Spring 2021 Advising and Registration Student FAQs

Lower division advising (for students who have not yet declared a major) and major/minor advising will take place November 2-18. Students will be contacted by their advisers to discuss their academic plans for the spring semester. Students can also seek assistance from the Office of Academic Advising (OAA).

All advising meetings for Spring 2021 will be conducted virtually. You should expect to meet with your adviser over Zoom, Google Meet, or other electronic means including Skype and Webex.

You should hear from your adviser prior to the advising period. If you do not, you should try to reach your adviser via email or phone. Contact information is available via a Directory located in WIN. If you are not successful in reaching your adviser, please consult with the Office of Academic Advising via email (undergraduateadvising@wfu.edu) about next steps.

There are many ways to go about preparing for your advising meeting. If you are currently exploring majors, the following resources were designed with you in mind: Programs of Study, which are housed in the University Bulletin, and Departmental Course Guides, which are housed on OAA’s website. You should also browse the Spring 2021 course offerings in the Registration Portal; these will become available on October 30th, and you will be able to choose from the following modalities. A thorough review of your DegreeWorks is also advised so that you know what you’ve completed thus far and what still lies ahead of you. The “What If” feature in DegreeWorks is particularly helpful if you would like to know how the courses you’ve already completed would apply to one program of study versus another.

Some students do have more than one adviser. You should meet with your assigned lower-division adviser (if you are undeclared) or assigned major adviser (if you have declared). If you have more than one major adviser, either adviser may release your PIN for registration, but you are encouraged to meet with all advisers to ensure that you are making satisfactory progress through the requirements for each of your academic programs.

In your advising meeting, be prepared to discuss your academic strengths, interests, and goals, especially as they relate to Spring 2021 course selection. Additionally, be prepared to talk through any challenges you have encountered at Wake Forest, academic or otherwise. If you have questions or concerns about your midterm grades and options for improvement, speak up about them. Your adviser understands that what happens to you as a person affects what you can accomplish as a student. Getting connected to campus resources is important, and your adviser can facilitate these important connections.

Yes, all Wake Forest students will need a PIN to complete registration for Spring 2021. Meeting with your assigned academic adviser is the only way to obtain your PIN. Before your advising meeting concludes, ensure that you have received your PIN from your adviser. If you do not receive a copy of your PIN via email, save your PIN to your phone so that it’s readily accessible when you need it.

If you have indeed been advised, you should contact your adviser in order to obtain your PIN. If your adviser is inaccessible during this time, you should follow up with the Office of Academic Advising via email (undergraduateadvising@wfu.edu) about next steps.

As is custom, registration will take place in two rounds. However, each round of registration for Spring 2021 will span only two days. The first round is scheduled for November 19th and 20th. The second round will occur on November 23rd and 24th. Please see this page of the University Registrar’s website for more detailed information, including Registration How-To’s and Registration Errors & FAQs. 

All students should check their time tickets (and holds!) in the Registration Portal. Registration times will look different to upperclassmen, and this is because members of the same class (e.g. Seniors) will register at the same time (e.g. Seniors at 9am EDT on 11/19  and 11/23). A breakdown of what to expect may be found here.

Students are permitted to register for up to 8 hours in Round I and up to 17 hours in Round II. Declared majors who participate in major/minor registration between 11/2 and 11/18 should be able to register for an additional 4 hours in Round I. Requests to exceed 17 hours will not be received by the Office of Academic Advising until after rounds of registration have concluded, so November 25th at the earliest.

To support an equitable registration experience for all students, The Office of Academic Advising will not receive requests for credit overages until both rounds of registration have concluded. If you wish to exceed 17 hours for Spring 2021, you must discuss with your academic adviser (via email or virtual meeting) the desired course(s) to add, the specific number of credit hours, and the reasons for increasing your load. If adviser approval is given, you must email the Office of Academic Advising (undergraduateadvising@wfu.edu) starting on November 25th, 2020 and include the documented conversation. If the discussion occurred via phone or video conference, please request that your academic adviser notify our office.

Please refer to this helpful infographic for more information.

All Spring 2021 courses will be available for viewing in the Registration Portal on October 30th. Please know you can filter by the type of modality that best meets your geographic and learning needs.