Is Advising Fest a viable solution for solving class registration problems?

Every semester when class registration time rolls around, many students feel overwhelmed about knowing which classes they should sign up for and if they will even be able to get a seat in the class or be placed on the waitlist.

As a solution to this problem, Chapman’s advising team has created Advising Fest to help with the upcoming spring 2025 enrollment process. At this event put on by Undergraduate Advising, students will be able to ask questions about which classes they should register for, clarify issues with enrollment and ask any other questions they might have.  

“I have had an okay time in the past registering for classes. It feels like a fight every time but because I have pre-planned out my classes, as most people do, I have always gotten what I wanted,” said Peyton Mitchell, a sophomore applied human physiology major. “With this said I know this is not the case for most people and I’ve heard horror stories of people getting none of the classes they need.”

During previous semesters, there were many courses that have been offered inconsistently. Resulting in a large number of students trying to register for a few classes and being unable to take courses they need to graduate, according to a faculty document obtained by The Panther.

“I have not reached out to academic advisors, honestly they are unhelpful and just guide you to the website which I can just do myself,” said Mitchell who does not plan on attending Advising Fest and does not regularly use Academic Advising resources.

Chapman’s Undergraduate Academic Advising assigns every student based on their major to a counselor to answer major-related, general education, and registration questions.

“Advisors historically have been booked up with appointments during (registration) time which made access to advice challenging. We are confident that being able to walk in and see an advisor will be more effective and efficient in helping the most students,” said Laura Cook, the interim director of advising. “Our goal is to have every student we see leave the event confident and excited about their upcoming class schedule.”

Although students do not need to set up an appointment to attend Advising Fest, Cook explained that preparing will best help students before talking to an advisor.

“Please start putting classes in your shopping cart now and take a minute to look at your program evaluation in your student center,” Cook explained. “We will be focusing on interterm and spring registration, so if you have questions unrelated to registration it would be best to email those to your academic advisor.”

However, among many students, one persisting problem during registration is permission numbers.

“For the most part, registration has been pretty good except for when I have had to use permission numbers,” explained Makenna Kunimura, a sophomore English journalism major. “I had to get a permission number for a class last semester and that class fills up pretty fast so I was stressed already. I successfully got the code and tried to put it in but it kept saying it was invalid. I had to email the registration office and they eventually just let me in the class.”

Although many students struggle with permission numbers and the confusion surrounding them, unfortunately, students cannot be assisted at Advising Fest regarding them. This is because the Registration Office handles permission numbers and only the Program Department can approve them, not Undergraduate Advising.

“Reach out to your advisor or to email or call the Registration Office,” Kunimura said. “I have had to call them multiple times this year already because of registration and they are usually very helpful.”

Just like Mitchell, Kunimura also has no plans of attending Advising Fest, but she regularly meets with her academic advisor to look over the classes she plans on enrolling in and said that her advisor has been very helpful with the process.

“The best advice I can give is to plan early and have two or three different schedules in mind,” Michell said. “In the days leading up to registration, I am constantly changing my schedule to make sure there will be classes available when it comes time.”

If students are interested in talking with an academic advisor before or during registration, Advising Fest will be taking place from Nov. 4 to Nov. 7 and Nov. 11 to Nov. 16 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Sandu Conference Room, which can be found above the cafeteria.