By: Julia King
We’ve officially passed the halfway mark of the semester, and it’s almost time to start thinking about spring classes. The registration period can be stressful, especially if you’re new to registering for courses independently. Here are some tips to help you make the process easier!
Tip 1: Think about what you want your course load to look like
It might sound counterintuitive, but there are many factors to consider when choosing what classes to enroll in. For instance, if you take a writing-heavy Communication class, you may want to consider balancing your schedule with a more analytical Gen-Ed class such as an R1 or a Biological Science.
It’s also important to think about your future semesters at UMass. If there’s a class you want or need to take with a pre-requisite, you want to plan to take the pre-requisite ahead of time to satisfy your academic plan. Also, some classes are only offered for the fall or spring semester so you should take note of that and plan accordingly.
Lastly, it’s important to identify your goals for next semester. If you’re focused on working a job or an internship, it may be a good idea to enroll in fewer credits to avoid burnout. Or maybe you’re studying abroad in the fall and want to take as many classes at UMass as you can next semester. These are all important factors to consider when you’re finalizing your course schedule.
Tip 2: Utilize Schedule Builder
Schedule Builder is a helpful tool on SPIRE that allows you to search for courses, generate possible schedules, add designated breaks, and send classes to your shopping cart. To access Schedule Builder, log into SPIRE and click on the “Manage Classes” box. Then scroll down and use the dropdown menu for “Add, Drop & Edit Classes” and the “Schedule Builder” bar will be right below “How to Enroll in Classes.” From there, you will be brought to the website where you can select the terms, sessions, instruction modes, and more.
Some features that you can use include:
● Add Course= where you can easily search up classes by Gen-Ed, instructor, subject, class
number, or RAP
● Add Break= where you can carve out times you are unable to have class, whether it’s an
extracurricular or work commitment or simply because you do not want to take classes at
a certain time
● Generate Schedule= gives you potential options for your schedule, taking in account the
different sessions of all the classes you’ve added and the designated breaks
● Validate= this feature within Generate Schedule allows you to foresee any eligibility
issues that may appear when you are registering for certain classes such as prerequisites
or requirements that you could have missed in the course description
Tip 3: Add Courses to your Shopping Cart
There are two ways to add courses to your Shopping Cart, one is through SPIRE but the easier way is through clicking the “Send to Shopping Cart” button in Schedule Builder. Having the classes you are planning to take in your Shopping Cart makes the enrollment process a lot easier, especially if your enrollment appointment comes at any inconvenient time. I’ve been in the middle of classes before where I had to rush onto my computer and having the courses I picked already in my Shopping Cart made the process significantly less stressful.
Once classes are in your Shopping Cart, you simply just have to select them and enroll. If you went through the steps to validate your schedule, the enrollment process should be smooth. Especially with classes where the enrollment fills up quickly, having classes in your Shopping Cart is beneficial because you can check on the number of open seats as you wait for your appointment.