Registration

Each semster, registration is an important catalyst that helps to drive your exploration. At this very busy time, you will be responsible for defining the agenda of our registration meetings. Here is how we will proceed.

Background Work

Review your four-year plan and reconsider it in light of your experiences this semester and last. You should also review our advising timeline for extra-curricular, co-curricular, and post-grad or career considerations. Take into account any unforeseen conflicts or new interests. Examine the course lists for available possibilities; remember to look at the special topics courses.

Preparation Content

You will post at least 7 course selections (4 top choices and 3 alternatives) to your journal. Please include the course number, full name, and scheduled meeting time(s). For each course, you will write one or two sentences explaining how the course

• fits your goals for the semester (e.g., what new skills or knowledge you will obtain; do not write that it fulfills some major/concentration requirement),
• relates to the College catalog's "elements of a liberal education" (cf. Resources), and
• provides preparation for life after Grinnell (be specific).

(Note that amounts to three items for seven courses, a total of twenty-one things.) Next, synthesize these choices by writing a few sentences about any other thematic goals and/or co-curricular activities contributing to them. If you make any changes to your four-year plan, review your previous written rationale or journal posts and then explain these changes. In particular, you must highlight how your new course selections continue to relate to and cover all elements of a liberal education. You may also wish to post any outstanding questions you have. It is conceivable that you may have more questions than declarations (i.e., course selections)-this is OK. If that is the case, you must still reflect on these and put them in writing as helpful preparation for our meeting.

How-To Post

You will complete a template in your online journal using the following steps.

1. Create a new post: at the top of the page, mouse over "New" and then click "Post" (at the top)
2. Insert the registration template: above the text box, click "Insert Template"
3. Select the "Registration for {Fall - Spring} ..." option at the top and click "Insert Template" from beneath the preview.
4. Change the title to "Registration for Fall 2046" (or whatever the next semester is)
5. Replace "Your answer" in the subsequent comments using your preparation from above.
6. Click "Save Draft" at any time to save your work and return to it later.
   Important: When you compose a new post, be sure to click the "Save Draft" button before leaving the editing area. This will mark your page or post as privately published, and it will be visible only to you and to me. If you do not, the post will show you as currently editing, and it may be visible to other student advisees (due to a software flaw).
7. Check the "Registration" category.
8. When you are finished, click "Publish".

Publishing your post will make the result visible only to me but will trigger an email I will use as a cue to review your posting. I also welcome a secondary email with a link directly from you informing me you have indeed completed your planning and wish for a review.

Meeting

I will signal approval of your preparation with an email about comments on your journal or else ask you to make enhancements. Once I have explicitly approved your preparation, you may sign-up for a registration advising meeting via the time slots on my bookings page. YOU MAY NOT SIGN UP FOR A MEETING UNTIL EXPLICITLY APPROVED.

Before our meeting,

print a hard copy of your

• current (or proposed) four year plan,
• course selections and the justifications/reflections (from your journal-you may omit the prompts for parsimony), and
• Academic Program Evaluation (the "My Progress" tab on WebAdvisor)
  to bring with you. (If you do not bring these, I will ask you to return with printed copies and you will lose meeting time. A laptop or other digital screen is not acceptable. We must be able to huddle over and write upon them.)

During our meeting

you should take notes regarding your questions (i.e., answers or referrals).

After our meeting,

you should post any information gathered or clarification received to your journal (particularly if another meeting is required).

If registration elements are not satisfied after our initial meeting, you should do whatever work is necessary and post relevant clarifications, reflections, etc., to your journal so that you may sign-up for another meeting. The process above will allow us to have an expedient, productive discussion from which you can gain the greatest benefit. Time is valuable for both of us and I value your curricular choices. Thus, if you are not prepared for registration, I may not approve your online registration.

Finalizing Registration

After our face-to-face meeting, where we will work to finalize approval of your plan, you should

1. Put your primary course choices (no backups) into the WebAdviser system.
2. Click "Request Review" (which notifies me that you have done so).
3. Within 24 hours I will approve your course choices (or only the CS options if you are a double-major).
4. When all your courses are thus approved, you must click "Register" to finalize the process. (Technically, you can register for only the ones you have approval for, if you are still waiting on a second adviser's approval for some courses.)
5. Wait for the Registrar's office to work out cuts and balances.
6. When your schedule is released, confirm the courses you are enrolled in. If you did not get into one or more your primary courses, add any of your necessary back-up courses to the WebAdviser system and "Request Review". I will approve them promptly, but within 24 hours. You must subsequently register for the approved course. Follow any additional instructions from the Registrar's office regarding waitlists, etc.