T-Bird Parents: Help Your Student Register for College Classes
Posted: November 10, 2021 | Author: Southern Utah University | Read Time: 5 minutes
Class registration, one of the best phrases in the entire college experience. Why? Because it shows that your student is making progress toward earning their degree! With each passing semester, students get to log in to their portal and read over class descriptions, ultimately deciding which class is the right fit for them and their journey. Kind of similar to the Choose Your Own Adventure books we read as kids, without the death of course.
For your student, college registration can definitely be a challenge for a number of reasons. That’s why it’s important for you as the parent to understand the experience they’re having as an undergraduate. In this post, we're going to cover a few topics to review with your students to make sure they’re on the right track.
A Refresher On Financial Aid
It’s always nice to be reminded how the process works. After all, it’s been a few months since you had to do this the first time. Financial aid and scholarships are a huge resource the university and the United States government are providing for students to have the opportunity to attend college. If you’re not using this resource, or haven’t heard of it, don’t worry. It’s super easy and free!
It starts with FAFSA. If you’ve already completed the form, simply login and refresh your profile with current information. If you haven’t started, hit the “Start Here” button and fill out the required information to find out if you qualify.
After you finish, be sure to scoot on over to the Financial Aid and Scholarship site, where you’ll find a tuition calculator, special financial aid forms if you need them, and the big one, scholarships. From departmental, to housing, first-year only, and international students, the Southern Utah University Scholarship site has every available source of extra funding that is applicable to your student’s situation.
DegreeWorks and the Course Catalog
Now that the fun stuff is out of the way, we can focus on the even more fun stuff! Parents, meet your students best friend for the next four years, DegreeWorks. Within this handy program you’ll find every single class that your student needs to take for the next four years in order to obtain their associate and bachelor’s degrees. You’ll see your student’s GPA, major, complete credits, and the classes he/she/they have taken thus far! What about the “Plans” tab? This gives the student the opportunity to create their own plan with their academic advisor for future semesters and helps keep track of their progress to an even more manageable extent.
Course descriptions are a great way to understand what your students are getting into, and how impactful the material is on their futures. But there's always the question within most majors, what electives should I take? The SUU Course Catalog answers this by giving you a list of every single class the university has to offer as well as who teaches it, the description, the prerequisites for that class, and the amount of credits it will be. Staying on track with your student’s major is priority number one, but every now and then they will have the opportunity to take a class in a new subject matter. That’s the exciting part about college, discovering what your student loves!
Meeting Your T-Bird’s Academic Needs
At this point as the parent, you’re probably wondering how all this ties into you and your student’s success in college. Even though your student is moved out and discovering everything that life has to offer for themselves, they’ll still look to you for guidance in many situations. The best possible advice is to encourage your student to be as explorative and thoughtful as humanly possible. Encourage their journey of self discovery through experiences in and out of the classroom. Cheer on your students as they try different clubs, uplift your students when they try something new and it doesn’t pan out, and stimulate your students with the constant message of being kind to others as they discover themselves.
As your student is preparing their schedule, a few good questions to ask may be:
- Which classes have you liked best?
- What time of day do you learn best?
- Have you decided which classes you would like to register for?
- Do you know which day you can register?
If you yourself aren’t a graduate of SUU, reach out to friends and family who are SUU alumni and ask them about their experiences on our beautiful campus. Having school pride is directly correlated with student success. Having school spirit not only makes the transition from high school to college much easier, but also helps the student feel included, accepted, and motivated to succeed.
From Your Nest to Ours
Sending your child off to college can be a challenge for parents. After all, you just spent 18 years loving, nurturing, teaching, and guiding them. Letting go of your little miracle to let them experience life on their own is a scary thought, but have no fear! Resources are available to help parents with the process of sending their children off to college. SUU Parent and Family Services helps keep families of the students informed and also hosts events like parent orientations and family weekends on campus.
Southern Utah University is built on the basis of inclusivity, happiness, and success. As your student spreads their wings and fly from your nest to ours, you can trust SUU will do its utmost to give your student a wonderfully memorable experience. We encourage parents to be involved in that process too.
Tags: Parents
