Once again, things are changing for students as they register for courses. On Monday, March 21 at 6 a.m. combined registration will begin for  Fall 2011 and Winter 2012 semesters, marking the second year that the Registrar’s Office will offer combined fall and winter registration for OU students.

According to OU Registrar Steven Shablin, the combined registration program was a university initiative in the sense that it involved many offices.

Shablin said that before OU decided to implement combined registration, they contacted two other institutions, Michigan State University and Grand Valley University, who have both been using combined registration for a number of years.

“We were very much interested in looking at initiatives that we believe will benefit students in terms of planning schedules,” Shablin said. “Developing that full year schedule was important for retention purposes that the students are committed to the institution earlier rather than later.”

Shablin said that combined registration is helpful for those who want to plan ahead.

Daniel Ellis, a junior business major said that he likes registering for a year at a time.

“I like to look ahead and focus on what I’m doing,” Ellis said.

Ben Thomas, a sophomore accounting major, hasn’t enjoyed the new system.

“It is too far down the road — I like to do a semester at a time,” Thomas said.

Before students complete their online registration, Shablin encourages individuals to run their degree evaluation in order to see what courses are needed to fulfill degree requirements.

“We understand that the cost of tuition is very high. We don’t like when students take courses that you think meet course requirements and then come to find out they don’t,” Shablin said.

Registration times are based on class standing and the number of credit hours a student has earned.  Students can find their registration status posted on their OU SAIL account.

For more information regarding registration visit www.oakland.edu/registrar