By Tracy F. Harris

It seems that just as students settle into a new schedule and new classes, it’s time to plan for the next semester. There are about four weeks left in the semester, and registration begins next week.

To ease the registration process, follow these easy steps: sign up for and attend an advising appointment (if necessary); plan out a schedule; and register. It sounds easy, but it reads like a tax form — if “yes” to line 5, go to line 6; if not, go to line 8.

Advising makes registration easier, since advisers can easily figure out which requirements a student still needs to fill, and makes sure the student is on track for graduation. A student can do that alone, but it often involves consulting catalogs, requirement sheets and making numerous “tentative” schedules.

But the brave can go forth into the registration waters alone, if they wish. The only students required to be advised every year are those in a few of the Speed School programs.

In the College of Arts and Sciences, freshmen with fewer than 24 hours and new transfer students must be advised. While that may not apply to many students at U of L this semester, another rule does: any student who has completed 72 or more credit hours but has not been accepted into a major program must be advised, as well as all theater arts and mathematics majors.

Students who have been accepted into a major are encouraged to contact their department for advising.

The School of Nursing has a similar policy. Students with less than 30 credit hours and those on academic warning or probation are required to attend advising before registration. According to Dianne Foster, director of Student Services, advisers have offices on the Health Sciences campus, but visit Belknap two or three days a week during the registration period.

Students in the College of Education and Human Development are advised if they have less than 30 hours, are on academic probation, or are first semester transfers.

For students in the College of Business and Public Administration, freshmen with less than 24 hours and first-semester transfers are required to attend advising. Freshman and sophomore music students are advised by Beth Loree, the senior academic counselor for the school.

Speed School students have a more rigorous advising plan than the other schools. General engineering studies students with less than 60 credit hours are advised, as well as all pre-engineering studies students. The Civil and Environmental Engineering Department and Electrical and Computer Engineering Department both require their students to be advised every semester.

Also, all first-semester chemical engineering, computer engineering and computer science, industrial engineering and mechanical engineering students are advised.

Aside from easing the registration headache, advising can alert students to changes in schools, majors and general education requirements.

There are some updates to the list of courses fulfilling general education requirements. Beginning with the summer 2005 semester, HPES courses will be listed as HSS. For cultural diversity credits, two Chinese literature in translation classes and a Chinese film class have been added. There are also additional African-American and gender studies courses on the list.

Jim Carter, the A&S assistant dean of academic advising, said there is nothing “particularly ‘new’ to report, either with respect to procedure or curriculum,” in A&S. He also said students can find much of the information they need about advising and registering online or in the schedule of classes.

Foster and Loree also reported that there were no major changes in requirements for the School of Nursing or the School of Music, respectively.

For the School of Education, Betty Hampton, the assistant director in the Education Advising Center, said the school has announced expanded options to the Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education program.

“Students can choose from eight different concentration areas now, instead of the one option which we had been offering over the past three years,” she said. Students have been contacted about the changes and several information sessions have been held as well.

Advising begins April 5. Students with questions should contact their advising department soon to ensure they get enrolled in the classes they need before they fill up.