Using the Course Registration System

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Registration Guidance and Tutorials

Eligible students may use Banner Self-Service to:

  • Register for courses (with priority order based on class year and last name)
  • Modify course registration
  • View and print course schedules
  • View and print final grades (term-specific) and academic record (unofficial transcript)


See below for help with registration topics and video tutorials for using Banner Self-Service.

  • The portal allows you to access Banner Self-Service using your network log in and password.
  • To register via Banner Self-Service, you must first obtain your registration PIN from your faculty adviser. If your faculty adviser is off-campus (i.e. leading a study group or on leave), you should meet with the interim adviser designated by the department or the chairperson of the adviser’s department.

    The registration PIN permits access to the registration section of Banner Self-Service, where you can create or revise your registration for the coming term. See the Registration Information page for valid registration dates.
  • PINs are also required on the Registration Restriction Override Request form during registration

Forgotten or Lost PINs

If you forget or lose your PIN you must contact your faculty adviser. In the event you can not locate your adviser you can contact the department chair. The registrar's office does not give out PINs.

 

Please see the registration schedule. You will be eligible to register during or after your assigned registration time. You will not be able to access the Registration Menu prior to your scheduled time.

  • Access the registration menu of Banner Self-Service by logging into the Colgate portal using your network ID and password. (Click on the Registrar tab and select "Register for Classes.")
  • The Registration landing page gives you the option to "Prepare for Registration," "Browse Classes," "View Schedules," "Register for Classes," or "Plan Ahead."
  • The "Prepare for Registration" page allows you to review any registration overrides, your registration timeslot, possible holds, and other registration-related information.
  • Register for Classes gives access to the registration system beginning at your start time. 
    • Select the appropriate term.
    • Enter your PIN.
    • Click the Enter CRN tab to begin entering CRNs (fastest method) or use the Find Classes tab to search for courses to add. 
    • Add your course(s) to the summary pane. YOU ARE NOT YET REGISTERED. Courses are placed in the summary pane with the status of pending. In order to officially register, you must click Submit. If successful, the course(s) will display with a status of Registered. If unsuccessful, the applicable errors will display in the status column and in a banner at the top of the page. 
       

How to confirm you are registered:

  1. Under the "Status" column (first column), "Registered" will appear.
  2. Under the "Action" field (last column), "None" will appear.  This indicates that no action is needed.
     

Important
Anything appearing in the summary pane with an error is not part of your schedule and will be deleted when you exit. When changing the action (e.g., to waitlist) you must click "Submit" in order to update your schedule. 

Always verify that all of your registered and waitlisted courses appear with the appropriate status in the Summary pane. You can also view your official schedule by going back to the registration landing page and clicking the View Schedules link and choosing the appropriate term. On the View Schedule screen, pay attention to the Message column to the far right to determine the status of the courses listed. 

Check the Registrar tab in the Colgate portal to find the wealth of information that is available to you whenever you need it. From this menu, you may view final grades for a specific term, your unofficial transcript, registration or transcript holds, and financial account information.

To access your final grades for a term, select "View Final Grades," then select the term you want to view. In general, the default term is the most recent term for which final grades have been posted. If the term does not exist in the drop-down menu, your grades have not yet been posted. Please note that students with accounts receivable holds will not be able to view their grades until the hold has been lifted.

To access your unofficial transcript, select "Get Unofficial Transcript."

Prior to registration, you should verify your registration status for the upcoming term by checking View Holds. If you have a hold on your record (e.g. Accounts Receivable Hold or Major Hold), you will not be allowed to register until the hold is cleared.

You may modify your registration from the beginning of your scheduled registration time through the end of registration. See the Registration Information page for dates.

  • If dropping a registered course, click on the pull-down menu in the "Action" column in the Summary pane. Change the action from "None" to "Drop/Delete," then click "Submit" to drop the course. 
  • If adding a course, enter the CRN on the Enter CRN tab and click Add to Summary. Proceed as you did with your original registration. (See "REGISTRATION" section above.) Click "Submit" to add the course.
  • Waitlisted courses: If you are on the waitlist and a seat opens up, you must wait for permission to register. Do not drop yourself from a waitlist to try to access open seats. You can change your status from waitlisted to registered if:
    • The instructor gives you permission. In this case, you must submit a Course Restriction Override Request so the appropriate overrides can be added to your record to allow you to register yourself online.
    • You receive an email from the registrar's office. In this case, follow the instructions in the email to change your status from waitlisted to registered.

Registration errors will appear in the Status column in the Summary pane. To determine the specific registration hover over the status column or click the number at the top to show/hide the error message(s). If an action is possible (e.g., waitlist), the relevant options will display in the Action drop down box. If you don't resolve the issue and "Submit" the changes, the course will disappear after your next action. 

Error Messages and Possible Actions

  • CLASS YEAR RESTRICTION: Registration is restricted to certain class years. Check the Restrictions column on the Course Offerings results to see these restrictions for each course.
  • CLOSED & XX on WAITLIST: Select "Wait List" and click Submit to add yourself to the waitlist, or "None" and click Submit to remove the course from the Summary pane. (Note: The XX indicates the number of students already waitlisted for the course. Your position on the waitlist is XX+1.) You must "Submit" to be added to the waitlist. The course will show with the status of Waitlisted if you were successful.
  • MUST REGISTER FOR COREQ SIMULTANEOUSLY: The course for which you are attempting to register has a corequisite. In most cases, the corequisite is a required laboratory section. For instance, CHEM 101 has a corequisite of CHEM 101L. (Check the COREQ information in the Course Offerings results.) The course may not be taken without its corequisites, so add the course again with its lab section (or vise versa). Both the lecture and lab should show in the Summary pane with the status of Pending before you click Submit.
  • DUPLICATE CRN: You have added the same course/CRN twice. Take no action; the course will be deleted when you navigate away from the page.
  • INSTRUCTOR PERMISSION REQ: You cannot register for a restricted course unless/until the appropriate override is placed on your record. Submit the Registration Restriction Override form to request permission to register.
  • MAJOR RESTRICTION: Registration is based on a student’s declared major. Submit the Registration Restriction Override form to request permission to register.
  • CREDIT LIMIT EXCEEDED - SEE WEBSITE FOR OVERLOAD INFO: You cannot register for more than 4.75 course credits during registration. Students wishing to add a fifth course must wait until the Drop/Add period to do so. Adviser permission may be required in certain instances. See the Drop/Add web page for more information about adding a fifth course.
  • MISSING COURSE PREREQUISITE(S): Registration is based on one or more pre-requisites that you have not fulfilled. Submit the Registration Restriction Override form to request permission to register.
  • REPEAT COURSE--CONTACT REGISTRAR'S OFFICE: If you have already taken or received credit for a course and would like to repeat it, you must contact the registrar’s office prior to registration. Please see "Repeating a Course" in the Academic Regulations section of the current Colgate University Catalog to determine whether you need the instructor's permission to repeat the course.
  • RESERVE SEATS FULL & XX ON WAITLIST: "Reserve," indicates that a certain number of seats have been reserved by class year or other category. If you receive the "Reserve Seats Full" error, it means that all of the seats reserved for your category are full. Thus, while seats may still be available in the course as a whole, they are not open to you at this time. To waitlist yourself for the course, select "Wait List," then "Submit." (Note: The XX indicates the number of students already waitlisted for the course. Your position on the waitlist is XX+1.) You must "Submit" to be added to the waitlist. If you do not click "Submit" after choosing the waitlist option from the dropdown menu, you will not be added to the waitlist.
  • TIME CONFLICT WITH (CRN): Either select another course or, if you prefer this course to the course with which it conflicts, change the "Action" of the registered course (the last column in the Summary pane) from "None" to "Drop/Delete" by using the dropdown menu. Then, re-enter the CRN of the course you want, add it to the Summary pane, and click "Submit."

Some courses are crosslisted (offered in two different departments/programs). These courses are designated by section letters of AX, BX, CX (and so forth) and crosslisted course information is also available in the course details page in the course offerings. If seats are not available in your desired subject code, you should attempt to add the other subject code.

The course will fulfill major/minor requirements, regardless of the subject you are registered for. If the course is not slotting into degree works as you expect, contact the registrar's office for guidance.

In most cases, you can keep the course on your record as you registered for it, but if needed, you can request a change in subject code after the drop/add period. Any subject code changes must be completed prior to graduation or withdrawal from the University.

Restricted courses include those in which enrollment is limited to certain class years or majors, and courses that require the instructor’s permission. Restrictions are noted in the "Prereq/Restrictions" column in the Course Offering results. 

If you wish to register for a course that has a restriction that pertains to you, please see the Registration Information page for specific instructions.

  • During online registration, you are asked to limit your registration to a total of six course entries (e.g., four enrolled courses plus two waitlisted, or three enrolled courses and three waitlisted, etc.).
  • Remember—if you decide to waitlist a course (after receiving the error message "CLOSED & XX ON WAITLIST"), you must "Submit" to be added to the waitlist. If you do not "Submit," you will not be added to the waitlist!
  • Waitlists are limited to 50 students. If a waitlist fills, no additional students will be permitted to waitlist themselves.
  • Between the end of registration and the end of the current term, the registrar's office will notify you via email of openings in courses for which you are waitlisted. If you receive an email from the registrar's office, please follow the instructions closely.
  • If a faculty member gives you permission register after being waitlisted, you must submit a Course Restriction Override Request so the appropriate coding can be placed on your record to make you eligible to add the course yourself. Pins are required on this form during registration.

Always be sure to log off from the Colgate portal and close your browser window after you’ve completed registering for courses or viewing confidential academic or financial information.

  • If you experience any problems while using Banner Self-Service please try the following:
    • Log out of the portal, close your browser (all browser windows/"quit" if using a Mac), and wait a moment before logging back in.
    • Try a different browser. **Please be sure to log out of the portal and close your previous browser before trying a new one.** You can also try an incognito or private window.
  • If you continue to experience trouble or have any questions please contact the registrar’s office at registrar@colgate.edu or 315-228-7408.
  • During registration, the registrar’s office will be open at night, in addition to regular business hours. See the Registration Information page for details.
  • Please call the ITS Service Desk (x7111) only if you are experiencing technical problems.

Video Tutorials

In this section:

Additional Tutorials

Banner Self-Service Overview

This tutorial provides a general overview of the various registration functions in Banner Self-Service.

Key Topics:

Adding a course (0:26) | Dropping a course (1:37) | Error Messages (1:56) | Conditional Drop/Add (2:40) | Waitlists (3:50)

Prepare for Registration

Follow these steps for a successful registration night

Navigating the Course Offerings

Follow these steps for a successful registration night

Plan Ahead

Learn how to use the Plan Ahead feature in Banner Self-Service.

Registering from a plan

Learn how to register for courses using a plan created before registration begins.

Conditional Add and Drop

Learn how to use this new feature.

Go to the Office of the Registrar