Spring semester registration began Monday and academic advising for the upcoming semester is in full swing. Students who have any questions may utilize resources offered here at North Dakota State.
In addition to making an appointment with their academic advisor to create an academic plan, students are able to visit with advisors from the Academic Resource Center and can receive additional information on degree progress from the Office of Registration and Records.
This is a time for students to discuss major and minor changes, education requirements for their degree and NDSU academic policy.
Rhonda Kitch, the registrar of the Office of Registration and Records, said students should to log onto their Campus Connection account immediately to ensure their password has not expired, to check for holds on their account and to find which date they are eligible to enroll in courses.
Following a conversation with an advisor on what courses they should be enrolling in, a student should fill out a course shopping cart on their Campus Connection page. Students can then enroll on the date they are eligible.
Registration dates are determined based on the number of credits a student has completed.
The Office of Registration and Records evaluates students for audits on graduation progress.
“We are here to ensure compliance with federal, state and university regulations and policies, but also work to assist and support the student in their academic journey,” Kitch said.
The office has resources to advisors, faculty and staff of different departments on various academic policy.
“Our office is here to support students. Even if we are unable to answer a question, we are happy to connect them in the right direction,” Kitch said.
Future registration innovations
In an effort to simplify the registration process, Kitch said NDSU will begin using College Scheduler LLC, a web based software awaiting approval to be implemented at NDSU.
Though unavailable for the current registration cycle, the software will likely be running come registration for the summer and fall 2017 semesters.
Linked directly to a student’s Campus Connection page, the Schedule Planner program would allow a student to enter in their desired classes, as well as additional schedule conflicts, such as work or organizational meetings.
The program would then generate the student’s various schedule combination based on available classes.
Once a student chooses an arrangement of scheduling, they will be redirected to the Campus Connection website where they can register.
Kitch said the program will offer many benefits.
“I truly believe this will transform the registration experience,” Kitch said. “(It will) reduce the stress for students but also ensure that meeting times with advisors are more about what advising should be, and less about the logistics of building a schedule.”
Schedule Planner is intuitive and student-friendly, and will not require training to use.
Students can expect to be updated once the software is fully implemented and will receive further education on utilizing the program.