By: Tess Leonard
Shopping carts and ARR’s and curriculum plans, oh my! Yes, it’s that time of year again. Registering for spring classes is right around the corner, and with all of this scheduling jargon flying around it can feel a bit like you’re trapped in the haunted forest. But before you get overwhelmed, here are a few tips to help you secure a spot in all of your classes and stay on track to graduate.
First, make sure you know exactly what time your enrollment appointment begins. To find this information, log into the Spire homepage and scroll down on the right to where you see “Enrollment Dates”. Here you will see the day you are scheduled to enroll in classes, and when you click details you will see the actual time you can begin (Most seniors will begin enrolling around November 8th and freshmen begin around November 29th). Definitely be sure to get on Spire as soon as your enrollment appointment begins so you have the best chance of getting into your desired classes.
Next, prior to your enrollment date, prepare a shopping cart full of back up classes in case any of your classes end up filling up. If that is the case, a trick I like to use is to select “Waitlist if full” when I am adding some of the more competitive classes to my shopping cart. This way, even if the class does fill up, I will automatically be added to the waitlist for the class and still have a good possibility of making it into the class.
Stuck on what classes you should be taking, or what requirements you have already fulfilled? One of my favorite tools to use in helping me keep track of my progress is the Academic Requirements Report, or ARR, located on Spire. Navigate to the ARR from the Spire homepage by clicking the “Other Academic” dropdown button to the left of your Class Schedule, and then selecting “ARR NoShopping Cart”. In your ARR you will be able to see all of your university level, college, and major requirements, and which ones you may have satisfied. At first glance, it might look quite confusing, especially if you are an underclassman and have not completed many requirements yet. But once you understand how to read it and you start satisfying some of your required courses, it can be really helpful to quickly find what classes you still need to take in order to stay on track.
Additionally, Curriculum Plans that can be found on the Isenberg website lay out a map of all of your required courses in a clear and concise way. Some students like to keep a copy of this in their documents or print out a hard copy to help them keep a record of their classes as they go. If you find yourself really struggling to find classes to take, some of my favorite general education courses were Botany for Gardeners (STOCKSCH 100-01) and African American Literature and Culture (AFROAM 151).
Remember, all credits are going towards helping you graduate, so try not to think of any class as a “waste of credits”. Another thing to keep in mind is that you can continue to add, swap, and drop your classes up until the add/drop period ends, which will be Monday, January 31st. One final tip is that Isenberg has a new group of Advising Peers who are student peers trained in advising and specialized in enrolling for classes. Take advantage of their expertise by making an appointment with them on Navigate! Good luck with enrollment!