pic by Tulane Public Relations |
Lessons from Orientation (continued):
The Computer is
Stupid (or: Look at Your Schedule, Silly)
Computers do exactly what you tell them to do and nothing
else. Therefore, it’s up to you to make sure you know what you’re telling it.
During Registration/Before
the Semester Starts
After you’ve registered for all of your classes, click on
the “View Schedule” button. This is your
moment to make sure that you didn’t accidently transpose a number within the
CRN (Course Reference Number) and register for Ceramics at Mesa when you really meant to enroll for
Beginning Stagecraft at City.
This is also the moment to make sure that the classes you
scheduled back-to-back are really at the same campus. The computer requires
that you have at least 10 minutes between classes. It will let you register for
a class at City that ends at 11:00 a.m. and a class at Miramar that starts at
11:10 a.m. Because the computer doesn’t drive, it doesn’t care that you cannot
physically get from City to Miramar in 10 minutes.
While you’re paying attention to details on Reg-E, click on
“View/Pay Fees.” Most people have to pay the $19 health fee – even if you have
Financial Aid. If you don’t pay your fees, you will be dropped from your
classes. Even if you’ve already paid the health fee, click on the Fees button
just to make sure (see above “The Computer is Stupid”). I don’t think you’ll be
dropped, but better safe than sorry.
If you’re on a wait list for a class, you need to check your
e-mail and/or Reg-E at least a couple of times a week. Once you get the
notification that you’re able to add from the wait list, you only have a few
days to do it. After that, the next person gets the class and you get dropped
from the wait list. For some classes, that’s not much of an issue. For others
(like English or Biology), it could be critical.
After the Semester
Starts
The most important thing to do at the beginning of the
semester is to look at your schedule
on Reg-E. If you look at your schedule on the second Monday of the semester and
find that you’re actually not enrolled in that Art class you love so much, you
have plenty of time to make that happen (the deadline is the second Friday -- February 7th for spring 14). If
you wait until the third Monday, you’re out of luck. You will not be able to
register for any class after the add date.
Make sure that you drop any class you’re not actually
attending. Professors are supposed to drop students from their roster who are
inactive, or did not show up for class. Usually, they’re pretty good at it. Sometimes,
they overlook someone.
pic by Arthur Grigoryan |
Pop Quiz: To whom is your life more
important? You or the professor?
Answer: You, Silly. Therefore, it
is your responsibility to make sure
you’re enrolled in classes that you’re attending and that you’re not enrolled
in classes you are not attending.