Registration for the spring 2016 semester begins this week, so Academic Advisers Jessica Hansen and Jason Wiegand shared some advice for students as they plan for the semester ahead.
###### Registration:
Students register for classes based on their current classification, determined by credits. Each class will be allowed to access online registration on the following dates:
– Seniors: Oct. 22–28
– Juniors: Oct. 29–Nov. 4
– Sophomores: Nov. 5–11
– Freshmen: Nov. 12–18
Students can find their assigned registration date and time on [AccessPlus](https://accessplus.iastate.edu/frontdoor/login.jsp) by looking in the “Current Student Info” tab. Hansen says that the most important thing for students to remember is to schedule an appointment with your adviser as soon as possible. To schedule with faculty adivsers, contact them via email or a phone call. To schedule an appointment with Hansen or Wiegand call the main office at 515-294-4342. **Your advisers will give you your RAN, which you will need to register online, so scheduling your appointment before your assigned registration date.** “My main tip is to call and get advising appointments now, and then sign up on time,” Hansen said. “By signing up on time, students get the best choice of open classes.”
###### Choosing Classes:
Once you’ve had your advising appointment and received your RAN, you’re ready to register for classes during your assigned registration time. As you prepare to select your courses for the next semester, Wiegand advises you pay extra attention to the prerequisites listed for each course in the [Schedule of Classes](http://classes.iastate.edu/) and to choose classes accordingly.
“While you might be able to add a course without having the listed prereqs, you will likely be kicked out at the onset of the semester unless the instructor of the course (or someone else with the authority) gives their permission for you to remain in the course,” Wiegand said.
Wiegand also advises students research the classes they want to register for, by researching or contacting the instructors or talking to peers who have already taken them. Students often ask him whether courses are easier or challenging, but he says that this can’t always be inferred from a course’s online listing. Another common misconception he’s found is that students believe the numbering of classes, whether they’re listed as a 200-, 300- or 400-level course, determines its level of difficulty. This simply isn’t true, he says.
“A course will be easier for you if you are interested in the subject and motivated to meet the outcomes,” Wiegand said. “You should take coursework that suits your strengths, interests, and career goals. Those are the courses you will gain the most from and attendance and meeting deadlines will be easier for you than a course you have no interest in.”
The Greenlee School has several special topics, experimental and rotating courses that will be offered in the spring. These include:
**JL MC 307X — Digital Video Production**
– Prerequisite: JL MC 242
– Lecture MW 12:10 – 1 p.m.; 2-hour lab on Friday with various time options.
– Create video productions for use as communication tools in news, advertising and public relations. Lectures, labs and fieldwork cover the technical and artistic fundamentals of video production, including planning, scripting, shooting, lighting and digital editing.
**JL MC 308 — Electronic News Gathering and Production**
– Prerequisite: C+ in JL MC 201
– T R 10:20 AM – 12:10 p.m.
– Field techniques in single-camera video production used to shoot and edit visual stories. Introduction to electronic news gathering.
**ADVRT/JL MC/P R 390C — Computational Communication: Advertising Creative**
– M W 4:10 – 5:50 p.m.
– Prerequisite: Instructor permission required; contact Sherry Berghefer with questions (slbergh@iastate.edu).
– Exploration of data-driven advertising creative. Emphasis on interdisciplinary teamwork between computer science, design and advertising. Replication – of existing data-driven advertising projects and development of new ones.
**ADVRT/JL MC/P R 390J—Fashion and Beauty Writing**
– Section 1: restricted to ADVRT, JL MC, and P R Majors
– T R 10:20 am – 12:30 p.m.
– JL MC 390J is a 3-credit skills course that will introduce you to writing for beauty and fashion magazines, social media and websites. The course will review different forms of fashion and beauty journalism and the role of fashion in pop culture, and will study these specialty media. You’ll learn about trend reporting and writing features as well as short-form copy. You will master how to review products. Fashion and beauty websites and blogging will be studied and created. Guest speakers, via Skype, will share their professional experiences and provide trade and career advice. A capstone assignment will entail covering the ISU Fashion Show in April.
**P R 420X — Crisis Communication**
– Prerequisite: P R 220
– T R 8 – 9:20 am
– Public relations strategies and tactics for crisis situations to protect and recover an organization’s reputation including public behavior in crisis, crisis assessment, crisis communication plan across all platforms, media training for leaders and spokesperson, apology strategy, corporate social responsibility and ethics, rumor in social media and reputation.