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The Key to Successful Course Registration

Orientation
During your orientation to campus, you will have a number of activities that culminate in your registering for Fall Term classes. The sessions, resources, and experiences are designed to help you make satisfying decisions about how to use your first term and to help you begin to consider the larger issues involved in planning your degree.

The first step in this process toward registration actually begins right now with this publication and the enclosed materials.

Before you arrive on campus

  • Carefully complete the questionnaire and return it as soon as possible to ensure that your advisor is able to read it prior to your first meeting. Before you send it off, however, look over the pattern of your answers and consider where your principal interests and enthusiasms lie and with what areas of knowledge you have had little contact so far. These may well be areas to consider when you begin to sort through course options.
  • Read this booklet carefully to acquire an overview of the College, degree requirements, educational opportunities and resources that are going to be available to you as an LS&A student.
  • Browse through the Course Guide for courses or departments that match your interests and desired skills. Make a list of courses that you think might be interesting or useful to take at some point in your academic career. This should be a long list, not a list just of the courses you want to take this Fall. If you anticipate that you will have AP credit, you may be ready to consider higher level courses which are not listed in the First Year Course Guide. It would be appropriate for you to browse through the descriptions of 200- and 300-level courses in those departments via the on-line Course Guide. You and your advisor can discuss whether or not such elections are good choices for your first term. The on-line address is:
    http://www.lsa.umich.edu/saa/

Once on campus

One of your first orientation activities related to academic concerns will be the taking of a variety of placement tests (math, chemistry, and/or language placement tests). It is important that you take those tests seriously so that the measurement of your preparation in those areas will be accurate. Your academic advisor will use those results in helping you select courses later.

On your second day of orientation, in the afternoon, you will meet with your academic advisor in a small group setting. At this point you will be introduced to the LS&A degree requirements as well as basic College policies and procedures. You will also begin to learn about the nature of academic advising in the college setting – how to use your academic advisor as your educational mentor and guide through your years on campus.

You will next have an individual appointment with your academic advisor for a general discussion of your college expectations, goals, interests, and level of preparation. At this meeting you also will learn the results of the various placement tests you have taken and evaluate any Advanced Placement test results you have. You will not select courses at this time. It is important to begin to establish a working relationship with your advisor; the better that person knows you, the more specific and helpful he/she can be.

Later that afternoon you will meet with several LS&A academic peer advisors. This small group discussion will allow you an opportunity to learn about resources, strategies, and techniques which tend to help make your first term very successful. It is also an opportunity for you to ask any questions about all those things that make college different from high school – what classes are like, academic work loads, what instructors expect from their students, etc. The peers will introduce you to all the "secrets" of how to make the U work for you. You will also have the opportunity to visit the LS&A Peer Academic Advising Office where you can examine samples of college level exams in various courses and look at typical college level course syllabi, and browse through the online course guide.

In the evening after you talk with your advisor, you will consult with the peer academic advisors while you make up a list of 8 to 10 courses from which you will select your final Fall elections. The Peer Advisors are experienced students who can help you find interesting classes to fit your needs and expectations, can describe what it is like to be a successful student in LS&A, and can help you identify the primary things you need to remember when you put together your first schedule.

Also that evening, peer advisors representing the Living/Learning Programs [Lloyd Hall Scholars Program, Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), the Michigan Community Scholars Program, Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), and Comprehensive Studies Program (CSP)] will be available for you to consult. If you belong to any of those programs, you will need to check in with the appropriate peer advisor. They will provide information on special courses and course sections which are being held for you, and they will fill you in on how to register for those special courses.

A lot of thought should go into the list of courses you compile with the help of the peer advisor. They should all be courses that you are interested in and which you would like to take. When you finally register, you may find that some courses on your list are closed, conflict with another course you really want to take, or require some additional preparation. Should that happen, you want to be in a position to substitute another course that is equally satisfying. Your list should also include a wide range of courses. This is an ideal time to explore new subject areas or pursue topics that particularly fascinate you. We suggest that you also look closely at the First-Year Seminars (The First-Year Seminar brochure was included in the mailing packet.) and other special courses which are offered for new students.

The next morning, you will meet again with your academic advisor to make a final selection of Fall courses and alternate choices before you actually register. Your advisor is there to guide you as you make your choices, not to choose your classes for you. Following your session with your advisor, you will officially register for the courses you and your advisor have selected. Your peer advisor will meet you in the registration area to assist you should you have questions or need assistance during this process.

It is important to consult with your academic advisor on a regular basis as the term goes on, to let him/her know how classes are going, to discuss your experiences in class and on campus, and to begin sorting out all the helpful resources and opportunities on campus which can make your academic career here the best possible. You owe it to yourself to learn all the options so that your decisions can be made in your best interests.

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