Hello Math and Data Science Majors,
I hope you are doing well as we enter the second half of the Spring 2024 semester. This week, I want to discuss asking for help. Asking for help can be a challenge, and many people feel much more comfortable helping someone than asking for help. Asking for help can make us feel vulnerable and ashamed, and these are difficult feelings to over come. While I don't have a secret to make asking for help easier, I can say that asking for help gets easier as you continue to do it.
Being able and willing to ask for help is vital to your long term success as a student, and it is a sign of maturity that you are willing and able to ask for help. This could be asking for help from your course instructors before and after class or during office hours, or this could mean asking for help from an academic resource at the University. It could also mean asking for help from your classmates and fellow majors. Whatever asking for help will mean for you, the people providing the help will be ready when you are ready to ask, and you will not be judged for doing so. It is far, far better to ask for help early and often than to wait or to not do so at all. If there is anything that I can do to assist you in asking for help, please let me know.
Priority Registration for the Fall 2024 semester has started! Priority registration is the period in which students may begin enrollment for the next fall or spring semester. Registration appointment times are assigned to avoid overloading the registration system during the high demand period. Your registration date and time was assigned and announced on MyRed on Monday, March 4th, and you have access to view the schedule of classes for the Fall 2024 semester now. You also have access to load classes for the Fall 2024 semester into your shopping cart, so you can still building your Fall 2024 semester now even if your registration time hasn't arrived yet.
Priority Registration "appointment times" are assigned to eligible students based on their current class level (actual earned hours). Within each class level appointment times are distributed randomly each term from earliest to latest. The priority class levels and appointment dates for registration are:
1. Graduate Students & Seniors (89 credit hours or more) - Now to Wednesday, March 27th
2. Juniors (53-88 credit hours) - Thursday, March 28th to Monday, April 1st
3. Sophomores (27-52 credit hours) - Tuesday, April 2nd to Thursday, April 4th
4. Freshmen (0-26 credit hours) - Friday, April 5th to Tuesday, April 9th
No one is assigned a priority registration date and time on Saturday or Sunday. Priority Registration is not open to students who will be new, first-time freshmen, new transfer students, Nebraska Now students, or unclassified (e.g., students-at-large and visiting students) undergraduate students. A few students in special programs will also have their priority registration date and time set earlier or set earlier within their class level to aid them in enrolling in more specific courses or course sections.
Once Priority Registration concludes on Tuesday, April 9th, Open Registration for the Fall 2024 semester will begin. During Open Registration, no appointment is needed and initial registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Any student who is eligible to enroll may access MyRED. Nebraska Now and unclassified students (e.g., students-at-large and visiting students) will be able to register on or after Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
Any holds on your MyRed record that impact your eligibility to enroll in classes will impact your ability to use your Priority Registration date and time. This includes holds related to required advising for first year students in their first or second semester, to required advising for students who will be starting their final year of their degree (based solely on credit hours completed), and to required advising for being on Academic Warning. I can help with lifting holds related to required advising, but you will likely need to discuss the hold during a scheduled meeting rather than a drop-in meeting or just stopping by my office. I would encourage you to contact the office on campus related to any other holds, and I would be happy to direct you if there is any confusion.
Now is the time to start thinking about your schedule of classes for the Fall 2024 semester if you haven't already done so. Outside of the disruptions listed below, I have should have plenty of advising time available between now and the start of the Open Registration to help everyone.
Advising Schedule Disruptions
Between now and the start of the day on Thursday, March 28th, I will have several disruptions to my normal Spring 2024 advising schedule. I will away from campus at a conference on Monday, March 25th; Tuesday, March 26th; and Wednesday, March 27th. Thus, I won't have advising meetings on March 25th, 26th, or 27th, and I won't have Zoom drop-in advising on Wednesday, March 27th. I apologize for these inconvenient changes to my advising schedule, and I hope that you are still able to find a time to meet with me as needed.
CAS Advising Nights
We’re here to help you succeed! Priority enrollment can be a hectic time for students and advisors alike. Here are some extra opportunities to get help planning next semester’s classes. Connect with our knowledgeable academic advisors in a relaxed atmosphere. No appointment is necessary, just stop by 107 Oldfather Hall on March 21st, March 27th, and April 2nd from 5-7 pm. We will also host a night via Zoom (https://unl.zoom.us/my/casadvising) on April 8th from 5-7 pm. I will be available at CAS Advising Nights on March 21st, April 2nd, and April 8th.
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
Spring 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 Wednesdays at 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm 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.
Math Department Events
The Math Department has many upcoming events that might be of interest to you along with a weekly (or almost weekly) colloquium series. A listing of all upcoming Math Department events can be found at https://events.unl.edu/math/upcoming/.
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 Mathematics is for you. Showcase all the opportunities and experiences you are gaining with your Mathematics major.