Computer Commands and Online Resources

Student Online Registration System (SELFREG)

PeopleSoft/SELFREG is web-based. You should use Internet Explorer to access SELFREG.

The web address for logging in to your PeopleSoft account is https://sarah.williams.edu, or from the Williams home page, www.williams.edu, follow the links for Especially for > Students > Academics >PeopleSoft/SELFREG.
(In some versions of IE you can set favorites for this and other pages.) The system is available at all times except for occasional maintenance.

For password problems, use the forgotten password link on the login page. If you lock your account with 10 unsuccessful attempts, e-mail to selfreg@williams.edu to have the account unlocked. Please memorize your UserID, but if you forget, you can also e-mail to selfreg@williams.edu for help.

What's the Difference between Preregistration and Drop/Add?

The way course requests are handled is different depending on whether the registration period is preregistration or drop/add. And Winter Study registration is an entirely different process.

Preregistration takes place in late April for the following fall semester and in late October for the following spring semester. During preregistration, all courses are open-no enrollment limits. Preregistration is not first-come/first-serve and does not guarantee a spot in a course, but departments try to accommodate course requests as much as possible. Students should preregister for the 4 courses they most want to take. After preregistration closes, academic departments review the course enrollments. Departments may add sections for a course in high demand or cancel a course with low demand, or students may be dropped from courses which have been overenrolled. Students dropped from an overenrolled or cancelled course will be notified and given the opportunity to select an alternate course before drop/add begins.

Drop/add takes place starting the day before the semester begins and runs through the first seven class days. This is the student's final chance to select courses for the semester. At the end of drop/add, each student should be enrolled in 4 graded courses; students may also select a 5th course on a pass/fail basis. Courses may have enrollment limits and/or instructor permission flags set at this point. Students should try to finalize their schedule as early as possible during drop/add. Most courses are open and can be added directly in SELFREG; for those which are closed and/or require permission of instructor, see information below.

Drop/Add Instructions

You must enter your drop/add course changes on SELFREG; signed add cards are required only in certain cases as noted below.

If you have problems entering your course changes on SELFREG, please call the Registrar's Office at x4286, come in to the office for help, or send e-mail to selfreg@williams.edu. We read e-mail often, including evenings and weekends, and will respond as soon as we can.

Below are some guidelines and information on making course changes. Please read this carefully. Please note that anywhere we say `the instructor may...', we mean both that the instructor might and that the instructor has the right to.

Drop/add opens early. SELFREG will open for drop/add on the Tuesday evening before the semester classes begin. You may need to log in a number of times during the drop/add period to record your changes.

Drop early. If you know definitely that you are dropping a course, please do so early, even if you aren't yet sure what you are adding. This will let the instructor know who intends to take the course and may open up a space for another student.

Add early. You may add most courses before the first class meeting (exceptions are noted below) and if you are sure what you intend to take, please add early. Again, this will let the instructor know who intends to take the course.

First class meetings are important. If you do not attend the first-class meeting of a course you are registered for, the instructor may drop you from the course. The instructor may refuse you permission to add a course if you have not attended the first class meeting, even though you may be able to add it on SELFREG. If you want to add a course for which you did not attend the first meeting, make sure you have the instructor's approval to do so.

Add controls-some courses have an enrollment limit and/or a instructor consent flag.

• Either using the Class Search in the Student Center or Enrollment sub-menu, or using the Search while adding classes, the Status field will reflect each section as Open or Closed. If you try to add a closed section, you will receive a 'Not Enrolled, Class is Full' error message.
• Either using the Class Search in the Student Center or Enrollment sub-menu or using the Search while adding classes, click the section link to drill down to class details. If the course is instructor consent or has prerequisites enforced, this will be listed under an "EROLLMENT INFORMATION" section. If you try to add an Instructor Consent section, you will receive a 'Permission to enroll in this class is required' message.
• Course closed/No Instructor Consent flag-very few courses are like this. It's worthwhile to check SELFREG again later-as other students drop, the course may open. It's also worthwhile to contact the instructor or go to the first-class meeting.
• Instructor Consent Flag-who may add will be resolved by the instructor at the first meeting. Many of these courses overenrolled and some students have been dropped already and instructors may have a wait list. Please keep in mind that space may not open and you should have a back-up plan. Others may specify in the catalog permission of the instructor or department chair. To add the course, go to the first class meeting. Note that organizational meetings are first class meetings. If the course was closed, it may be worthwhile to check SELFREG again before the class meets to see if any spots have opened up. Check the catalog description for any indication of whether certain majors or class years get preference for slots available. Any adds allowed may be handled by e-mail notice from the instructor to the Registrar's Office or by signed add cards; the instructor will let you know which.
• Add Cards for closed or Instructor Consent courses. An instructor may agree to allow you into a closed or Instructor Consent course by signing an add card which you must bring to the Registrar's Office. These cards are available from instructors, department offices or the Registrar's Office. Many instructors use e-mail rather than add cards.

Thesis and Independent Study. If you are adding a thesis or project, you need a signed add card from the instructor you will be working with or from the department chair. To add an independent study course 397, 398 or 497, 498 you need a green petition signed by the instructor and the department chair. Green petitions should be turned in to the Registrar's Office.

Multi-Sectioned Courses with Virtual Sections. Some of the large multi-sectioned lab and conference courses which need to limit enrollments per section have `virtual' sections to accommodate section changes. These virtual sections are indicated in the class hour directory and have a `V' section number.

How to use the virtual section? If you are adding the course, or need to make a section change, try first to add the section you want. Checking the schedule of classes for open sections will be helpful. If you can't add into any open section, add the virtual section. This at least gets you into or keeps you in the course. As other students drop/add, closed sections may open; it will be worthwhile to check later to see if a space has opened up in a section you want. Don't be afraid to use the virtual section; if nobody moves, the section changes will gridlock. If you can't get out of the virtual section into a real section; section assignments will be sorted out during the first full week of classes. Instructors may ask you to change sections to accommodate other students and to keep the sections balanced.

Multi-Sectioned Courses without Virtual Sections. Smaller multi-sectioned courses also need to keep a reasonable enrollment balance between sections. If a section you need to add is closed but others are open, check with the instructor about adding. Instructors may ask you to change sections if your schedule allows and the section you are in has become overenrolled. Instructors will sort this out during the first few class meetings.

Placement and Prerequisites-Please check the course catalog descriptions for prerequisite requirements. If you think you may have the equivalent of a prerequisite in non-Williams coursework, you should discuss this with the course instructor or department chair. Possible use of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate test results is indicated on your Academic Progress Report.

Registering for a 5th (Pass/Fail) Course

How do I sign up for a pass/fail course?

During the drop/add period at the beginning of each semester, you are allowed to add a fifth course on a pass/fail grading basis. The fifth course must be designated as pass/fail initially, even if you intend to change it to graded at mid-semester. Some courses are not permitted as pass/fail-this will be indicated in the Catalog description or by the instructor in the first class meeting. You must indicate on SELFREG, which of your five courses is the extra, pass/fail course. Pass/fail designation must be done before the end of the drop/add period. To add another pass/fail course beyond the fifth one, you must speak to someone in the Registrar's Office.

Think carefully about which course(s) you designate pass/fail. Past the end of the drop/add period, you may not drop one of your four regular courses and replace it by changing your fifth course to a fourth graded course, and you may not change which course is designated pass/fail.

How do I change the pass/fail designation?

You can change a course to pass/fail at the same time as adding or swapping to the course by changing the grading basis on the Enrollment Preferences step, then proceed with the add or swap.

• To designate a course pass/fail after you have enrolled, navigate to the Edit Class page, select the course for pass/fail from the drop/down in "Classes you are allowed to edit" then click "Proceed to Step 2 of 3". If a course is not allowed on a pass/fail basis, it will not be in this list.
• Change the grading dropdown from "Graded" to "Pass/Fail", the click "Next".
• Click "Finish Editing".
• Check for "Success" or "Errors". if you don't understand the error message, contact the Registrar's Office.
• Check your Class Schedule to confirm your pass/fail designation.

Until the end of drop/add you can switch which course is pass/fail by updating the grading options as above. If you designate one course pass/fail, then drop a regularly graded course, make sure you change the pass/fail course back to graded. By the end of drop/add, you must have four graded courses on your schedule.

How do I drop my pass/fail course or change it to regular grading?

Around mid-semester, you will receive an email from the Registrar's Office which will provide the option to drop the course from your schedule without penalty, or else to remain in the course for the rest of the semester, either on the pass/fail or regular A-E grading basis. This option is available only for the course which you designated as your fifth, pass/fail course. If you decide before mid-semester that you want to drop your 5th course, you may do so; please check with the Registrar's Office for procedures.

What difference does the grading basis make?

If the course is completed on a pass/fail basis, it will not be used when calculating your GPA and it may not be used to fulfill distribution or major requirements, or to make up an academic deficiency. If you change the course to regular grading, your grade will be used when calculating your GPA and, if the grade received is D- or higher, the course may be used toward fulfilling distribution or major requirements and may be used to make up an academic deficiency from the previous semester. Unless being used to make up an academic deficiency, an extra graded course may not be used as one of the thirty-two semester courses required for the degree.

Auditing a Course

If you wish to audit a course in addition to your regular semester courses, you should discuss this with the instructor of the course during the drop/add period. The instructor must approve your auditing the course and he or she will decide the level of your participation in the course, e.g., whether or not you should take tests, etc. You may do this without any interaction with the Registrar's Office. You should not add the course on SELFREG.

If you decide during the semester that you cannot continue auditing the course, it would be courteous to inform the instructor. If you continue auditing through the entire semester and want a formal record of the audit to appear on your transcript, you should pick up an audit validation form from the Registrar's Office during the last week of classes, have the instructor sign the form and return it to the Registrar's Office before the end of the exam period.

If you are taking a fifth course on a pass/fail basis and decide by mid-semester that you must drop the course but would like to continue in it as an audit, discuss this with the instructor and proceed as above in auditing the course, but remember to drop the course as a pass/fail course.

Some Useful Web Pages

Williams College (www.williams.edu/)-the official College site, with links to informational pages and departmental pages.

Williams Students Online (wso.williams.edu/)-a student organization which offers student webpages, runs a public Media Lab, and operates web-based services like the Online Facebook and the Housing Plans.

Office for Information Technology (www.williams.edu/go/oit/)-includes help pages and software downloads.

Williams College Library (www.williams.edu/library/)-library hours and information, electronic databases, and the library catalog.

College-Wide Message Service (www.williams.edu/messages/)-campus announcement system for events and important notices. Message summaries with links to the full texts are e-mailed at midnight after each work day to members of the college community; the full texts, a submission form, and more information are available on this site.

Google (www.google.com)-one of the smartest search engines on the Net: quality over quantity.

MapQuest (www.mapquest.com)-door-to-door driving directions, and maps.

New York Times Online (www.nytimes.com)