By Estela Suarez 

Another semester has flown by and it’s that time of year again when seniors are getting ready to wrap up and everyone else starts thinking about class registration for the Fall semester! As of right now, courses are live on Spire and ready to be added to your shopping cart, but before we get to that here are some things to look out for when registering for classes: 

When Is My Enrollment Appointment?

Registration takes place in order of seniority by credits, so the more credits you have, the earlier your appointment time will be. You can look to see when your appointment will be on Spire. This can be found under the ‘Enrollment’ tab under ‘Enrollment Appointment.’ You should be able to see the date and time that you are scheduled to pick classes. Below is the general list of ramp on dates: 

April 4: Athletes, ROTC, Veterans 

April 11-12: Seniors (87+ credits)

April 14-15: Juniors (57-86 credits) 

April 20-22: Sophomores  (27-56 credits) 

April 25-26: Freshman (</= 26 credits) 

What Classes Should I Take? 

When choosing classes you should take into account any Gen Eds and major requirements that you have left, and plan out when you will take those. To access the courses you have left to take, as well as the number of credits, you can go to the Academic Requirement Report on your Spire. To access this you’ll want to go to the Main Menu tab in Spire, click on Academics, and finally click on Academic Requirements (ARR). 

Once you arrive at your ARR you should expand all tabs in order to see all of the requirements and credits that you have completed, as well as those that you have yet to complete. The classes you have passed will be marked as satisfied (marked with a green check-mark icon), the classes you are currently taking will be marked as in progress (marked with a yellow diamond icon), and your remaining requirements will be listed as not satisfied. 

Am I going to graduate on time? 

First, this is a friendly reminder that there is no “right” time to graduate and that we are all on our own timeline and journey. That being said, to graduate from UMass you need to complete a total of 120 credit hours, which will include major, college, and university requirements. In order to graduate in a 4-year timeline, you should aim to complete, on average, 15 credit hours per semester or 30 credit hours per academic year. It is always good to keep tabs on many credits you have completed, how many you are enrolled in, and how many you have left in order to determine about how long it will take you to complete your undergraduate degree.  

How to ease the registration process:

Come to Peer Advising!

The peer advisors are here to help and answer any questions you may have about this process. We recognize that registration is a stressful time of the semester, and therefore want to work with you to make this process as smooth as possible. If you feel that you have questions that don’t require an academic advisor, drop into the peer advising office in the Comm Hub (N323)!

Peer Advising drop-in hours: 

Monday: 10 am – 4 pm 

Tuesday: 9:15 am – 4:30 pm

Wednesday: 12 pm – 4 pm

Thursday: 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm 

Meet with an Advisor:

We always recommend that you meet with your advisor regularly in addition to during registration time. By doing this earlier in the semester you can ease stress during the registration period and feel more at ease with the registration process. Your advisor can help answer many questions you may have, make sure you’re on track to graduate, and point you toward any resources you may need for anything outside their capacity. As registration gears up, remember that advisors will have a busier schedule than usual so book your appointment sooner rather than later! To make an appointment, log into Spire and on the bottom right-hand corner there should be a ‘Primary Advisor’ tab with your advisor’s information. 

Navigating course registration can be difficult, but it doesn’t need to be! By using resources provided to students by UMass and planning ahead this can be a pretty easy process. Good luck on registering for classes!