Class of 2013 - Registration/Advising
Advance Registration
Course Selection Period
Course Selection for Freshmen
Advance Registration Tips
Academic Advising
Privacy Rights
ADVANCE REGISTRATION: June 29 through July 24, 2009
Penn InTouch is Penn's online registration system. During the four-week "Advance Registration" period, you have an opportunity to request your first-semester courses. The actual enrollment takes place in August when the Office of the University Registrar will electronically process requests for all students at the same time. Therefore, you can modify your course selection at any time during Advance Registration. The courses that you have recorded as your final course requests at the end of the day on July 24th will be what the scheduling system will process.
If you are unable to access Penn InTouch, you may send your requests by airmail or fax (215-573-2076) to the Registrar's Office. The Registrar must receive your faxed or mailed requests by July 24th in order to process your courses during the Advance Registration period. Students who submit their course requests via fax or mail after July 24th will have to wait until the Course Selection Period begins on August 12th to enroll in courses.
COURSE SELECTION PERIOD: begins August 12, 2009
Beginning August 12, you may add or drop courses on Penn InTouch in real time. You will know immediately if seats in the course(s) are available and if you have been enrolled. Students use this time to adjust their schedules, as they may not have received the exact courses/times they requested during Advance Registration. Course requests are considered on a first-come, first-served basis during the Course Selection Period. If you are unable to get into a course by the time of New Student Orientation, speak with an advisor. It will help if you remain flexible about your options.
COURSE SELECTION FOR FRESHMEN?
The Freshman Course Timetable includes course codes and other information you will need to plan and request your classes. You can also search for courses using the Course Search and Schedule Planning tool on the PennPortal. The Course Search module will provide you with the ability to search for courses, view details on individual courses, and save a list of the ones you find most interesting. You can then use the Schedule Planning tool to assist with planning courses for your registration on Penn InTouch.
Wharton students are limited to a maximum of 5.5 course units (c.u.) for the first semester. A typical course load for first-semester freshmen is 4 to 5 c.u. You should talk with your advisor about what your optimal course load should be given your academic and co-curricular goals.
See the Academics section of this website for information on what Wharton courses you should be requesting.
ADVANCE REGISTRATION TIPS
Input your requests in descending order of priority, so that your top priority is your first request. The system will allow you to re-prioritize your requests if you decide to make changes during the Advance Registration period. Your priorities should be based on curricular requirements. We strongly recommend that you request a Critical Writing Seminar as your first priority, since they have limited availability (typically 16 seats or fewer per course). Review the "2009 Writing Seminars" booklet or visit www.writing.upenn.edu/critical to choose the one you find the most interesting and be sure to list an alternate.
Some courses (such as Economics 010) have two required parts with different section numbers--a lecture and recitation section. You must request both sections in order to have a valid registration request. The Freshman Course Timetable shows which of the two sections is credit bearing (i.e., has "1 cu" printed next to the course title). In creating your priority list, request the credit bearing section before the non-credit bearing section.
For courses that have more than one section (such as Economics or Math), you may be assigned a different section than you request in Advance Registration. The registration system will assume that you need such courses, and therefore makes every attempt to satisfy your course request. Therefore, it is unnecessary for you to request alternate sections of the same course. When you receive your course confirmation, you may find that your enrollment section is different from your requested section.
You can request courses with back-to-back times. Course times appear directly adjacent to one another. However, courses end approximately ten minutes prior to the published times in the Freshman Course Timetable. For example, classes scheduled to meet 9:00 to 10:30 will run for 80 minutes - 9:00 to 10:20 - to allow enough time to arrive at a class scheduled to begin at 10:30. Time conflicts (two courses with overlapping scheduled times) are not permitted; the registration system will block your enrollment in one of the courses if you request overlapping times.
Read the booklets on Critical Writing and Freshman Seminars. Critical writing courses are a priority along with economics, math, language, and Management 100; this is a full course load for the first semester. Some students may have room in their schedules for a Freshman Seminar - this is an excellent way to interact with faculty in smaller classroom settings on a focused liberal arts topic. Read through the materials on the Freshman Seminars to see if there is a subject which interests you.
Wharton freshmen may not take ANY courses on a pass/fail basis in the first semester. All courses must be taken for a letter grade (normal grade rules). Undergraduate students are not permitted to register for courses on an audit basis.
Do not panic if you do not get all of your requested courses. You should work with your advisor on adding the courses you need during the Course Selection Period in August.
ACADEMIC ADVISING
Talk to your advisor for help! Advisors are available from 9 am to 4 pm (Eastern Daylight Time) Monday through Friday. Contact your advisor by e-mail or call (215) 898-7608.
| If your last/family name begins with... | Your summer advisor is... |
| A through C | Ms. Melissa Hagan (thomasm2@wharton.upenn.edu) |
| D through H | Ms. Marianne Lipa (mlipa@wharton.upenn.edu) |
| I through L | Ms. LaMoy Morgan Clarke (clarkem@wharton.upenn.edu) |
| M through Q | Ms. Shilpa Motwani (shilpamo@wharton.upenn.edu) |
| R through T | Ms. Megan Zahler (mzahler@wharton.upenn.edu) |
| U through Z | Dr. Scott Romeika (romeika@wharton.upenn.edu) |
Your summer advisor will be contacting you and will be available for questions throughout the summer. Although we encourage you to develop relationships with your summer advisor and continue to work with him or her throughout your collegiate years, you may see any of the professional advisors above for general advising. Some advising subjects require that you see a specific advisor (e.g., study abroad, submatriculation). The Wharton Undergraduate web page lists all the advisors and their specialty areas and responsibilities.
Advisors can help you progress toward your Wharton degree requirements and help you identify the resources you need to be academically successful. Advisors are here to update your curricular planning worksheets (available on Penn InTouch) to track your progress toward the degree; help you choose classes; and direct you to campus-wide services -- from faculty who can answer course questions to the many other resources at Penn including career services, tutoring, psychological counseling, study abroad, international student services, student health, and student financial services.
Coordinated Dual-Degree Students: Because joint degree curricular requirements vary from those of single-degree students, please consult your program advisors and publications for more information on courses you should be considering for the fall semester:
Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business
Ms. Inge Herman | 215-573-2345 | inge@wharton.upenn.edu
Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology
Ms. Lea Engle | 215-898-4145 | mgtech@seas.upenn.edu
Nursing and Health Care Management
Ms. Emily Ford | 215-898-6687 | epapir@nursing.upenn.edu
Roy and Diana Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management
Dr. Andrew Coopersmith | 215-898-2739 | ascooper@pobox.upenn.edu
PRIVACY RIGHTS
As a student, it is important for you to understand your privacy rights. For specific information about protecting personal privacy, confidentiality of student records, ways to manage your personal information, and other important topics, please refer to the Penn Privacy website.
What is FERPA?
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 is of particular importance to students. FERPA (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99), also known as the Buckley Amendment, is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.
FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students." For more information on FERPA, go to the U.S. Department of Education website.
Who can see my grades?
Because of FERPA, you will need to make decisions about who can have access to financial and academic information about you. All students should complete the online consent form, accessible through Penn InTouch. You will need your PennKey and password to log in. Then click on "Privacy Settings," read the information and instructions provided, and indicate your preferences regarding disclosure of your personal information.
Talk with your family
We suggest you discuss your privacy settings with your parents or other family members in advance of your arrival to Penn and Wharton.
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