Registrar's Office

Office of the Registrar
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5256 USA
(269) 387-4300

November 12, 2018

Reverse Transfer

Western Michigan University has reverse transfer agreements in place with all 29 Michigan community colleges. Through reverse transfer, students can receive an associate degree by combining credits completed at WMU with credits earned at the community college. 

Last week, the Registrar's Office sent an email to 202 students eligible for review under reverse transfer. Student eligibility is based on the number of credits completed at WMU and the number of credits transferred from the partnering community college. A total of 4,033 former community college students have been contacted by WMU since our first reverse transfer agreement was signed in 2012. 

Additional information on reverse transfer and a list of our current partners can be found on the Registrar's Office website. 

Fall 2019 schedule edits

Departments have this week to update their fall 2019 changes in Banner. All edits must be completed by the end of the day on Friday, November 16th. All special requests, such as back-to-back and classes that meet together in the same room must also be submitted by November 16th. 

Questions should be directed to Richard Carbonneau. 

From the desk of the Registrar

Last month, we hit a new Degree Works usage record. 19,988 students used Degree Works to plan their spring 2019 schedule. That is 79% of all registered degree-seeking undergraduate students. 

Banner 9

Pro tip: 

You will not need to recreate the My Banner menu (from Banner 8) when we upgrade to  Banner 9.  

Meet the Registrar's Office
Laurie Foster

Laurie is our Curriculum Catalog Specialist. She first came to WMU in 1975 as a student and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree. 

Laurie started her WMU career in 1981 in the Registration Office where she worked to reconcile errors with student registration and assisted with creating the schedule of classes each semester. Before the electronic process, we take for granted today, paper reports were used to literally cut and paste pieces of paper together to create the schedule of classes. 

From Registration, she moved to the Records Office where she worked with student PRC's (Permanent Record Cards), posting grade changes and adjustments to GPAs, among other changes. The next move was to a lengthy stint in classroom scheduling where the process evolved from a manual process to the automated system that is used today. 

Laurie is currently responsible for processing curriculum and course changes across the University for the Academic Catalogs along with coordinating a mass proofing effort across campus to make sure the catalogs accurately reflect policies, procedures, and academic requirements before publication. 

Laurie grew up in St. Joseph, Michigan where she acquired a love of the water and being outdoors that continues today. She lives on Muskrat Lake where she enjoys those activities with her husband Ed and Giant Schnauzer, Ella. 

UPCOMING DATES

  • November 21—Thanksgiving break begins at noon 
  • December 1—Deadline to apply for spring graduation
  • December 10-13—Final examinations
  • December 15—Semester ends; Commencement
  • December 18—Final grades are due by noon

2019

  • January 2—Spring tuition and fees are due
  • January 2-4—Advising days
  • January 7—Classes begin at 8 a.m.
  • January 7-8—One Stop Convenience Center
  • January 11—Last day students can drop/add through GoWMU
  • January 14—Department cleanup*; Census
  • January 15—$100 late add fee begins; Begin recording withdrawals with a final grade of "W" on transcripts
  • January 17—Last day to receive a 90% refund for a complete withdrawal
  • January 21—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day  Convocation and Activities
  • January 22—Last day to receive 50% refund for a partial withdrawal
  • February 1—Last day to receive a 50% refund for a complete withdrawal; deadline to apply for summer graduation 
  • March 1—Last day to receive a 25% refund for a complete withdrawal; Spirit Day (no classes - University open)
  • March 4-8—Spring recess (no classes - University open)
  • March 11—Midterm grades are due
  • March 18—Last day to withdraw from spring classes
  • April 22-25—Final examinations
  • April 27—Semester ends; Commencement
  • April 30—Final grades are due by noon

*Departmental cleanup day provides the opportunity for departments to assist students in adding/dropping classes. Students do not have access to adjust their schedules via GoWMU on this day; they do receive a 100% refund for any classes dropped by the department.