The Beacon

Many students want to have an ideal schedule for Spring Semester. However, each semester a lot of us find ourselves picking through the left overs for classes. Often, students even realize that the classes they need have been filled up, and they have to go through further trouble to try and find a space in that class. This semester though, if you put in a little time and planning you can have the perfect schedule for spring semester.

• First, figure out how to contact your advisor. You can log on to WP Connect and click on Academics or Enrolled Students to find this out. You can call or email your advisor to set up and appointment. They will have your pin number which you will need to register. If they can see you right away, wait for the appointment before you start planning. However, if they give you an appointment in about a week then you can do the research yourself.

• You also need to find out when you are allowed to register. Some students, like athletes can register before others. There is a Registration timetable available at Career Development in the Student Center, but you can also look it up online on WPUNJ.edu.

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  Now, you need to figure out what courses you need to have. These will include a lot of required courses. You’ll need to log on to WP Connect and then click on enrolled students. If you scroll down you’ll see Student Records. Under this headline, click on “Degree Audit/ Degree Evaluation.” You will need your 855 number, which is your ID, and also your pin, which in this case is usually your birthday in MM/DD/YY form. Select Spring 2008 and now you’ll see your major and other general information. Click on whatever it says to the right of “Program.”

• Next, select “Detail Requirements.” It seems like a lot at first, but if you skim over it you can get a general idea of where you need to take courses. For example if you see that you’ve filled no requirements for math yet, it might be a good idea to pick a math course for next semester. Now that you have an idea of what you need to take, you can look up classes.

• Go back to the “Enrolled Students” tab. (The link should be at the top left of the page.) Under “Registration” click on “Look Up Classes.” Select “Spring 2008.” Now you can look up the classes that will be available for next semester. This part may get a little tricky so it would be a good idea to have a chart available. You can make one in Microsoft Office or just use some scrap paper that’s lying around. Label Monday through Friday, or even Saturday or Sunday if you intend to take weekend courses.

• Choose the field that the class you want falls under. As you find classes that you would like to take, write them down. Write the time of the class and the title under each day that it will fall. Make sure you have any prerequisites complete for upper level courses. Make sure you also copy the CRN numbers as well as the names of the professors. You can choose classes that fit only the times that you need, and fit them together so you’re not double booking your time on your chart. Register for more than 12 credits so that if once course is so awful that you fail, (which you better not!) then you can drop it and still remain a full time student.

• Now, for the fun part! Look up all your professors on RateMyProfessor.com. It sounds like work, but it’s necessary! If you see for example, that one professor has all bad ratings, odds are that you’re going to have a hard time in that class. You can then decide if you want to change the class or not. If you can make things easier for yourself when it comes to classes, do it! It even rates the hotness of your professors! Don’t drop classes based on this, however.

• Now that you’ve got a good idea, all you need to do is make sure you advisor sees your schedule and thinks it’s alright. Ask him or her any questions you might have. You’re paying for the services, so don’t feel bad to annoy them. Now, just wait for the day that you’re allowed to register and do it right away so that you can get into the courses that you wanted!