BY AMY SALISBURY
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Starting Nov. 18 at noon, CSUSM students began the process of registering for spring semester classes. Although many students find themselves with priority registration, the pressure of searching for next semester’s schedule always carries a significant amount of stress.
Sophomore Morgan Kuehl, a Nursing major, expressed that timing is the major problem when it comes to her class registration. “I’m struggling trying to put a schedule together,” Kuehl said.
This stress exists in the obvious fact that students fear they won’t get the classes they need because of increased enrollment. Time-sensitive seniors especially feel pressure during registration since their degree rests on completion of these crucial classes.
Although students can’t control their registration time, there are a few things to consider before that fateful day comes that might be an extra step to ensure they get the classes they want.
Plan ahead. Although you can’t enroll before the administration allows you to, you can look at the schedule for as long as you want before your time comes. Check out every section offered of the classes that you want to take. Consider all your options, and write them into an hourly planner. Check out http://www.worksheetworks.com/ for disposable, customizable planning worksheets. This is where schedule planning gets a bit dicey, because sometimes two classes you need end up at the same time, or the only section you can attend fills up.
When this happens, e-mail professors. They are not robots. They realize students have lives. Whether work has you booked, classes have time conflicts, or you have limited transportation options, professors tend to respond when you ask for help. More often than not, there will be students absent from the first day of class. Many professors drop these students if they do not contact their professors first. Therein lays your golden opportunity. Look up the professor in the e-mail directory online atcsusm.edu. Be sure to include your full name, student ID number, and class standing (freshman, sophomore, etc.). Dr. Cucinella, a professor of Literature and Writing and Women’s Studies, explained that she does not over-enroll classes. When students contact her before classes begin, she is able to figure out how many crashers might show up on day one. “I usually give away the open spots via picking a name ‘out of hat’ unless I have graduating seniors who need the course,” she said. It’s not fool-proof, but it definitely gives you the advantage over students who make no contact attempts.
Contacting professors is crucial, but seeing your adviser is too.  The best way to go about meeting with your adviser is to schedule an appointment with him or her through the campus website. Since registration has already started, it is likely advisers will be booked through the end of the semester. Fear not, students, as there are drop-in advising hours Nov. 29 – Dec. 2 from 9 – 11 a.m. and 1 – 3:30 p.m., and Dec. 6 – 9 from 12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. [Author’s note: I do not advise attempting to e-mail your assigned adviser, as this Pride writer has had many e-mails go unanswered within the last week.]
Palomar offers transferable units if some of your General Education requirements are still unfulfilled and crashing classes is out of the question. Visit palomar.edu for a list of “late start” classes, beginning in March, which will fit more easily into your schedule. Talk with an adviser at Palomar to discuss transfer credit options and enrollment.
Online classes offered through both CSUSM and Palomar are the most flexible option to consider when creating your class schedule. The biggest issue students face when registering for online classes is that they do not allot enough time to complete coursework for an online class. The busiest students will often choose online classes because they believe there will be less work online. This is your warninng: “Your success in an online class depends on how well you manage your time,” said Professor of Spanish, Jasibe Carslake. Although online classes allow students more flexibility, they will not decrease students’ workloads.
Your best asset here is indeed time management. Dartmouth Collegehas an excellent entry on their website about successful time management. Among the resources Dartmouth provides are tools for making a personal schedule, tips for time management, and even a four-year planner for college students. Find the entry on Dartmouth’s website, at http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/success/time.html.