Early Registration for Success

Registering Early to Plan for Success

Many Syracuse University students delay registering for courses for the next term until shortly before the semester begins, which can affect their performance and progress. Students who register late sometimes get closed out of needed courses, miss deadlines and sometimes fail to buy books on time. Research has shown that late registration is correlated to decreased retention and academic performance. Students know about the importance of registering early and the risks of waiting but sometimes just forget or procrastinate.

Messaging Intervention

  • Registration timeline is conveyed through conventional channels such as emails, academic calendars, flyers, television monitors, etc.
  • Registrar’s Office provides Office of Student Success list of students who have not yet registered for the following term
  • After registration starts, a letter is sent from the Provost to unregistered students stating:
    • Encourage them to register as soon as possible
    • Resources available and benefits of registering while still on campus
    • Complexity of choosing courses and needing to meet with an academic advisor to remove holds
    • Consequences of waiting to register which are not evident to the student (closed courses)
    • Upon receipt of the letter, the students make appointments with their academic advisors through Orange Success

Advising Intervention

  • Advisors are notified by a “Student Not Registered for Next Term” system flag from within the early alert system
  • Advisors reach out to their students and call them in for an appointment
  • Students meet with their advisors to discuss registering for the appropriate courses that fulfil their requirements to graduate on time.
  • This leads students to engage with advisors

The Office of Institutional Research provides the Office of Student Success the progress reports every week, which are shared with the schools and colleges for their outreach to students. This behavioral intervention does help increase early registration, retention and use of services on campus.