By Natalie Phetsamone/reporter
Spring registration is almost here with priority registration beginning Nov. 15.
Students can log on to WebAdvisor now to browse through class offerings.
New students are required to get academic advisement, which includes degree planning and course selection, according to TCC’s website, while “transfer and returning students are encouraged to speak with an advisor.”
Shea Jeffcoat, an online student, said speaking with an advisor “was a requirement through my STSC class, and it was very beneficial.”
Not everyone agrees.
“I talked to them when I first entered college,” said student Madison McCaskey, “but the advisors aren’t very helpful, and each one tells you something different.”
Lily Calzada, NW assistant director of counseling and advising, said it is important to see an advisor before registration begins.
“We want to have a really good advising session, which takes about 20 to 30 minutes,” Calzada said. “That’s hard to do when it’s registration time, and there are lines of students waiting to be seen.”
Students frequently encounter three problems when registering for classes: system error messages (due to the new state requirement for new students to attend an orientation), the new meningitis vaccination requirement (often a costly unexpected expense) and prerequisites.
“[Transfer students] are in the mindset that they are just coming here to take a class and then go back to the university, and they aren’t aware of prerequisites,” said Ebony Howard, South admissions specialist. “We may need transcripts and test scores.”
Jeffcoat has prepared.
“I already have my list of classes and the professors I want all picked out and ready to go!” she said. “It’s always a little nerve-wracking before the start of a new semester, wanting to have the perfect schedule and professors, but I feel really good about it.”
Open registration begins Nov. 22.
