Continuing students have until Thursday, May 12, 2011 at 11:49 p.m. to register for their Fall 2011 classes.

In the past, students have been able to sign up for classes at least two weeks into the semester until last school year when the Falculty Senate and upper administration approved the proposal by Lori Hunter, Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management, to establish an earlier deadline for class registration.

“Historically, a good portion of the [semester] enrollment did not come until the summer, which didn’t give the departments an opportunity [to efficiently assess] which classes they needed to add sections to or cancel,” said Lester Lugo, a representative from the Office of the Registrar.  

Students who do not register in the allotted time period will face a $50 late registration fee, as well as risk the chance of certain classes being closed or canceled because of low enrollment.

Adjustments to schedules can be made after the deadline and students will not have to pay the fine; however, this does not apply to students whose classes are dropped because of an outstanding payment.

They will have the fee applied to their account when they re-register for classes.  

The administration hopes the new changes will serve as an incentive for students to seek proper advisement before the majority of faculty is gone for the summer or unavailable as the summer months are normally reserved for advising new incoming students.

To ensure the general student population was well aware of the deadline, originally Friday, April 29, 2011, the Office of the Registrar’s Communication Committee and the Center launched an extensive publicity campaign for Academic Excellence.

Emails were sent directly to students stating deadline information, and flyers and yard signs were placed around campus.

In addition, professor’s who teach classes offered by the Center for Academic Excellence are offering extra credit under their participation grades, and their advisors are visiting each residence hall to encourage all students to register in time.

Their efforts have yielded results.

Seventy percent of eligible students, specifically 5, 950, are currently registered as of midnight Monday, April 26, 2011, according to the Office of the Registar, which is almost 20 percent more students than this time last year.

The school of Nursing has the most registered students with 82.5 percent and the Center for Academic Excellence has 60.4 percent.

The total number of eligible students for this term is 8,510. Eligibility is determined if a student is currently enrolled in the spring term and is degree seeking, which excludes students taking classes under the consortium or participants in the Middle College.

These numbers reflect students moving in the direction the administration desires, however it has dually worked in the favor of the students where advisors have been prepared earlier and in turn more helpful.

“The deadline makes [students] rush into picking classes instead of [really] thinking about what they need, [but] my advisor was really helpful and got me signed up for everything I needed,” said Franklin Badger, a freshman Nursing major from Winston Salem, N.C.

To further assert the importance of registering before the deadline, the Assistant Director for the Center for Academic Excellence, Regina Brooks-Artis said, “It is good planning for students to get everything in place [now] to ensure they will be successful at the beginning of the semester.

This makes for a responsible student, who is proactive oppose to being reactive.”

• LaRia Land