Course Registration at Hanyang University

The course registration process at Hanyang can be a confusing process for those who are who are used to a different way of doing things at their home university. Some people have no problems with the registration here, and luck out by getting into every class they wanted, but for others like myself, it can be a major stress upon your arrival Hanyang.

This is how the course registration system was set up for the Winter 2015 semester:

For me, I had created my ideal schedule weeks in advance that allowed me to have four-day weekends. The first registration date is designed only for exchange students. It reserves 3-4 spots in each class specifically for exchange students and allows us to have a chance to register for those limited spots before any of the Hanyang students. Due to the time change in my country, the first enrolment time took place at 7pm on Feb. 5^th (make sure you know your time change!), but unlucky for me, my Wi-Fi connection was slow, and by the time the clock hit 7:01 pm, all the spots reserved for exchange students were full.

So then on February 10th, the registration time for all third year students, I tried to enrol again, but again I was not able to enrol in certain classes. This was because my major is listed as Business Administration here, and many of the courses I wanted to enrol into were Division of International Studies (DIS) courses, so I was unable to enrol in these courses at that time. At this point I began to panic, all the classes I wanted to get into were filling up right in front of my eyes! So I tried to enrol into any Business Administration course that wasn’t full just to make sure I wasn’t coming here without any classes in my timetable. I was lucky enough to get into three classes, and hoped to be able to get into more on the add/drop period on February 12^th/13^th, however it seemed like no one changed their schedule in this time because all the classes remained full on these dates.

When I arrived at Hanyang, I realized course registration was a common problem for many exchange students; in fact many people were not enrolled into a single class. At orientation it was explained to us that we could go to each class that we wanted to get into, and if the professor agreed to let us into the class, he could sign a slip for us, and the International Office would enrol us into the class. However, for Division of International Studies courses you also need to obtain approval through the DIS department. The only remaining class I wanted to get into was a DIS course, so I was not optimistic about getting into this course. I arrived to the first class and there was about 40 students packed into a room with only 30 chairs. I knew the Professor would likely not allow me to be part of the class so I did not even bother trying to obtain the signature. I just gave up my chair for someone who was actually enrolled in the class.

But the odds must have been in my favour because on the last registration date on March 9th, I looked online and there was an open spot in the DIS class I really wanted. So I made sure I was on the computer early and as soon as the clock turned to 17:00 I clicked register. I GOT IN! I don’t think I have ever had to work so hard to get into a university class before.

I also had got my sheet signed by a Business Administration professor to take Strategic Management, when I did not think I would be able to get into the DIS class I wanted. Getting the Business Professors signature was not difficult, but I think he was a little overwhelmed by the 20 or so exchange students stampeding him as soon as he entered the classroom at the first class. He allowed so many students into the class that there were not enough seats for everyone, and some people had to sit on the floor. The next day they moved the class to a larger classroom, and there were still more exchange students who came the next day to try to get into the class, but the second day he would not allow any more students.

In the end I did end up getting into the number of classes I needed, and the ones that my University had pre-approved, but it wasn’t easy, and defiantly added more stress to my first few days in Asia.

Here are some of my tips for making the experience easier for you:

1. If you have to get your courses pre-approved by your home University, make sure to get extra courses approved, because it is unlikely you will get into all the courses you want. I got about 10 approved, despite the fact that I only need 5 courses.
2. Be flexible, have many potential options for courses that fit into your schedule
3. Avoid Department of International Studies (DIS) Courses if you are unable to register for them online.
4. Try to attend the first class if you need to get your paper signed, it becomes more difficult if you wait until the second class.
5. Don’t be afraid to talk to your professors if you REALLY need to get into a class, many are understanding, and some will meet with you on their office hours and sign your paper.
6. If you have questions, it is much better to go to the FTC building and talk directly to the coordinators in the International Office, with all the e-mails they get in the first week it takes them a long time to respond to e-mails.

Article by Lindsay from Canada