Registering for Classes

Class registration can be a great time to explore the frontiers of your liberal arts education.  But it can also be an incredible source of frustration.  When you log onto Banner Web to register for classes, it is usually at the same time as everyone else in your year, and it is easy to start panicking about classes filling up.  It is always a good idea to have a plan for a few different schedules, just in case one of you classes fills up before you get a chance to sign up.  Make sure that you meet your faculty advisor to obtain your alternate pin number before every class registration.  This number allows you to log into Banner Web and add or drop classes.  I remember during one semester, I had planned all of my courses and 2 minutes before the midnight registration I realized I never met with my faculty advisor to get my alternate pin number.  Fortunately, my advisor, George Guo, religiously checks his computer and managed to respond to my frantic email within seconds.

It is not the end of the world if your schedule doesn’t work out immediately after registration.  If a class is full it is always possible to email a professor and ask to be put on a waiting list.  If you are allowed into the class, stop by New Garden Hall and pick up an Add/Drop slip and have your new professor and your advisor verify that you can enter this course.  That same slip, as well, can be used to remove a class with the appropriate signatures.  Return completed Add/Drop slips to the Registrar’s office in New Garden.  Dates for dropping and adding classes are posted to Guilford Buzz and on the Academic Calendar.  You should check these dates because you are not permitted to drop or add after the last official date for dropping and adding classes.

A well-planned schedule can really ease the burden on you during a semester.  It may seem nice to have three days a week without classes, but four courses on Tuesday and Thursday can be nightmare itself.  Taking a lab science often requires you to sign up for a lab period in addition to your regular class time.  Thus, taking several lab courses in one semester could lead to a very loaded work schedule.  Make sure you take into account the level that a course is taught at.  Taking 100-level courses for four years will not result in graduation, but overloading yourself with 400-level courses could cause you to drop out sooner.  The best way, however, to assess what kind of work load a class might require is by going on the Guilford website and reading online syllabi for a number of courses.  A course’s syllabus will lay out the expectations, required texts, and the grading and attendance policies of a class.  Lastly, Guilford College sets up a curriculum that presents foundation courses that build a framework for tackling upper-level courses from a well-informed and more cosmopolitan perspective.  Taking these foundation courses early will make your subsequent years at Guilford a lot easier.

Look out for dates of class registration in the Guilford Buzz and remember to check Banner Web to see if there are any holds on your account that might prevent you from registering.  All students will have a “Guilford College Confirmation” hold on their account that can be easily cleared by logging onto www.guilford.edu/verify.  This may not be the only hold that you may have, however.  Don’t forget to sign up to meet with your advisor before registering for classes.  Besides giving you your required alternate pin number for registration, he or she can be a great asset in helping make sure you find classes that will expand your experiences, challenge your beliefs, and fulfill Guilford College’s requirements of a well-balanced and interdisciplinary education.