The Santa Rosa Junior College counseling department implemented changes last week allowing students to sign up for summer and fall semester courses at the same time in April.

March 12 is the tentative date that students can access their priority registration dates by checking their student portal. The school will also post the schedule of classes for fall and summer in March.

Students who develop an education plan with a counselor will benefit the most from the new registration process because they will already know what classes they need to sign up for, according to counselor Audrey Spall.

Spall recommended visiting a counselor within the next two months to develop an education plan.

“February is typically a slower month in the counseling office, which means less wait time on drop-ins,” Spall said. “Waiting until April to meet with a counselor will mean longer wait times on drop-in and affect the amount of time a counselor has to spend with you.”

Priority Groups determine when a student is eligible to sign up for classes; the more units a student has completed, the higher their priority.

The Early Bird program allows students in priority groups four and five to increase their registration priority to group three by meeting with a counselor. The program has a deadline of March 29.

Open registration for students without priority begins April 27.

Students who sign up for summer and fall courses at the same time and need additional time to pay their tuition will be able to defer their enrollment fees to pay at a later date.   

The first priority group constitutes students in the military or veterans, foster youth, disable students, students who receive CalWorks benefits and students involved in the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS). The second priority group is for student athletes and full-time equivalent returning students with at least 42 units.

The AB 540 form allows nonresidents to apply for an exemption to the requirement to pay nonresident tuition. AB 540 forms for high school students are not accepted until after graduation.

Students who graduate high school in May and plan to attend SRJC in the summer or fall semesters will be eligible to register for priority registration in April.

Priority group unit requirements and sign-up dates are available online at the SRJC website in the admissions section under the “Register” tab.