Graphic by Karri Fox

Priority registration for Fall 2024 opens Monday-Friday, and open registration begins March 29.

Priority registration for Fall 2024 begins March 25 and will be open until March 28. Open registration will be available from March 29 to Aug. 16.

The College of Liberal Arts Advising Center provides students with assistance in registering for classes.

Academic advisors are available to provide guidance and suggestions to ensure the courses assigned meet students’ curricular requirements. 

Advising centers are located in every college on campus, assisting both present and potential students contemplating a major within their respective colleges.

Will Phillips, academic advisor in the College of Liberal Arts, said he meets with students for various reasons.

Phillips said if students want to change their major, he looks at their Degree Works sheet and creates a template plan as a timeline of what the courses will look like in that time frame. 

He said he checks midterms and grades for students who come to him for registration.

“I’ll check what courses they’re in,” Phillips said. “I’ll look at their plan and see if they’re on track with their plan and then see what courses are going to be offered in fall that upcoming semester and kind of start getting that prepared.”

Phillips said if the student is failing classes, he will shift gears, and together they will brainstorm a plan to get them back on track.

“Coming prepared to kind of be honest how this semester is going and collaborating, because I don’t just say ‘Here’s a list of five classes, you’re taking these, no questions asked,’ right?” Phillips said. “Like, it needs to be collaborative because ultimately, students are the ones going to classes and doing the work.” 

Phillips said students can prepare before an appointment by looking at their Degree Works page to see what their plan looks like and then look at the bulletin to see what classes will be offered next semester.

“Another big thing is making sure if they have any holds like a bursar hold or Title IX hold or something like that, that they get that resolved because you won’t be able to register if you have a hold on your account,” Phillips said. “That’s the biggest thing, and normally on your Degree Works, it will show you if you have a hold on there.”

Phillips said he has been recommending students to attend the Rock’N Registration, especially if they want a higher chance of getting into a class. 

“I think that this event is going to be really helpful, particularly for freshman and kind of lower classmen because they can get registered a day early,” Phillips said.

Rock’N Registration is an event aiming to connect undergraduate students and advisors before registration. The free event will include games, food and prizes while students register for Fall 2024.

Timothy Fitzgibbon, director of the Center for Exploring Majors, said Rock’N Registration is coming together and is an exciting event.

He said the event will be particularly helpful for first and second-year students.

Fitzgibbon said instead of students waiting until Wednesday or Thursday to register, they can jump the line and register for classes Tuesday.

“It’s going to be fun, and there’s gonna be prizes, there’ll be food, games, so it’s fun and you get registered for classes early,” Fitzgibbon said.

Fitzgibbon said students registering as early as they can is very helpful.

“So you get the selections in the sections of times and classes for that that you’re interested in, you know, that works best for maybe your schedule or the professors that they really want to take a class from,” Fitzgibbon said.

Jesse Rodriguez-Perez, freshman psychology major, said he looks through his options to prepare for registration.

“It’s my first year, so I haven’t been really used to it, but I plan on just what classes I enjoy the most,” Rodriguez-Perez said. “I use it as kinda like a guideline or a foundation to know what other classes I want to go into.” 

Rodriguez-Perez said his advisor, Phillips, reaches out to him through email. 

“He’s very helpful,” Rodriguez-Perez said. “I think they provide a support system for you very effectively.” 

He said the Rock’N Registration event is a good way to get registered early. 

“I think it’s actually pretty cool because I can get ahead and get all my classes registered and not have to worry about being late or one of the seats not being able to be filled in for one of the classes I want to take,” Rodriguez-Perez said. 

Other students also share how they prepare for registration. 

Ruth Heile, senior civil engineering major, said she prepares for registration by making sure she knows what to take next and what classes are needed. 

She said at the beginning she had help when it came to registration, but when she reached her upper-level classes she started to do it on her own and would send her schedule to her advisor instead of meeting with him. 

“They’re pretty good at helping you get in the classes and electives you want to get into, definitely making sure if you need something you can get into it, they’ve been known to open up classes that are closed or full for us,” Heile said.

Paige Ford, junior English literature major, transferred from a community college with an associate’s degree and came to USI for her bachelor’s degree. 

Ford said she contacts her academic advisor, Emma Hooper, through email.

“She helps me make my schedule fit with what I needed to fit with, and also keep track of what classes I need to take since I’ve transferred in,” Ford said. “She helps me keep track of what I have left to finish a bachelor’s.”

Annaliese Penrod, freshman biology pre-med major, said she goes to the Advisortrac icon on the Eagle page to set up meetings with her academic advisor, Carissa Prince. If she has questions, she said she emails her advisor directly. 

“She’s always available,” Penrod said. “Even if she’s not available face-to-face, she’s always offering to email or asking if we’re okay and check up on us. It’s been a really good experience.”

Penrod said before meeting with her advisor, she will assess how she is doing in current classes and what she wants to take in the future. 

“I kind of do a little bit of both and just depends on what areas, like now I’ve looked ahead, and I know that I want to take some online classes and some psychology classes next semester, but I’ll go and I’ll tell her what I want to do and will collaborate a lot is what we do, she’ll say ‘Well, I think this would be best,’ and we’ll fit into my schedule the right way,” Penrod said. 

Phillip said students should not be afraid to contact their advisors. 

“We truly are here to help you,” he said. “I love helping students. I do it literally all day. I might not be an expert or know 100% about everything, but I am committed to finding an answer.” 

For more information on academic advising, visit the page on USI’s website here.