Phased Registration Information

Overview

All students should first make sure that they have discussed their schedules with their advisors and have removed all registration blocks.  Students can check class availability by accessing the Student Information System. The web registration utility within the Student Information System requires the use of a PIN number.  PINs for undergraduate students will be distributed through their advisors.  Graduate students should contact the Graduate Admissions Office (540 831-5431) for their PINs.  Registration for both fall and spring semesters occurs in phases with students registering for classes in seniority order during allocated time frames.  Undergraduate students will be assigned a registration “window” during which they should complete all registration activity they need to finish during that phase.  The first two phases of registration proceed in seniority order, but the last phase of registration is an open session.  A more detailed explanation of the phases are listed below:

Phase I

Phase I of registration is typically two weeks in length and each student is allocated a 48 hour of opportunity to register for classes.  Graduate students and seniors who have submitted applications to either graduation or participate in the next available commencement ceremonies or who will have earned 100+ hours at the conclusion of the current term are assigned PINs allowing them to be in the first group to register.  Graduate students will be able to register throughout the registration period Pending graduates will be able to register for a maximum of 18 hours, the most those students can take in a semester without paying for an overload.  Seniors needing more than 18 hours will be permitted to add more hours later in Phase III of the registration process (see below). Students with senior status who will not be graduating during the next available semester will register next.  They will be joined by “special populations” (e.g., students registered with the Disabilities Resources Office) whose unique scheduling needs have historically required that they register early in the process.  Students in all of these groups will be able to register for a maximum of 14 hours during Phase I. Juniors, sophomores, and freshmen will register in seniority order.  Students in these classifications will also be able to register for a maximum of 14 hours during Phase I. New Freshman (1st semester students) do not yet have earned hours, consequently, their appointments are assigned at random

Intermission

All full-time undergraduate students who are not graduating in the next available semester should enter Phase II with at least four courses comprising 12, 13, or 14 hours.  Students who had difficulty registering for this many courses or hours during Phase I should visit their advising centers for assistance and to plan registration strategies for Phase II registration.

Phase II

The second phase of registration will also follow seniority order, but with shorter registration “windows” since students will typically be adding no more than two courses.  Students will have the opportunity to add classes to bring their schedules up to a maximum of 18 hours.  This phase of registration typically lasts one week and each student is allocated a 36 hour of opportunity to register for additional courses.

Phase III

At the conclusion of Phase I and II, registration will typically remain open to all currently enrolled students for another month.  No seniority order will be followed during this phase.   However, please note that although students can make changes and/or additions to their registration during this time frame, tuition must be paid by the advertised deadlines.  Late and/or non-payment can result in students schedules being deleted from the system.  Considering the demand of courses, students do not want to place themselves in this situation. Students needing overloads may add them as course availability permits at this time.  Overloads (i.e., schedules carrying more than 18 hours) will not be approved or processed until all students have had the opportunity to move through the first two phases of registration. There will be no exceptions to this policy. The registration system is typically closed to undergraduate students during the later part of each semester through the weekend before the next available term for administrative processing and new student registration.  The registration system will be made available again during the first week of the semester and will follow the usual schedule adjustment procedures.  However, it is more important than ever that students select courses during the phased registration process that they want and need.  They should not refrain from registering from such courses in anticipation of better times becoming available later, either in the spring or during subsequent semesters.  In other words, students should not count on changing their schedules during schedule adjustment.