Building Your Class Schedule and Registering in our new Banner Environment
March 29, 2007

Many of you may know that when you register for the Summer and Fall 2007 semesters you will be doing so in a new computer environment called Banner. Below I am listing the various changes to the schedule of classes and to the registration system about which you need to be aware.

*Course numbers are now three letter department codes followed by three numbers designating the course. A chart comparing the alpha codes to the numeric codes is available at, http://www.newpaltz.edu/academics/descriptions.html. Because Progress Reports still list the numeric codes, you might find having this conversion chart helpful as you build your Fall 2007 course schedule.

*Each course has a Course Reference Number (CRN) attached to it. This is a unique identifier for a specific section of a specific course. The CRN is the number listed in the left hand column of a course listing in the schedule of classes. The number of digits in the CRN varies; most are four but some are three. You will be required to enter the CRN during registration, not the course number and section number, as you have in the past.

*After you select the semester for which you are registering, a Registration Worksheet will appear. The Registration Worksheet is where you enter the CRN.

*In addition to registering using the CRN, you will have the option of searching for classes using the Class Search button, and then selecting a course by clicking in a box to the left of the course. This is a nice feature if you are selecting multiple classes in one department, as you can select several classes and submit them all at once. As long as the courses are open, do not have time conflicts or restrictions that would preclude you from taking the course, all selections will be added to your schedule.

*The way in which you will search for general education courses has changed. There is now a field called ATTRIBUTE, referring to all of the various characteristics a course may have (GE, LA, WI, etc.) You will now use the attribute pull-down menu to find courses that meet the requirements you need. Caution: if you select multiple attributes the results will not be courses with those multiple attributes, but any course that has any of the attributes selected.

*When selecting courses you need to be mindful of course restrictions and pre-requisites. Course restrictions (majors only, permission of chair, must be a certain class, i.e. seniors only; sophomores or higher) will be enforced during registration. Pre-requisite checking will not be turned on during Summer and Fall 2007 registration, but you should complete all pre-requisites prior to taking a course that expects you to have that knowledge.

*To find course restrictions and pre-requisites do the following: click on the CRN of a course; click on View Catalog Entry; click on the course title. This will enable you to get to the level of course detail that contains the course restrictions and course pre-requisites.

*Courses that are in progress will not be considered when your class (freshman, sophomore, etc.) is calculated. During Summer and Fall 2007 registration Banner will allow freshmen (those with fewer than 30 credits completed) into 300-level courses. Freshmen may not, however, register for 400-level courses.

*If you have completed 75 credits, but not yet declared a major, you will not be allowed to register until the major is declared.

*You should contact the department if you require special approval(s) for a course(s) (majors only, permission of chair, class restrictions) it is offering. In most departments the approvals will be entered into the Banner system, thereby allowing you to register for courses despite the restrictions (when it is your assigned day and time, assuming space is still available). In departments that do not have the ability to add on-line approvals, PI cards will be given, which you will submit to Records and Registration.

*Special approval will be required if you want to register for more than one special topics course at the same level (293, 393, etc.) Unfortunately Banner sees any 293 (or 393, etc.) course as a duplicate course. The override that the department will provide is permission to register for a duplicate course.

*Time assignments have been posted to your my.newpaltz.edu account. After logging in, select the Student Services Tab. In the lower left hand corner there is an area called Web Registration. From the Time Assignment link, you can learn not only your assigned registration day and time, but also if you have any holds or restrictions on registering. Financial and medical holds WILL NOT be ignored during the week of Advanced Registration, which had been our practice in the past.

*After you have visited your advisor you will be given a code for registering. In Banner this code is called an alternate pin, rather than an ARN, as we referred to the registration code in the past.

Still have questions? Let us know what they are! We can communicate updates, revisions and clarifications to you via my.newpaltz.edu announcements.

Contributed by Ann Minnick, Dean of Academic Advising