Advising Tip: Are you ready to register for spring courses?

From Ohio University News

Editor’s Note: This series is prepared by success advisors in the College of Arts & Sciences.

By Chris Hitchcock
College of Arts & Sciences Success Advisor

Just when you thought it was time to recline in the semester and relax your mind, the next year is upon us and that means, of course, it’s time to schedule spring courses, so here we have provided some tips and resources to help.

Add these important to-dos to your calendar

• Check your My Ohio Student Center for your registration time.
• Academic advising for spring semester is under way.
  • Schedule your advising appointment before your registration time so you are ready to go when your time comes—remember, you must meet with your advisor before registering to verify your plan and lift your academic hold.
  • Find your adviser in your My Ohio Student Center or at the top of  your DARS.
• Monday, Oct. 25: Spring priority registration begins.

Prepare to meet with your adviser

Remember that you’re driving, your adviser is navigating.

• Well before your advising meeting, prepare a potential course schedule.
  • Check your DARS for requirements—look to future classes too to ensure you’re meeting prerequisites.
  • Check OHIO Course Offerings.
  • Plot your desired courses on a week calendar to ensure the meetings don’t overlap and your days flow well—try Ohio University’s Schedule Planner, it will allow you to import your schedule directly to your Student Center shopping cart and be ready to enroll!
  • Find backups in case a class is full or does not fit for some reason.
  • Understand that this schedule may need to be adjusted, but it is a useful tool to get you started in the direction you want to go.
• Write down specific questions you have about scheduling, course sequences for your major, prerequisites, or other scheduling-related questions. (Note that you may not have time for other types of advising questions during this meeting, but you are welcome to schedule additional meetings for those questions.)
• At least 15 minutes before your meeting, turn your laptop or device on and open all pertinent pages and documents to ensure you can access everything you need, and to avoid wasting valuable meeting time that is better used for scheduling

View these tutorials to learn how to schedule

• How to Read your DARS (video)
• Help Creating a Course Schedule (OHIO video and PDF resources)
• How to Register for Classes (video)
• Registration Instructions [PDF]
• How to Request Permission for a Class (video for students)
• How to Manage Class Permission Requests (video for instructors)

Remember to plan early and register on time to ensure you have the spring courses you want and are building toward graduation and all your other life goals.