Registration for the fall semester began today but many students have had difficulties understanding the online services or finding the needed information, which often results in hourlong waits at the U-Center lobby.
The Registrarโs Office suggests seeking out the available information on the UTRGV website and planning course schedules before the appointed enrollment dates.
Students will be able to add classes based on classification for the fall semester. Registration opens for graduate and post-baccalaureate students, seniors and special populations today and will continue to become available every other day for the following classifications:
–juniors, Wednesday
–sophomores, Friday
–freshmen, April 25.
To register through ASSIST, students must clear all holds on their accounts and have the prerequisites for the course.
For help with enrollment or student account information, Debbie Gilchrist, director of Undergraduate Admissions and interim registrar, recommends that students first check on the UTRGV websiteโs U-Central tab to prevent a lengthy wait in theย Student Services building.
The U-Central page features general information for enrollment as well as several video tutorials, which provide detailed assistance with online registration. The page can be found under Current Students in the Academics tab on the utrgv.edu website.
Gilchrist said the most common problems that students have when registering are not being able to understand the online registration site and overlooking basic requirements for enrollment such as prerequisites and restricted courses.
โThere is a way for a student to be able to tell when looking up courses if the class has a prerequisite or not,โ Gilchrist said. โIt is something that we need to advertise more. They come over to U-Central and have to ask because they just didnโt see it.โ
Gilchrist also suggests that students view the courses being offered in the fall before the opening date for their classification to pre-determine their schedule. This would help ensure that students are able to get into the courses that they need and shape their desired schedule, she said.
โIn order to prepare for enrollment, be sure to go onto ASSIST to make sure you donโt have any holds that would prevent you from registering,โ Gilchrist said. โYou can actually, right now, look at the schedule to see what you want to enroll in.โ
Lupita Neyra, a mass communication junior, said she will attempt to register as soon as the date arrives but the lack of readily available information often makes enrollment stressful.
โHelp from faculty and staff is available but many students arenโt aware of the services many departments provide,โ Neyra said. โI try to avoid the struggle of not finding the courses I need because they are full.โ
She said students benefit greatly from registration information being advertised on the myUTRGV page. It helped her seize the opportunity of the 15-hour semester plan, where students receive one class at no additional charge due to the capped tuition fees, a financial advantage many students were not aware of until the homepage advertisement.
โStudents arenโt aware where they can go to receive the help, and maybe promoting it on myUTRGV can help out,โ Neyra said. โFor example, the email that was sent about the 15 hours allowed many students to be informed and take advantage. Iโm hoping I can find the classes I need to register for 15 hours [in] the fall semester.โ
