A guide to signing up for classes

As the semester comes to an end, students will decide what courses to take for the spring semester. Some students have set courses required for their department, while others will take general education requirements while they decide on a major. For some students, the decision of choosing classes can be a difficult task. Parkland College has numerous options and people to assist in the process.

If a student has 30 or more college level credits, they do not need to see an advisor before registration. Those with fewer than 30 credits will need to see an advisor, counselor, or faculty program advisor.

Spring course registration for continuing students started October 31 and continued through November 6. Open registration began November 7and ends January 8. December 13 is the last day for preregistered students to pay for courses. If tuition is not paid by then, the student will be dropped from the course.

The Counseling and Advising Center accepts walk-ins Monday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. They also allow appointments Monday and Thursday from 3 to 6:30 p.m. and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 3 to 4 p.m. A 30-minute appointment can be made up to a week in advance.

The Center for Academic Success also provides advisors to assist students with planning their schedules. The Center has three advisors, Larry Taylor, Jan Thom, and Tanino Minneci, and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

It's generally a good idea for students to come prepared for their meeting with an advisor. It's best to have in mind the number of hours desired, whether morning or evening classes are preferred, and if possible, an idea of what classes you would like to take.

Asking other students about professors is a good way to discover who would be right for you.

Before you are cleared to register for your courses, you can log on to you're my.Parkland account and search for classes and class times, as well as the professors that teach them. To do this, you would log on to https://my.parkland.edu and click on "Registration" under the WebAdvisor tab to the left. Be sure you know the subject, course and section numbers before using express registration.

If you don't yet have all this information, using "search/register for sections" will be the most useful option. You can even conduct an advanced search, which allows you to specify the time of the day, days of the week, course title keywords, location, academic level or instructor's last name.

Still unsure on how to get registered or navigate your way around your my.Parkland account? Once you've clicked the "Search/Register for Sections" link, on the left below the main menu is a helpful links menu. Clicking on "Registering for Classes" will direct you to a step-by-step picture guide to assist you.

For students who receive financial aid, it is a good idea to check on the status of awards or loans. The status of financial aid can be checked two ways, either by going to the Financial Aid office in the A-Wing, or by going online to your my.Parkland account. To check your status online, once you log in, click on the "Financial Aid" link under WebAdvisor, which will open a sub-menu with numerous links below to check on your award letter, financial aid status by term or year and accept/reject your financial aid awards.

Spring classes start on January 9, so be sure to prepare before then. Remember to pay tuition by December 13, check on your financial aid status and purchase your textbooks. Getting registered for classes can be difficult, but using the resources provided by Parkland can make the process just a little bit easier.