How Do I Register?
Students may register for classes using the online and/or manual registration methods. While we encourage students to enroll online during their early registration period, there are instances in which manual registration is necessary (see manual registration).
ONLINE REGISTRATION - Current Students
** Students registering for an abroad semester must enroll manuallyREGISTRATION PREPARATION
(Complete BEFORE your assigned registration time)
The official Schedule of Classes is posted on the Registrar’s home page. Please review to identify the courses you would like to take.
Action 1: Get familiar with HWS PeopleSoft Website
- Go to the Registrar's website
- Click on HWS PeopleSoft Website.
- At login, enter your user ID and password (which is the same as your HWS Network ID and password.
- Select "Campus Solutions."
- Select "Self Service" option and view web services.
Action 2: Go to your Student Center and check for holds.
If you have any holds on your registration, they will appear in the upper right hand corner of your Student Center.
Your ability to register will be restricted if you have an adviser, tuition, health, or financial aid HOLD on your registration. Use the “View Holds” option in the Student Center to check for holds that will keep you from registering for classes.
Action 3: Review the section titled “Enrollment Dates” in your Student Center
Review the section titled “Enrollment Dates” and note there are two appointment times listed. You will have a “Shopping Cart Appointment” and an “Enrollment Appointment” which is specific to your year level/class. Use the “Shopping Cart Appointment” process as a registration planning tool. This functionality allows you to select your course preferences and check for required prerequisites, permission only classes and course repeats prior to actual registration time.
Action 4: Schedule advising appointment with your primary adviser (adviser for the major).
Schedule an appointment with your primary adviser during Advising Week to be advised for classes and have the adviser hold removed by your primary adviser to be authorized for registration. All on-campus students must have their adviser hold released by their primary adviser at the completion of scheduled advising session in order to begin loading the shopping cart and validating course selections via the Student Center. This must occur prior to your assigned enrollment appointment time. This is very important!
Action 5: Begin loading your shopping cart
During the advising week (see when to register for dates) you may begin loading your shopping cart only after the adviser hold has been released. Go to your Student Center, click on “plan” and begin loading your shopping cart with your course preferences. When selecting classes, if you wish to register for a course for credit/no credit, at the grading option select “credit/no credit,” then “next.” Otherwise, all course registrations will be taken for a letter grade.
Once you’ve loaded your shopping cart, click the “validate” button at bottom of page to validate your course selections. This process checks the selected shopping cart courses for prerequisite requirements prior to actual registration. Be sure to correct error messages/potential problems that are identified from the validation process before you register. We recommend that students select 3-4 classes at a time when using the validation function. Run this process prior to your actual enrollment appointment time to optimize registration processing time. Please note you are not officially enrolled until you register for the classes in your shopping cart during your assigned enrollment appointment period. Be sure to check prerequisites in Schedule of Classes posted on the Registrar’s webpage.
Action 6: Classroom Assignments
Classroom Assignments: Classroom assignments will be finalized and available on the Web prior to the first day of classes. Check the "My Class Schedule” option one week before the first day of classes.
Classes with Labs: Be sure to register for any lab component if it is a co-requisite for the course you plan to take. Students taking a course which requires a lab must take the lab section assigned to that course.
Schedule of Classes: When deciding on your courses, check the Schedule of Classes for text-line information and special advising notes directly underneath the course number and title. These notes indicate course prerequisites, schedule notes, courses that are noted "permission only,” “instructor consent required” and any class restrictions or prerequisites. The official Schedule of Classes is posted on the Registrar’s home page: See “The latest Schedule of Courses.”
REGISTERING ONLINE FOR CLASSES
Assuming that you have completed the registration preparation above and it is your early enrollment period, complete the steps below to successfully enroll. Familiarize yourself with these steps PRIOR to your assigned registration time and be prepared to execute your registration when your time arrives. By following all of these steps, your online early registration should be successful. If the course you are trying to enroll in requires permission, is closed, or the system does not determine that you meet the pre-requisites for the course as outlined in the description, and you do not have a permit number, you will need to register manually. Information on how and when to use manual registration is found below. Also remember that if the course you are enrolling in requires a lab, be sure that you have indicated the lab as part of the enrollment request.
Action 1: Enroll for classes from the Shopping Cart
After you have validated your course selection, you must then register by clicking on the "Enroll" button during your assigned enrollment period.
A student's best chance for getting the classes he or she truly wants is to only select the checkbox for those courses. Once the check boxes are selected, press the "Enroll" button. While it is a good idea to have alternate courses ready to go in your shopping cart, it is not recommended to enroll for more than FOUR courses at a time.
Action 2: Take the online survey when you are finished registering for classes.
At the completion of your registration, you will be asked to take an on line survey. The survey is designed to provide us with feedback on your registration experience. Your views are very important to us. The information from the survey is used to improve the quality of our registration services.
REGISTRATION STEPS - A SUMMARY
Step 1
Go to the Registrar’s webpage.
Step 2
Click on HWS PeopleSoft Website.
Step 3
Select “Campus Solutions.”
Step 4
At the login, enter your user ID and password (which is the same as your HWS Network ID and password).
Step 5
Select the “Self Service” option to view available web services.
Schedule advising session with your primary adviser (First Year Adviser or Adviser for the Major) before registering for classes. Be sure adviser hold is released by your adviser at completion of your advising session for registration authorization and access to online registration. BE SURE ALL HOLDS HAVE BEEN CLEARED PRIOR TO REGISTRATION.
Step 6
Upon completion of steps 1-5 above, click on "Student Center" and view holds in upper right-hand section of screen. View Shopping Cart Appointment time. View Enrollment Appointment time.
Step 7
Click on the "Plan" button under "Academics" tab to begin loading your shopping cart.
Step 8
Select registration term.
Step 9
Click "Search" button in shopping cart.
Step 10
Enter class search criteria on page.
Step 11
Click on "Search" button and review results.
step 12
Select your choice class and click "Select class" button.
Step 13
Review information on the selected class. When selecting classes, if you wish to register for a course for credit/no credit, at the grading option select “credit/no credit,” then “next.” Otherwise, all course registrations will be taken for a letter grade. Click "Next" to add class to your shopping cart. (If the class is closed and the waitlist is available, a yellow triangle will appear along with a checklist box. If you wish to be placed on the waitlist, check this box and continue. See additional notes on the waitlist process below. Be sure to load shopping cart with alternates if preferred course is closed.)
Step 14
Check 3-4 boxes in the "Select" column and click "Validate" to validate the selections in your shopping cart. This process checks the selected shopping cart courses for time conflict and prerequisite requirements prior to actual registration. Be sure to correct error messages/potential problems that are identified from the validation process before you register. Validate only 3-4 classes at a time.
Step 15
Once you have validated your shopping cart course selections, and received "OK to add" message for each class in your shopping cart, then you are ready to process your registration. Only during your Enrollment Appointment period, click on the "Enroll" button and then the "Finish Enrolling" button to process your registration and view results. Select only 3-4 classes at a time when enrolling for classes. Follow system prompts. If you get a delay of greater than 5 minutes after you press the “finish enroll” button, contact the Help Desk at 781-4357 or the Registrar’s Office at 781-3651. Do not get discouraged. Just keep trying.
Step 16
REGISTRATION CONFIRMATION - Always review and confirm the accuracy of your registration once completed.
ONLINE REGISTRATION AND PERMIT NUMBERS
What are they?
Permit numbers may be offered to students by a faculty member to allow them to register online for classes that they would otherwise not be allowed to process online. Permit numbers can be used to override:
- Pre-requisites
- Permission Required Courses
- Closed Courses/Override Permission
How do I get one?
Prior to trying to enroll online, if you know that you do not meet the pre-requisites, that the course requires instructor permission or that the course is already closed, you may request a permit number from the instructor which will override the system and allow you to enroll. The advantage of these numbers is that they allow you to enroll for classes during your early enrollment period, thus preventing you form being closed out of classes for which you don’t meet pre-requisites or which require permission. Remember that a permit number for a closed class, guarantees you enrollment so the timing for registration is less critical.
How do I use it/ Where does the permit number go?
Once you have secured a permit number, you will enter the number in the permission number box when adding your course as illustrated below.
ONLINE REGISTRATION AND THE WAITLIST OPTION
While courses do fill up quickly, many of them will offer a waitlist. Prior to registration, instructors determine whether or not the waitlist option is available for a course at maximum enrollment. Courses with a waitlist offered have a triangle next to them. As seats become available, students are enrolled in waitlist order if they have met the enrollment requirements and have no scheduling conflicts.
How do I add myself to the Waitlist?
To successfully be registered from a waitlist, a student registered for four full-credit courses must register one of the four as a swap to drop course to maintain a total of four classes. As that student comes up on the waitlist, that student will automatically be dropped from the swap to drop course and enrolled in the waitlisted course, if all enrollment requirements are met and there are no scheduling conflicts. Courses with a lab component will have the waitlist active for both the lecture and the lab. See the instructions below for enrollment swapping.
To register a course as swap to drop:
1. Sign in to PeopleSoft
2. Go to Campus Solutions > Self Service > Student Center
3. Use the "other academic…" dropdown to select Enrollment: Swap and click on the arrows to go to that page
Waitlisting - If a class is closed and the waitlist is available, a yellow triangle will appear along with a checklist box in your shopping cart. If you wish to be placed on the waitlist, check the box and proceed. There is no notice of enrollment, so check your student center frequently. It is recommended that you enroll in 4 courses and waitlist on your preferred class by using the “swap” option to choose a class you want to drop in its place. You will not be automatically enrolled in the class until the system verifies all enrollment eligibility requirements (such as prerequisites are met, no time conflicts, appropriate lab selected, possible instructor consent needed) have been met. See “The Waitlist Process” tutorial on the Registrar’s webpage.
You will be notified via email once you are successfully enrolled into a class from the waitlist. It is recommended that you enroll in 3-4 courses and waitlist on your preferred class by using the "swap" option to choose a class you want to drop in its place. You will not be automatically enrolled in the class until the system verifies all enrollment eligibility requirements (such as prerequisites are met, no time conflicts, appropriate lab selected, possible instructor consent needed) have been met.
MANUAL REGISTRATION
What Is Manual/In Person Registration?
Manual registration/In person registration is still available to students, although registration online is strongly recommended when possible. Manual registration involves the use of a paper form. Enrollment via paper form is still subject to the established registration schedule based on year level classification.
Drop/Add form . This form may require signatures and will need to be brought into the Registrar’s Office for processing during normal business hours.
In place of the Drop/Add form, in instances where registration requires permission of the instructor, an email from the instructor indicating permission is also acceptable. Like the Drop/Add form, this email hard copy may also be brought into the Registrar’s Office for processing. Emails from faculty to allow enrollment in a course for prerequisite, overload, or permission only reasons should be sent directly to the student, rather than to a Registrar’s Office staff member. The student will need to print the email approval and submit it to the registrar’s office for processing because:
- the student may need to drop a course in order to enroll, and the student must inform us of which course to drop
- there could be a time conflict, in which case we need the student to decide between the courses
- the student may have a hold which prevents her/him from registering for the course
***Note: For students who are abroad, please copy a staff member and we will work with the student to process the request. See separate procedures for Off Campus Program registration.***
When Is Manual Enrollment Necessary?
Current Matriculated Students:
During the early registration period or open registration, all students (with exception to first year students in the fall semester, and those who have holds) have the ability to register online. Under the following circumstances (unless a student has a permit number) the student will need to register manually.
- Restricted Courses/Permission Only
- Pre-requisites not met
- Closed Class/Overload Permission - If a course has reached its maximum enrollment when you attempt to register for the course, the system will display a message stating that the course is closed. Your first action should be to find another course. Course overloads are not automatic. You must first contact the instructor of record to see if the faculty member is accepting course overloads. If the instructor of record is accepting class overloads, student must get an “overload signature” (written permission by the faculty member to register student as an overload) or ask the faculty member for a PeopleSoft Class Permit/Permission Number to overload into the class electronically. Course overloads are determined by the instructor of record. However, during a Fall Semester Registration, a class cannot exceed enrollments of 49 (including approved overloads.)
- Independent Study (450) and Honors (495) - Both require written permission from the faculty member (and dept. chairperson for adjunct faculty).Be sure to list the course on the Add/Drop form under the department of the faculty member who will be working with you. For example the Drop/Add form should say: DAN 450- Davenport and then get the faculty member’s signature.
- Music Lessons - Students opting to take music lessons sign up at the beginning of the semester through the music department. A special form is completed by the student and submitted to the music department. There are additional fees associated with music lessons. Once the music department has collected all registration forms, they are provided to the Registrar’s office so that they may be added to the student’s course enrollment. It is recommended that the student check his/her registration in PeoplSoft Student center to confirm that the registration for the lesson appears. Enrollment for these classes should appear by the end of the first month of classes.
- Teaching Assistants/Student Collaborator’s - For any student who will be acting as a student teacher or collaborator of a course, a form called The Request to Add Student Collaborator to Course must be completed by the faculty member. These forms are sent to the Registrar’s Office and processed. Once processed, the student will have access to canvas for the class that they will be assisting with. The student should not enroll in the actual course for which they will be assisting.
- Student preference - In-person registration is still available to students. Students are required to be advised by their academic adviser and have their adviser hold released by the primary adviser, prior to registration. Registration forms are available on the online forms website. Forms are processed in the Registrar's Office Monday – Friday and during the hours of 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. according to year level classification and established registration schedule.
Student Groups Requiring Manual Registration
Non-Matriculated Students:
Students who are not candidates for a degree are admitted to courses only with approval of the respective college’s dean and permission from the instructor, who determines their qualifications to undertake the work AFTER they have completed the Non-Matriculated Student Application Form to the respective Dean of the College, Smith Hall. To register, please review the list of course offerings on the Registrar’s webpage and complete the Registration Form/Drop/Add during the week of Drop/Add (which is the first week of classes each semester). Return this form to the Registrar’s Office to complete enrollment for classes on a space-available basis and require the written permission of the instructor of the course. HWS reserves the right to deny entry to a class if a non-matriculated student does not meet the prerequisite or other established registration criteria.
Graduate Attendee’s:
Graduates of Hobart College or William Smith College who are five or more years beyond graduation are eligible to take one or two courses per semester tuition free. Most courses are open to graduate attendees, by permission of the instructor, except for the following: first-year seminars, bidisciplinary courses, the teacher certification program, applied music courses, self-instructional language programs, and off-campus programs. Courses are available on a space-available basis. To register, please review the list of course offerings on the Registrar’s webpage and complete the Registration Form/Drop/Add (insert link) during the week of Drop/Add (which is the first week of classes each semester). Return this form to the Registrar’s Office to complete enrollment.