First-year biology student Loa Gardenhall says the University of Regina needs to improve its registration and enrolment processes for students starting their studies.

“Looking at the sheer amount of things, it’s just a little bit overwhelming,” said Gardenhall.

That sense of information overload comes as the U of R sees the highest enrolment in its history: a record 17,409 students registered for the Fall 2024 term.

Many of those students, like Gardenhall, find the registration process confusing when balancing course requirements, deadlines and financial considerations.

Registration can look different for every student. For first-year education student Reegan Kabrud, who is the first in her family to attend college, the process was confusing at first. “I had no clue what I was doing. It was quite a jump,” said Kabrud.

She talked about the major role faculty advising plays in her academic journey. Kabrud said the faculty walked her through everything she needed to know, and even now she keeps visiting regularly. “They are very helpful,” said Kabrud.

The U of R’s registration timeline begins in mid-February, when academic schedules for spring/summer, fall, and winter are made available. Early each February, students can view their time tickets on UR Self-Service, with registration for all three terms typically starting on March 5.

Students with the highest number of credit hours register first; for example, those with 76 or more credit hours begin around March 10, while those with fewer than 40 credits register later in March.

Affiliated colleges at the U of R can also facilitate the process. This was the case for first-year philosophy major and political science minor student Julianna Flynn, who entered through Campion College and was guided through everything she needed. “They kind of take the gears for you. It makes the process completely easy,” said Flynn.

She also pointed to the importance of counseling for students who are uncertain about their majors when they first enroll.

Flynn explored other degrees before landing on philosophy, which made her aware of the details that cannot be easily clarified by online tools. “I think that’s just something you learn, and the schedule builder doesn’t help you with,” Flynn said.

Denise Gamracy, supervisor for enrolment services and the student records centre, talked more about how the university distinguishes enrolment from registration to offer help to students in a more accurate way.

Enrolment services usually assists more than 30 students a day through email and phone calls. “I would say 90 per cent of our inquiries are for enrolment,” said Gamracy.

Each faculty is in charge of its own registration and academic advising. “There are advisors in every program so you are not just left on your own,” said Gamracy.

She also pointed to the University of Regina website as a useful resource. “Anything you search for, you could probably find it,” said Gamracy.