Registering
for Classes
One of the first questions new seminary students ask is "How do I register for my classes?"
The first step in the process is a meeting with your faculty advisor. You will have your first advising session during the on-campus orientation. We ask that you meet with your advisor prior to registering each semester.
Before you meet with your advisor, it would be a good idea to review your personal commitments (family, ministry, work, etc.) How much time will you have each week for reading and homework? Will your work schedule allow you to take classes every day, or only on Mondays? Do you want to consider any evening classes, or would you prefer to schedule all of your classes during the day? You might also review the current class schedules to see what options are available. During the advising meeting you can work with your advisor to plan your course schedule, discuss various options such as distance education or independent studies, and develop a degree program plan that will meet your needs in a timeline and method that works best for you.
The next step is to go online to our Student Information System and follow the procedures for online registration. During the on-campus orientation you will be given detailed instructions for our Student Information System and you'll learn how to conduct registration.
We usually begin Open Registration two months prior to the start of the semester, and Open Registration usually lasts for one month. You can add and drop courses during Open Registration without any fees. Once Open Registration ends, there are fees for each add and drop. So we encourage you to register during Open Registration. (Please note, you do not need to register during Open Registration for your first semester at Western Seminary. We don't charge any registration fees in a student's first semester of enrollment.)
You will be notified of the Open Registration dates in our emailed student newsletter ("The Epistle"). The newsletter is sent to currently-registered Portland campus students, so if you take a semester off from seminary, you should remember to contact us approximately two months prior to the start of the next semester so that you can learn the dates of Open Registration.
If you do not register during Open Registration, you may still add and drop courses. But there are Post-Open Registration fees associated with each add or drop. The Post-Open Registration fee for drops is simply $10 per drop. But the fee for adds is a graduated fee. This means that the amount of the fee increases as time passes. Immediately after Open Registration ends, the Post-Open Registration fee is $10 per add. Three weeks prior to the start of the semester, the fee increases to $15 per add. And two weeks prior to the start of the semester, the fee increases again to $20 per add. The purpose of the graduated fee is to encourage you to register sooner rather than later so that we can ensure that we have enough textbooks and classroom space for every student on the first day of class.
When you register
for classes in the Student Information System, please take note of the
deadline to drop the class, as well as the refund deadlines. If, for
any reason, you decide to drop a class, you should go online to the
Student Information System and drop it prior to the deadline in order
to avoid receiving a failing grade. Please note that the refund amount
decreases as classroom time elapses.
