It’s that time again. Time to decide which classes to take when the spring semester begins in January.

Registration for spring 2009 classes begins as early as Nov. 3 for Chancellor’s Honors, James Scholars and any other students who qualify for early registration. The rest of the student body will follow soon thereafter and into the middle of November.

Steve Gorrell, academic adviser in the Division of General Studies, said most University students are not required to meet with an adviser prior to class registration, but each of the colleges strongly recommends it. Some colleges, such as the College of Engineering, require it.

Gorrell said at this time of the year, he usually sees six to 10 students a day to answer questions about their schedules for next semester. He said students should come in as soon as they can to start planning for registration.

“We’ve been telling students from early September to come in and make an appointment because the period of registration during the month of November is very, very busy,” Gorrell said.

Gorrell recommends that students generate a Degree Audit Reporting System report online prior to meeting with an adviser. This report will tell students which courses have already been completed and which classes need to be taken in order to satisfy their degree requirements. He also said students should come in with some idea of the classes they would like to take.

Some students, however, have not yet met with their adviser or started planning their schedule for next semester. Pete Arreguin, senior in LAS, said he has not started preparing for registration, but he plans on meeting with an adviser soon.

“I usually just go to the (Molecular and Cellular Biology) office and lay out my stuff for (the adviser) and see if he thinks it’s cool,” Arreguin said.

Jennifer Bossemeyer, freshman in Engineering, said she hasn’t started preparing either, but she plans to start by meeting with an adviser next week. She said since she met with her adviser last semester, she already has a flow chart that gives her a good idea of what classes she should take each semester.

Gorrell said most students don’t get stressed out about registration. As an adviser, he said he reminds students to find out their registration date and time and encourages them to contact him with any questions or problems.

Julian Parrott, assistant provost and director of the Division of General Studies, said some common problems students face during registration have to do with restrictions on classes. He said there is a list of various error messages that might come up on Banner if there is a restriction, and the best thing to do is investigate the message carefully.

“The one that is really misdirecting students says ‘check with adviser’… what that message actually means is to check with the department that is actually offering the class,” Parrott said.

He added that on Banner and the course catalog, students can find out why a course is restricted. For example, it may be open only to freshmen, honors students or majors. Parrott said often the restriction will be removed at a certain time and the class becomes open to all students.

If a class is completely closed, students should not panic, Parrott added. He said even though registration starts in November, it actually doesn’t end until 10 days into the next semester; in which time, seats in the class will probably open.

“It really is one of these things where you need to be persistent,” Parrott said.