1.10: Choosing Your First Academic Class

CHOOSING YOUR FIRST ACADEMIC CLASSES

Helpful Terms:

• Pre-requisite: course that must be completed before being eligible to take a particular course
• Co-requisite: course that must be taken at the same time as another particular course
• Recitation and lab: supplemental course to be taken at the same time as the primary course
• Mentored inquiry: supplemental course to be taken concurrently with UNST classes
• Sequential courses: courses that must be takin in a particular order
• Bulletin and catalog: publications that show listings of courses, degree requirements, etc.

GUIDELINES FOR CHOOSING YOUR FIRST ACADEMIC CLASSES

• 100 or 200-level classes
• No online classes
• No UNST classes (except UNST 194: College Success), unless an exception is granted
• Completion of Independent Research Writing required to take WR 121
• Completion of level 5 listening/speaking required to take COMM 220
• Choose classes that interest you; explore new things
• Remember that only about 30% of the classes required for your degree will be in your major

Options for searching for courses and viewing course details are outlined below:

Option 1: Search the Class schedule through Banweb. This option is view-only and is good for researching class details and planning your schedule.

Option 2: Search within Banweb while logged in. This account will allow you to directly add classes (if registration is open and you are eligible to register).

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Using the “Look-up Classes to Add” function within Registration allows students to explore classes by department in the online Class Schedule. Note that the term must be selected before being able to search.

The university’s class schedule for the next term is generally made available online in about week 5 of each term. The exact date of availability can be found on the Registrar’s website.

NOTE: Although Pathways Program students will be able to view classes in the online class schedule, you will only be able to ADD or DROP classes according to the priority registration schedule managed by the Office of the Registrar and the registration time line established by the Pathways Program advisor. Additionally, approval from the Pathways Program advisor is required in order to register for academic classes. Consequently, you may register on a date later than when registration is first available to you.

It is recommended that you spend some time exploring the online class schedule to become familiar with the various details of viewing and understanding the information presented. For example, the following are various codes used to describe specific details about classes:

Within the course schedule in Look-Up Classes to Add, you can look up classes by department:

By doing a non-specific search by subject, you will see all course offerings in that department:

Click on “View Sections” to see the course information for each section.

After selecting a class, you can look at the course description:

Course description:

By clicking on the course name, you can view the course details:

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COURSE CATALOG

The Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) publishes a catalog, or bulletin, for each academic year that includes course descriptions of all courses offered by the university. To look at the bulletin for the current academic year, visit the OAA website. Bulletins may be viewed as a single PDF document or as a fully online source.

Instructions:
1. Go to the OAA website

• You will be able to look at courses offered within a department and courses offered within a college/school

2. To view courses by department, select “Courses” from the left menu at the bottom

3. Then, select the academic department to view the courses being offered in that department. This example shows only the first part of the list that is organized alphabetically. Scroll down to view all subjects.

Source: https://www.pdx.edu/academic-affairs/psu-bulletin, February 20, 2018, © Portland State University 2018.

PSU homepage/Quick Menu
You can also use the Quick Menu to find course options and sections when you know already the specific course that you wish to view.
Instructions:
1. Go to the PSU home page
2. Go to “Quick Menu” in the upper right corner of the page
3. Select “find a class”
4. Select the term for which you are registering (e.g. Spring 2018)

Source: https://www.pdx.edu, February 9, 2018, © Portland State University 2018.

SCHEDULE PLANNER THROUGH MYPSU/BANWEB

You are encouraged to practice looking at a variety of classes that you are interested in taking and do not focus solely on classes for your major. Remember that in addition to courses in your major, you must complete degree elective courses and general education/UNST courses in order to complete your undergraduate degree.

Online resources:

Schedule Planner Information Sheet (a quick how-to guide)
Schedule Planner Tutorial
Schedule Planner Information Video

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Go to myPSU on the PSU homepage or access the myPSU app on your mobile device
2. Click on the “Classes” button
3. Click on the “Academic Planning” button
4. Click on the “Schedule Planner” option
5. You will be prompted to log in to Banweb
6. Complete the steps using the screenshots below

NOTE: Using the schedule planner does not register you for classes. It is for planning purposes only.

1. Add Course

2. Search by Course Attribute

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COURSE PLANNING GUIDE

Another helpful tool when planning a schedule in advance of the next term, and even for the entire duration of your degree study, is the Course Planning Guide. This guide is used to determine the terms when classes will be offered. Some classes are offered every term, while others may be offered only once or twice per year. When creating your academic plan, take into account the pre-requisite requirements and sequencing of courses.

Here is a preview of the landing page of the guide:

By clicking on the subject, you will open the section for that department and will be able to see the schedule of classes being offered throughout the year.

Source: http://cpg.sa.pdx.edu/, February 16, 2018, © Portland State University 2018.

PRACTICE SEARCHING FOR CLASSES ONLINE

Your Pathways Introduction instructor will guide you through a practice assignment for researching and finding PSU courses. In this activity, you will submit a Google form to propose four classes that you would like to take next term. This activity is for you to practice finding and evaluating which courses may be good choices for you to take in your next term of study, using the various search options presented in the previous section.

Google form example (page 1):

Google form example (page 2):

You must access the online class schedule through Banweb in order to gather the information required to complete the form. Use one of the methods described previously to do this (through your Banweb account, through myPSU, or through the Quick Menu on the PSU homepage).

Review the progression of the following screenshots to arrive at the important detailed class information for each course. You will need to find, understand and enter the details in order to complete this assignment and later to complete the Pre-Registration Form for your next term of study.

1 . 2.

Here is another example of how to look at course details, from the “Look-Up Classes to Add” function within the Registration and Class Schedule option in the Student Services tab in Banweb:

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