By Kathryn Kelman/editor-in-chief
Priority registration for the fall semester opened April 16.
Any student who has completed 63 credit hours could register on that day, and all students, regardless of number of credit hours completed, can register starting April 23, said South counseling director Ticily Medley.
Nothing has changed with the registration process, she said.
The deadline to register for fall courses is Aug. 13, and classes will start Aug. 20, which is earlier than past years.
“Students with no registration holds can typically self-register using WebAdvisor or self-service through Ellucian Student Planning,” she said.
David Ximenez, enrollment and academic support services associate vice chancellor, said this spring is the second fall term students can register for in April.
“Prior to fall 2017, fall registration used to begin on June 15,” he said.
This will also be the first fall semester high school students enrolling in dual credit courses can self-register in WebAdvisor, he said.
“TCC set up self-registration in WebAdvisor for dual credit students for the first time in Spring 2018,” he said.
According to NW’s academic affairs vice president Judith Gallagher, students should also be aware TCC is now scheduling classes on all campuses using the same start times.
Classes will last for an hour and 15 minutes, rather than an hour and 20 minutes like they did before.
The final exam schedule has also changed and will start on the Thursday of the last week of classes and continue into the traditional finals week on Monday through Wednesday.
“That will be a big change for people — faculty and students alike,” Gallagher said.
Gallagher also recommended students be careful not to drop any spring or summer courses when they go to add their fall classes.
“It happens a lot, so I like to remind people to be careful and not hit that drop button too fast,” she said.
As for when to register, Gallagher, Medley and Ximenez recommended students not wait too long.
Students can register for a class up until seven days before the start of the class, but Gallagher, Medley and Ximenez encouraged students to do it sooner instead of later.
“Students are encouraged to register as early as possible so they are more likely to secure seats in the classes they prefer, they have more time to arrange for payment of their tuition and they have more time to prepare for a successful fall semester,” Ximenez said.
TCC typically sees 3,000 more students register for the fall than the spring, he said.
Gallagher recommended students be mindful of the potential enrollment increase in the fall and register early.
“So many times, we have students who postpone enrolling until mid-August and they are disappointed to find out that they can’t build a schedule that is convenient and efficient,” she said.
When students wait, classes fill up, and they may end up having to travel between campuses or having to take courses at times they don’t like, Gallagher said.
Freshman-level courses tend to fill up faster for those terms, especially the ones scheduled at preferred times with the most sought-after instructors, she said.
This is likely due to the increase in enrollment usually being new students who just graduated from high school and are transitioning to college, Medley said.
She also recommended students meet with an advisor as early as possible.
Ximenez said TCC’s advising and counseling offices are available to help students plan their class schedules.
The fall semester will also see the addition of some new courses.
NW added new technical programs and included fields of study in certain disciplines as well, she said.
TR academic affairs vice president Bryan Stewart said his campus will add new allied health programs in the fall.
All five campuses will get two new cybersecurity courses, and TCC Connect will offer a teller operations course, according to Isaac Rivera, curriculum and instructional assessment assistant director.
Gallagher said campuses are always adding new courses to meet students’ needs.
“The new electronic version of the catalog is really user-friendly, so students should look at the courses that prepare them for their careers to see if new courses are available to prepare them for the kind of work they want to do when they complete their degrees,” she said.
