REGISTRATION PROCEDURE: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

When is registration?

• Schedule of Classes and registration form mailed out via campus mail in late March and in late October
• Advising week (usually the end of March or early April for the upcoming fall and the end of October or early November for the upcoming spring) -- must see advisor then or before
• Registration starts on the date specified by the Registrar in the Schedule of Classes, with seniors first day, etc. -- freshwomen/freshmen get their turn at least by Thursday of that week – see the instructions in the Schedule of Classes . "Senior," "junior," etc. is determined by the number of hours earned -- your registration form (also sent to you in campus mail) will specify your class standing.
• NOTE: Registrar's office open ONLY MORNINGS (8:30 – 12 noon) during registration week (afternoons are for data entry of student schedules)
• A late registration fee ($25) is charged for anyone registering after the day before the first day of classes in each semester. -- This fee concerns initial registration, not drop/add activity after an original registration.
• DURING OR AFTER FALL REGISTRATION FOR THE UPCOMING SPRING: You will need to register for a course (an off-campus course, the academic number for an internship – e.g. WLLS 190, for the January Intersession at this time, also -- see below. Students are required to do something for academic credit or have an approved alternate (via petition) for every January Intersession but one. So, IF YOU HAVE TAKEN A "JANUARY OFF," YOU MUST REGISTER FOR EVERY JANUARY THEREAFTER.

How do I do it?

            1) Look at the Schedule of Classes and see your advisor during Advising Week

2) Take registration form (filled out and with advisor signature) to the Registrar's office during Registration Week at the day scheduled according to your class standing.

3) For courses that close quickly -- your advisor will know likely candidates -- be sure to indicate an alternate (see "wait lists" below)

4) For courses that require permission of instructor, a course you plan to take pass/fail, or a course you wish to audit, fill out a form that is available from the Registrar or in your Schedule of classes, secure necessary signatures, and take it to the Registrar's Office. In some cases you will not be registered for a course unless this form is also at the Registrar's office.

5) For independent study, fill out an independent study form (available at the Registrar's office). In addition to your signature it must have the signatures of your advisor and the instructor (the faculty member supervising the independent study). You will not be registered for an independent study until this form arrives back at the Registrar's office. Except for PE 199, independent study is often done at the 300-level (e.g. ART 399), but it can be done as 299 or 199, too. If you are taking a regularly offered course as an independent study, cross out "399" on the form and write in the actual course number followed by a hyphen and an "I," e.g., CS 132-I.

6) For internships you will need to complete the internship agreement form, available from the office of experiential learning, as well as registering for the course number (e.g. PSY 290). Your internship will not be registered until the office of experiential learning sends a copy of this form, with all necessary signatures, to the Registrar's office.

7) A computer print out of your schedule will be mailed to you – Don’t throw it away: it shows wait-listings, time or room changes, etc.!!!

Where is the Registrar's Office?

Macmillan 202 (north end of Macmillan)

What is a wait list and how does it work?

Some courses do close (fill to the maximum) quickly. Your advisor will know likely candidates, as will many students. For such courses, you should list the desired course on your registration form and list an alternate course in the designated spaces for alternates, lower down on your registration form. If a course you want is closed you can be put on the wait list, but only if you list an alternate course. If a course is closed, you will be registered for the alternate and on the wait list for the closed course. The instructor of a course in which there is a wait list will be asked to review the wait list and decide whether or not to raise the limit and/or, if students in the course drop it, whom from the wait list to admit to the course. Instructors may will give preference to, for example, junior and senior majors who need the course and who may not have an opportunity to take the course again before they graduate. Through mid-August and mid-January respectively, students on a wait list will be added automatically to a course, subject to instructor approval. This change will be noted on the schedule students receive the first day of classes. After students arrive back on campus, the Registrar's Office will send wait-listed students a note when a space becomes available. You will have one working day to verify that you still do want the wait-listed course. Adjustments to the wait list can continue until the deadline for adding classes (the end of the first week of classes). You must drop/add if you change courses, for example, from an alternate course to a wait-listed course. And please notify the Registrar’s Office promptly if you wish to be removed from a wait list.

What is a prerequisite?

A course you must have, or a condition you must fulfill, before you can register for a class. Prerequisites are found at the end of each course description in the catalogue. NOTE: prerequisites are not listed in the schedule of classes. For example, BIOL 226L, Genetics, lists the following as prerequisites: "BIOL 151L and BIOL 152L or permission of instructor." This means that you must have the two biology courses listed, BIOL 151L and BIOL 152L, in order to register for Genetics, or, you can speak with the instructor about background experience you may have had that would allow you to do well in the course. You would then have to pick up a "POI" form at the Registrar's Office for the instructor to sign. (The POI form is the same as the form for auditing a course or for taking a course pass/fail, by the way.) One copy of this form is printed on the back inside cover of the schedule of classes.

How do I register for a course at Cornell University, Ithaca College, or Cayuga Community College?

Open to students after their first semester. Students may not register for courses under the exchange agreement that duplicate courses offered on the "home" campus. Register at Wells for CRNL 000, IC 000, or CCC 000 and pick up a special registration form at the Wells Registrar’s Office for the Cornell/CCC course. It will be counted as 3 semester hours until the end of the semester when Cornell grades arrive. Register at Cornell at the Extra Mural Office, Day Hall, Room B-20, during the first week of classes. Register at CCC at the CCC Registrar’s Office. You must observe both registration steps. If you drop/withdraw from the course, you must do so from both places. You may not register simultaneously for more than one course at any of the campuses.

What should I register for for the spring semester?

• Some courses also have a sort of "second half." If you are taking the 101 course of a foreign language, take 102. Other courses to consider are BIOL 151/BIOL 152, CHEM 107/CHEM 108 -- important for BCS majors and pre-med/vet/dentistry students.

• Be aware of what general requirements you still need to fulfill.

• Consult with your major or potential major if it is not clear what you should take. Also consult with any faculty who can be helpful (Susan Talbot for elementary education, for example; Victor Penniman for the ins and outs of instrumental music or music skills, etc…)

• 14-16 semester hours is standard. If you registered for more than 18 semester hours you must petition for an academic overload. In no cases may a student take more than 21 hours in a semester. Overloads incur no charges. (In the SUMMER, there is a charge per semester hour for courses and independent study, EXCLUDING INTERNSHIPS, taken FROM WELLS.) The minimum is 12 semester hours for full-time status, necessary for financial aid (and for being registered on most parents’ insurance policies, for example).

What do I register for for the fall semester?

• You must register for the January Intersession during the fall, also. You must take some credit-bearing activity in January for every January but one; that is, you may have only one "January off." Your choices are:

Internship -- see Career Services and fill out a registration form from CSO and obtain the necessary signatures, as well as registering for the internship as a course (e.g. BCS 390) with the Registrar. First-year students frequently take an internship-like "liberal arts practicum" -- WLLS 190

For independent study, fill out an independent study form (available at the Registrar's office). In addition to your signature it must have the signatures of your advisor and the instructor (the faculty member supervising the independent study).

Off-campus courses (note prerequisites; travel deadlines are usually earlier than registration)

 • Be aware of what general requirements you still need to fulfill.

• Consult with your major or potential major if it is not clear what you should take. Also consult with any faculty who can be helpful (Susan Talbot for elementary education, for example; Victor Penniman for the ins and outs of instrumental music or music skills...)

• 14-16 semester hours is standard. If you registered for more than 18 semester hours you must petition for an academic overload. In no cases may a student take more than 21 hours in a semester. Overloads incur no charges. (In the SUMMER,

Do first-year students have to know what their major will be?

Absolutely not!

Do sophomore students have to know what their major will be?

Not at first. The declaration for declaring the major is March first of the sophomore year. Changes of major are possible after that, but the later you change your major, the more you risk needing more than four years to graduate.

When do I declare a major?

            Sophomore year, any time before (usually) March 1

            For junior-level transfer students, before the end of their first semester

For transfer students who have received four semesters of N.Y. State TAP aid: immediately.

How do I know what to take that will count toward major I am interested in?

Your advisor, list in catalog of major requirements, other faculty in the major field (see also #9 of this web site on "Beginning Courses to Take in Majors.")

How do I find out about a course, more than the course description in the catalog?

See instructor. A course syllabus is on file in the Registrar's Office for most courses, but seeing the instructor is best, as syllabi often change from year to year.

A course I want is not in the schedule of classes. How do I find out when a course will be offered?

Current catalogue in each course description; instructor; major chair in which the course is offered. The Registrar also has projections for 2 years.

Can I take an independent study?

After your first year (though first-year students may take a one-semester-hour independent study in their first January). Be sure to fill out an independent study description form (needs signatures) as well as registering for the number of the independent study (e.g., ENGL 399). You will not be registered for the independent study until the longer description form is also complete.

What if I change my mind? How do I change my registration after I have turned in my registration form?

You can drop and add courses with the drop/add form and only your advisor's signature through the first 5 days of classes and with both your advisor's and the instructor's signature in the second week of classes (to add). After that you must petition to drop or add, with your advisor's and any relevant instructor's signatures. The deadline for auditing a class or for electing the pass/fail option (one course a term maximum) is the end of the 10^th class day.

Resources: Your advisor!!!!!

            Other faculty

            Registrar's Office, x3215, Macmillan 202

            Director of Academic Advising, Diane Koester, x3401, Macmillan 224

            Your R.A.

            Other students in your potential major (the Registrar or Director of Academic Advising

                         can tell you who is in what major).

This page (Registration Procedure: Frequently Asked Questions) is maintained by Diane Koester, Associate Dean for Academic and Learning Resources and Director of Academic Advising, who is solely responsible for its content. Please see our Statement of Responsibility. Last updated June 5, 2006.

Return to Advising at Wells College (top-level page on advising).