Checklist for Preparing for your Fall 2020 Enrollment Appointment

The University’s decision to delay the beginning of course enrollment until April 8th allows students more time to prepare their schedules for the Fall 2020 semester. Students who have EnviSci as their primary major will see a hold described as “Prevents enrollment: Fall 2020” listed in the “Holds” box on the righthand side of the Spire Student Center. As usual, you must discuss your enrollment plans for Fall 2020 with your primary faculty advisor (listed on the Spire Student Center) before they can remove this hold for you. With all the confusion going on in the world, we want to make sure that you’re ready to “meet” (or zoom…) with your advisor before enrollment begins. Here are some reminders:

• Scroll through your Academic Requirement Report (“ARR NoShopping Cart” in the “Other Academic” dropdown menu on Spire’s Student Center) to understand which requirements you have completed and which you still need to address. Tip: Open all the tabs on the ARR, to make sure there are no unfulfilled requirements hidden from view.
• The courses for Fall 2020 are now visible in Spire. Make a list of which courses you want to take, and add them to your shopping cart. 
• Plan ahead using the Curriculum Planning Worksheet (and other helpful resources) so you are prepared for Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. Juniors are encouraged to plan out all of their remaining semesters at UMass. This can be especially important, as some courses are only offered during the first or second semester of the year, and some courses are only offered every other year. Tip: the term “first semester” refers to the first semester in the calendar year, i.e. Spring semester, and “second semester” refers to the second semester of the calendar year, i.e. Fall semester.
• Use Spire’s Schedule Builder tool to make sure all your courses can fit together in a weekly schedule. This tool can be found to the left of the “Fall 2020 Shopping Cart” in the “Add Classes/Shopping Cart” section on Spire.
• List out any and all questions you have about Fall 2020 semester, and all other questions regarding future semesters, summer internships, research, jobs, domestic exchange, international programs, study abroad, honors college, etc. Your meeting with your primary advisor is a good time to ask these questions, as your advisor will be able to help you answer them or direct you to someone with more specific knowledge.

As always, we want to help you succeed, so don’t hesitate to contact any of the Peer Advisors or other EnviSci advisors!