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New Student Advising

New Student Advising

Before coming to a New Student Advising session you must complete the following steps.  Failure to complete these steps will limit you from being able to successfully register for classes:  

1. Apply to South Puget Sound Community College

In order to access services as a student at SPSCC you must have a student ID number.  Your student ID number is assigned after you have applied for admission to SPSCC.

2. Apply for Financial Aid

If you plan on accessing federal financial aid you will need to complete the financial aid process.  Since it takes time to receive your award letter we suggest you apply early.  You do not have to pay for classes at the time of registration unless it is past tuition due date.  You may not know your financial aid award amount before registering for classes.

3. Submit Official Transcripts

You are required to submit official transcripts from any college or university if you plan to bring in the credit toward your degree at SPSCC.  You should bring a copy of your transfer of credit application and your transcripts to New Student Advising.

4. Take the College Placement Test (CPTS)

You will need to take the CPTS if you do not have transcripts from another college showing math and English course completion.  You should bring a copy of your test scores with you to New Student Advising.

5. Attend New Student Advising & Registration (NSAR)

You can attend NSAR in person or online based on whatever fits your academic and time needs best.

IN PERSON: This is group advising in a computer lab. You will be assigned an advisor and shown how to use the online tools to look up classes, register for classes and check waitlists. New Student Advising is a two hour session. Please plan on spending the entire two hours with us. We are limited to serving up to 30 students per session due to the number of computers available in our lab and our desire to offer quality advising to our students. “Non-students” (children, significant others, parents, friends, etc.) are not permitted in the lab. There is unsupervised seating outside of lab for these individuals. If you come to a session that is full you will need to return for a different session to receive assistance. All sessions are walk in, no appointment is needed. Please see our calendar below for available walk in times.

Advising Calendar

ONLINE: This is an advising classroom set up in the ANGEL online learning system. This is meant to be the online equivalent of our in person session. If you choose to go through the online course than we expect you will complete all your transactions online without the assistance of our advising staff. If you feel you need assistance from advising staff, we encourage you to come to our walk in sessions.

You can log in any time of day, any day of the week. The classroom takes about an hour to go through. You will be able to print the materials that are handed out in our in person sessions. Once you have completed the classroom there is a quiz at the end. You are expected to pass with an 80% or better. Your quiz results will be emailed to us and then we will email you back your registration information. Please keep in mind that this is not an automated response, so it can take up to two business days to receive a response with your registration information. Once you receive your registration information you can go online and register for classes. If you find you need assistance from an advisor you will need to come through one of our in person NSAR sessions.

Online New Student Advising & Registration Classroom

Frequently asked Questions

What Can I Expect From New Student Advising?

New Student Advising is done in a group session.  Several Educational Planners from the Student Welcome Center will work with all students in the session to complete the following:

  • Give you a degree planner for your intended degree path
  • Assign you to an advisor within your degree area
  • Help you understand the advising process at SPSCC
  • Show you how to use the course planning tools on the SPSCC website
  • Help you register for your first quarter of courses

We are limited each session to serving up to 21 students in our advising lab.  During the first few weeks of new student registration each quarter you can expect that there will be long lines of students trying to get in for advising.  You may not get into the session you were planning on attending.  You always have the option to continue to wait in line for the next available session or to come back on a different day or to a different session.  After the first few weeks of registration students are generally able to get in to the session they intended on attending.  New Student Registration is available the last six weeks of each quarter.

What If I Don’t Know What Degree I Want or Want Individual Advising Assistance?

Due to the large number of new student applicants it is impossible to see each new student individually during registration times.  If you wish to meet with an Educational Planner prior to New Student Advising you can make an appointment for a New Student Pre-Advising appointment.  During this appointment we can:

  • Help you explore the different degrees offered at SPSCC
  • Give you the contact information for the Career Center if you do not know what career path you wish to pursue or need career guidance
  • Help you understand the benefits of a community college education

If you attend a Pre-Advising appointment you will still be required to attend a New Student Advising Session.  It is not required to have a pre-advising session before coming to New Student Advising. 

You can make a New Student Pre-Advising appointment by clicking on the button below.  Appointments can be made up to four weeks in advance.  If you are trying to meet with an Educational Planner during peak advising and/or registration times you may have to wait several weeks before we are able to meet with you.

Sign up for an appointment with Genbook

Make an Online Appointment

What We Expect Of Our New Students During Advising

Our expectation is that you are coming to New Student Advising ready to register for classes.  If you have not completed the steps above we will not be able to assist you in the New Student Advising session.  You should bring the following supplies with you:

  • Pen or pencil to take notes with
  • Paper to take notes on
  • Your Student ID Number
  • Any official transcripts from other colleges or a copy of your completed transfer of credit evaluation
  • A copy of your test scores (if you took the placement test)

We try to offer as much individual attention and flexibility as possible to our students.  We realize for many this is their first college experience and it can be a daunting process.  At the same time, we need offer the same level of assistance to all our students.  If you require services like degree planning or career exploration in a more one-on-one setting, then you should schedule an individual appointment before coming to New Student Advising.  Please keep in mind that if you are applying to the college during a registration period that you may have to wait several weeks to get an appointment to meet with an Educational Planner which could limit the availability of courses to you as courses fill every day during registration times.

What If I Am Currently Out Of State Or Cannot Make A New Student Advising Session?
If you can’t make an in person advising session you can access our online classroom:
Online New Student Advising & Registration Classroom
Please keep in mind that if you are trying to register for courses that require you to submit transcripts for prerequisite override you will have to submit transcripts and register for those courses in person. You will not be able to use the online registration system for these courses.

 

 

Contact

Advising Center
Building 25
(360) 596-5241

Advising Session Calendar

Advising Calendar (pdf)

New Student Pre-Advising

Appointments can be made if you need pre-registration help figuring out which degree you want to pursue or the steps to applying to the college. Appointments are NOT to register for quarterly classes. To register for classes you must attend one of our New Student Advising & Registration sessions. See Step 5 for more information.