Advising Updates

UNL Geology
UNL Geology

Hello Geology Majors,

I hope you are doing well as we fully enter the second half of the Fall 2024 semester. If you haven't done so already, I would strongly encourage you to visit your course instructor's office hours. Office hours are an excellent way to connect with your course instructor outside of the classroom setting and to get help with questions you have about the course and the course content. Your course instructor is also the best person to help you succeed in a course, and they truly want you to succeed this semester.

Advising Hours Disruption
I am sending this version of the weekly newsletter to you from a conference in Pittsburgh, so I am clearly not in Lincoln right now. Thus, I won't have advising appointments available today (Tuesday, October 29th) or tomorrow (Wednesday, October 30th). However, I will be back in Lincoln on Thursday, October 31st, and I will have my regular advising availability again. My appointments for Thursday, October 31st and Friday, November 1st are currently full, but I will have my Zoom drop-ins on Friday, November 1st. Everything will be completely normal again on Monday, November 4th.

Priority Registration for Spring 2025
Priority Registration is the period during each fall and spring semester when students can enroll in classes for the next spring and fall semester. So, Priority Registration for Spring 2025 semester courses will take place during the Fall 2024 semester from NOW to Tuesday, November 12th. Priority Registration for the Spring 2025 semester also includes enrollment in classes for the Pre-Session in January (January 2nd to January 17th).

Everyone is randomly assigned a priority registration date and time based on the number of credit hours they have completed and their membership in any special groups. Here is a breakdown of how priority registration dates and times are randomly assigned:

- Seniors and Graduate Students (89 credit hours completed or more): NOW to Wednesday, October 30th (and anytime after the assigned date and time)
- Juniors (53 to 88 credit hours completed): Thursday, October 31st to Monday, November 4th (and anytime after the assigned date and time; no weekend times)
- Sophomores (27 to 52 credit hours completed): Tuesday, November 5th to Thursday, November 7th(and anytime after the assigned date and time)
- Freshmen (0 to 26 credit hours completed): Friday, November 8th to Tuesday, November 12th (and anytime after the assigned date and time; no weekend times)

Your assigned date and time is listed in MyRed if you click on "My Notifications" with the "Message Center" on the left side. This date and time marks the first date and time that you can successful register for classes after building your Spring 2025 semester in MyRed and the Enrollment Scheduler. The schedule of classes for the Spring 2025 semester and the priority registration dates and times was published on Monday, October 7th. So, you can start building your spring semester schedule now and even load the courses into your shopping cart.

Open registration for the Spring 2025 semester starts on Wednesday, November 13th, and this will be the first opportunity for visiting students and any first semester students to enroll in classes. If you wait until open registration to start the process of enrolling classes for the Spring 2025 semester, there is a chance that you won't get the classes that you want for the spring semester.

Holds
If you have a hold on your registration for the Spring 2025 semester, there is a chance that you won't be able to use your priority registration date and time. Thus, I would encourage you to check for holds and to work on getting the holds lifted before your priority registration date and time. You can check for holds by clicking on "Holds" with the "Message Center" on the left side of MyRed.

Holds due to unpaid bills for less than $200 won't impact your ability to enroll in classes, but unpaid bills for more than $200 will prevent you from enrolling in classes. Holds due to being on Academic Warning or due to the need for graduation planning will require a meeting with me before the hold can be lifted, and for students on Academic Warning, we might not to meet more than once. Holds from the Office of Admissions can vary in their impact as some will be for the Spring 2025 semester and some will be for the Fall 2025 semester. If you any questions about a hold listed on your MyRed record, please let me know.

Newsletter Feedback
If you ever have questions or feedback about anything in the weekly newsletter, please let me know by shooting me an email. Sometimes, it is difficult for me to know if these emails are actually being read and/or found useful.

Best wishes, Doug

Fall 2024 Advising Schedule
I will taking in-person, Zoom, and phone meetings in 45-minute blocks from 8:30 am to 12:15 pm and 1:15 pm to 5:00 pm every weekday when I am not taking Zoom drop-in advising meetings. I will also be taking Zoom drop-in advising meetings on Mondays and Fridays at 10:00 am to 12:00 noon. Zoom drop-in meetings are being coordinated by the College of Arts and Sciences with a schedule and a link to the Zoom room available at https://cas.unl.edu/drop-in-advising-schedule.

You can schedule a meeting with me by using the Student Success Hub via this link, by calling the College of Arts and Sciences Academic and Career Advising Center at 402-472-4190, by calling me at 402-472-4319, or by emailing me at dpellatz@unl.edu. You can find instructions for how to access and schedule meetings in the Student Success Hub system here.

CAS Student Spotlight
Do you want to be featured by the college? Share your story by filling out this quick web form and show others why Geology is for you. Showcase all the opportunities and experiences you are gaining with your Geology major.