closedcourses.htm

All our online courses start off as closed, they are reserved for matriculated students in our online programs (Childhood Education, Classroom Track Online). If you are an online student, ALL your online courses have closed permission numbers (cpn's), and these are issued by your advisor, Trudy Walp trudy@chestercreekpress.com. End of story.

ON CAMPUS

Certain campus courses also start off closed: ERDG600, ERDG605, ERDG620, and ERDG623. So how do you get into any of these? First, you have to contact Mary Unser via email (reading@csc.albany.edu) on the first day of the semester prior to the one you want to enroll in. So, if you want to take ERDG620 in the Summer 2006 semester, you have to email Mary on the first day of the Spring, 2006 semester. Mary will check that you have the proper prerequisites (e.g., that you've taken ERDG500 and ERDG600 in order to get into ERDG620), and then she'll put you on the waiting list for ERDG620. If you pass ERDG600, and you are high enough on the waiting list, you'll get into ERDG620. Remember that these courses have prerequisites, and in some cases (i.e., SpEd/Literacy) other requirements that have to be met, so be sure to find out if you are eligible to take one of these courses before you request to be on a waiting list.

The waiting lists are strictly first-come, first-served. We adhere to this so you know that you are being treated fairly. So a student who signs up at the last minute, is at the bottom of the waiting list, regardless of the story that accompanies the request for a higher spot. (Actually, everyone on the list has a compelling reason why they should be given a seat).

COURSES THAT END UP CLOSED

An open-enrollment course doesn't need a CPN, all it needs is an AVN. So long as the course isn't full, you can register for it, and if someone else drops the course (prior to the start of the semester, or during the drop/add period), you can simply go in and register for it. However, if it is full, here's what to do:

• Send an email to Mary Unser at reading@csc.albany.edu to let her know which course(s) you have been closed out of taking. List the courses you are signed up to take and indicate if you are full-time or part-time, and if this is the last course you need to graduate. We are always interested to know how many people are unable to enroll in an ERDG course, in case it becomes possible for us to open a new section, or add seats to an existing section. Remember: emailing Mary is for information only, it does not result in getting onto a waiting list. We have no waiting lists for AVN courses.

• You may NOT contact an instructor to see if they are willing to take on additional students. The Reading Department's class enrollments are managed by the office staff in consultation with the Department Chair. Individual instructors don't have the authority to add students to their rosters.

• Keep trying to register via MYUALBANY. Every semester, many students change their plans, and drop courses they’ve registered for. The moment they do this, their seat becomes available to anyone who happens to log on. You’d be surprised how many seats become available, even in core courses. (This technique, however, is not nearly as effective as registering within one minute of the start of advanced registration).

• If you were admitted to the program after advanced registration has already begun, you will find it very difficult to compete with other students who may have had two or three months to register before you even were accepted. In this case, still try to register, but be prepared to take electives or concentration courses in the first semester, until you can compete on a level playing field with other students.

Last Updated: January 29, 2008