Students all over Montclair State University are logging onto their Nest accounts, scrolling through page after page on Rate My Professor and preparing to register for their spring classes.
Registration for the spring 2022 semester begins on Oct. 14.
There are lots of different resources to help prepare for next semester. DegreeWorks, which can be found in the home tab of Nest, allows students to see who their academic advisor is, what classes are required of their program, any requirements that still need to be met for graduation and other helpful tools.
Eren Sevintuna, a junior filmmaking major, uses digital tools to plan his schedule.
“I usually go on websites such as Coursicle and I start laying out my schedule,” Sevintuna said. “I look at what I need to graduate and I just lay out what classes seem to work and what will get me to graduation quicker.”
Each school has many resources available to help its students stay on track. Joy Granados-Roldan, an advisor at the School of Communication and Media, said students should check out four-year plans and program guides for their majors. Professors may also be emailing information helpful to their students.
Students should also check their email for information about advising and registration. This could be anything from updates about changes to courses or programs, important dates and deadlines and scheduling an appointment with your advisor.
Ashley Mullins, a sophomore nutrition and food science major, said she takes a lot of advice from her advisor.
“I really like how they give you a lot of advice on what classes to take, they give you what classes you should be taking that semester,” Mullins said.
Ashley Mullins said her advisor helped her with registration.
Photo courtesy of Cassandra Cavalluzzi
Mullins explained what she discusses when she meets with her advisor.
“I ask what I should take for this upcoming year, what I need to take to be on track for graduation and what courses they recommend,” Mullins said.
Deanna Dennigan, a sophomore psychology major, said she was planning on switching her major.
“I have not met with my advisor yet but I have a meeting on Friday,” Dennigan said. “I ask [for] a lot of advice because I always need an extra set of hands to help [with] what classes I need.”
Deanna Dennigan said she is changing her major and plans on meeting with her advisor for advice.
Photo courtesy of Cassandra Cavalluzzi
If it feels earlier than normal to start scrambling for next semester when the fall semester only started a month ago, it is because registration is beginning a little earlier this fall.
Granados-Roldan said the fall 2020 semester had started earlier than normal last year due to coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns, so the registration date was also earlier. The same schedule was used for this semester, leaving less time between the first day of school and registration. Registration was actually planned to start on Oct. 4, but it was pushed back to Oct. 14.
“I think the university might be seeing [that] we need to give ourselves a little more time,” Granados-Roldan said.
According to Granados-Roldan, this change is only temporary and registration should be set later in the semester next year.
Regardless of what is happening next year, the date for registration is right around the corner. There are lots of different resources available to students to help them, so make sure to maximize everything Montclair State has to offer. Schedule an advising appointment, double-check the course requirements and make sure to be ahead of the curve for the spring 2022 semester.
