Editorial: Students should book advising appointments early for spring 2023

With registration for spring 2023 classes around the corner, many students are looking to book an appointment with their adviser to jump-start the next step of their academic careers. However, the low number of advisers in each department and the difficulties surrounding registration may cause dissatisfaction among students. 

The Shorthorn Editorial Board encourages students to be proactive about their education despite these issues and book an appointment with their adviser early. While concerns regarding the number of advisers proportional to the number of students in many departments may be valid, students can only help the issue by advocating for themselves.

For continuing graduate students and seniors, Honors College members, McNair Scholars and athletes, registration opens Nov. 7. Students with over 90 credit hours can register Nov. 9, over 60 hours Nov. 11, over 30 hours Nov. 14 and one or more hours Nov. 16. Undergraduate students on academic probation can register Nov. 18. 

It’s easy to lose track of time during the semester. With homework, exams, work and extracurriculars filling students’ schedules, many may not realize when registration opens until it’s too late, causing them to scramble to find advisers with open slots to help them plan for the next semester.

UTA saw massive enrollment this year, breaking its first-time-in-college record for the sixth year in a row with 4,463 students, according to previous  Shorthorn reporting. 

This means departmental and academic advisers, including those managing teaching responsibilities, have thousands of students to advise.  

Additionally, many departments only have around one to five advisers, adding to the stress they may be under as enrollment season rolls around. Unfortunately, as there are a limited number of advisers, students have limited resources to register for classes. 

While finding an open time to register can be stressful, students should mitigate this stress by paying attention to registration dates, which vary by the number of credit hours.

To prepare for the upcoming semester, students should meet with an adviser as soon as their calendars open to remove the advising hold on their account. Not only will students be able to meet with their adviser before they’re too busy assisting other students, they’ll also be able to register for the classes they want to take before seats fill up. 

Students and advisers should also give each other grace during the chaos of registration season. Advisers are doing their best to work with thousands of students alongside other responsibilities, and students are under a lot of stress during the semester and may take their time booking an appointment.

Students looking to get a head start on registration for next semester should keep an eye out for announcements from their department about advising. They may also contact their departments for more information about advising dates.

Through the chaos of school, work and the day-to-day stressors of being a college student, everyone has a part to play in making registration operate more smoothly.

The Shorthorn Editorial Board understands the difficulties students may face finding time to prepare for next semester. As registration approaches, students should be proactive and book an advising appointment as soon as possible to get a head start on the spring 2023 semester and the rest of their academic careers.

The Shorthorn Editorial Board is made up of opinion editor Hannah Ezell; editor-in-chief Dang Le; news editor Steven Shaw; Jonathan Perriello, life and entertainment editor; design editor Claudia Humphrey; news reporters Wolf Isaly and Ayesha Shaji. 

opinion-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu