MCC Daily Tribune

Registration Deadlines

The College created a registration deadline for matriculated students in 2011 with the goal of encouraging students to register for courses prior to the beginning of classes. In years past, students could register for classes through the first week of the term.

MCC research showed that students who register for courses 30 or more days prior to the start of the term have far greater rates of success than later registrants. We can all guess why this makes sense! Pre-registered students are more likely to have filed their financial aid paperwork, eligible to purchase books with aid, able to plan their schedule, and have a wider variety of course options available. Pre-registered students also have easier access to academic advisors because faculty are more readily available and the advisement center has much shorter wait times than at the start of the term.

Encouraging students to register earlier in the cycle also allows for better master schedule management. As you can imagine, trying to decide course cancellations while at the same time making educated guesses at last-minute enrollment can be difficult. Departments are wonderful at postponing cancellation of low enrollment classes for as long as possible, but meeting the somewhat unexpected needs of late enrollees requires some mind-reading skills. We obviously use data from prior terms, but getting students registered earlier in the cycle generally results in better schedules and better student grades.

So, MCC uses a firm registration deadline of one week prior to the start of the semester for matriculated students. Matriculated students must enroll or wait-list for at least one class in order to be considered registered for the term. Once registered, matriculated students can drop and add after the registration deadline.

Matriculated students who have not registered or wait-listed for a course prior to the deadline cannot register for the upcoming term as a matriculated student. Those students can register part-time as a non-matriculated student for the term in which the deadline was missed. They can return as full-time matriculated students in future terms by registering in advance of the deadlines.

A hold is placed on all records of matriculated students who have not registered prior to the deadline. This hold requires that they speak with a representative from a student service office, such as Registration, Registration and Financial Services (Downtown Campus), Admissions, or Advisement for assistance in registering for that semester. Any staff member in these offices can assist and provide registration information. The hold is released after the second week of the term, freeing the student to register for any subsequent term (hopefully, by the deadline).

We have developed a strong communication plan with matriculated students who have not yet registered - offering assistance, explaining tuition due dates, and outlining the impact of not registering before the deadline. The ultimate goal is to help students be better prepared for the term and assist them in their academic success.

Non-matriculated students are encouraged to meet the registration deadline, but are not required to do so. They are required to register by the end of the first week of the semester.

Elizabeth Ripton
Registration and Records
07/11/2019