Penn StateUniversity Undergraduate Advising Handbook

 

REGISTRATION
(Senate Policy 34-23)

 

One registration system registers all students at all locations for credit courses offered through resident instruction, Continuing Education, and World Campus delivery systems.

Course registration information is available to advisers in real time on eLion using the Course Availability module. It is also available to authorized advisers on ISIS screen ARIRC (for a listing of availability by section) and ARUAC (for more detailed registration information including the six-digit number required for registration).

The registration process is initiated when a student schedules courses. The process is completed when a student takes action on his/her tuition bill (eBill) for that semester even if no payment is due.

Students may also schedule courses at multiple Penn State campuses in the same semester/session (see Multiple-Campus Registration). To schedule more than 19 credits, students must add the overload credits during the drop/add period.

If you have questions about the registration process, contact the Registrar's office at the appropriate campus.

Student Action
Scheduled and Registered Status
Registration Confirmation
Late Registration
     Tuition and Fees
     Process
Retroactive Registration

STUDENT ACTION

  1. Determine your first day to register by checking page 1 of your degree audit or consulting the Registration Timetable.

  2. Prior to your first day to register, prepare to meet with an academic adviser by reading Considerations When Planning a Schedule.

  3. In consultation with an academic adviser, select courses for the upcoming semester/session.

  4. Use the Schedule of Courses to select the sections you prefer. Use the appropriate registration worksheet (fall/spring semester or summer session) as a day planner.

  5. On or after your first day to register, follow instructions for adding courses and Registration Tips.

  6. After scheduling, use Student Schedule on eLion to verify your course selections and to determine if any of your courses are part-semester. If so, see Part-Semester Courses for relevant information, dates, and deadlines. For full-semester courses, check the Academic Calendar.

  7. When your eBill is available, an e-mail message will be sent to your official University e-mail account notifying you that your eBill is available to view and/or pay via eLion. An e-mail will also be sent to parents or others to whom you have granted access to your Bursar Tuition Bills. Please see the Tuition Bill Instructions on the Office of the Bursar website for detailed instructions on completing your registration.

SCHEDULED AND REGISTERED STATUS

To complete registration, a student must take the following steps:

  1. Schedule courses
  2. Take action on his/her tuition bill (eBill) before the due date, even if the balance is zero

Students who do not take action on their tuition bills have not completed their registration and may experience several consequences of incomplete registration.

REGISTRATION CONFIRMATION

To verify a student's status, authorized advisers may use ISIS screen ARURD (see a guide to codes displayed in the STATUS column).

LATE REGISTRATION

The late registration period begins after the semester's add period and ends on the last day of classes in a semester/session. When a student is late registering for part-semester courses (or any combination of full- and part-semester courses), his/her late registration period is determined by his/her course with the earliest-starting late drop period.

The late registration policy does not apply to students who have scheduled any courses (and retained at least one) prior to the late registration period. That is, students who schedule prior to or during the drop/add period are not late registering.

A student considering a late registration should consult with an academic adviser to discuss the implications of this decision.

Tuition and Fees

The late registration fee is $250.00. Tuition, all fees, and any prior balance must be paid before a late registration can be processed.

Process

Students processing registrations after the semester's add period must obtain the signature(s) of the instructor for each course the student is scheduling. If one of these courses is full or departmentally controlled, then both instructor and departmental approval is required.

A student who is late registering may schedule a course as an audit.

RETROACTIVE REGISTRATION

Students who have not completed their registration on or before the last day of classes for a semester or session may request a retroactive registration.

Students who scheduled courses but did not take action on their semester tuition bill before the last day of classes for a semester/session may request a retroactive registration by following the instructions provided by the Registrar's office. The deadline for submitting this request is the end of the ninth month after the end of the semester or session for which the student seeks registration. After this deadline, students seeking a retroactive registration must petition the Faculty Senate (information below).

Whether a student requests a retroactive registration via the Registrar's office (prior to the deadline) or by petition (after the deadline), when a request is approved, all courses that the student previously scheduled for the semester or session will be recorded. Authorized advisers can view the courses that a student had scheduled on ISIS screen ARIRS. No courses from this list may be dropped; courses not listed may not be added. The Registrar's office will request the student's final grades from course instructors. (If the grade cannot be obtained from an instructor, the instructor's department head will provide the grade.)

Advising Note: If the instructor's department head cannot provide a grade, the student will receive a grade of F for the course. Therefore, students should verify their grades by contacting course instructors or, if unavailable, department heads prior to requesting a retroactive registration.

Petitions to the Faculty Senate for a retroactive registration are necessary for students in the following situations:

The retroactive registration procedure cannot be used to retroactively late add a course. To late add a course after the end of a semester or session, the student must submit a petition to the University Faculty Senate.

The University may make changes in policies, procedures, educational offerings, and requirements at any time. Please consult a Penn State academic adviser for more detailed information.

This page is part of the University Undergraduate Advising Handbook, which is maintained by the Division of Undergraduate Studies, DUS@psu.edu.

Reviewed: November 2011
Last Update: July 2010