. Many times, students will be ready to register, realize that they accidentally chose two classes that have overlapping time slots, and are then forced to make a choice between the two. Don’t let this happen to you. Take the time to go over your proposed schedule before you register- that way, you won’t have to change it.
The last step is to follow through. All your effort may go to waste if you sleep through your registration time. Whether it is at 12 midnight or at 7 a.m., you will definitely want to be awake for it. If you are on time, the chances of your required and desired classes being filled up by the time you register are going to be reduced. If you have been prepared, you will already have a list of the courses you plan to take, and the CRN’s or “course registration numbers” that correspond to those courses. (CRN’s are displayed along with the course name, time slot, location and instructor). A tip of advice to new students: Clicking on the CRN of a class will bring you to the course overview, giving you a detailed description of what the course curriculum entails. This will help you decide if it is a course you may enjoy. When you are ready to register, you must go online and sign into Banner and go to the “Registration Add/Drop” tab. From there, you will need to enter your CRN’s and click “submit”. This is why it’s smart to write the CRN’s down, so you’ll have them readily available for this step. After you do this, your courses should pop up in a box that reads “Web Registered” and that’s how you know you’ve completed the process. You can then take a deep, satisfied breath of accomplishment.
It’s actually very simple, really. It comes as a struggle to many students, and very often to incoming freshman who seldom know the ropes. If you are able to be prepared, write out the information, and follow through with your registration process, you should be able to get through it very easily and will enjoy a whole semester following a well-designed class schedule, avoiding a lot of painful hair pulling in the process. Save that hair. You’ll want some to pull out during exam week.
