October 4, 2019

Spring 2020 registration begins Oct. 21

All undergraduate students (with the exception of those graduating this fall) received an email with registration information from the Registrar's Office earlier this week. In the email, we included links to the priority registration schedule and the WMU Course Offerings page, as well as a few general tips to ensure a smooth registration process (e.g., checking for holds, logging in to Degree Works and meeting with an advisor). A detailed email will be sent to undergraduate and graduate students the week before priority registration begins.

10 ways Degree Works can help students during registration

1. Students can use the "Look Ahead" feature to see how the courses they plan to take will be used.
2. Students considering changing majors can use the "What If" feature to determine which courses will be needed in the new major.
3. Degree Works displays real-time enrollment information so students can see how many seats are available in a class.
4. Courses that require a prerequisite will have an asterisk listed next to them in Degree Works. Students can click on the course to see the prerequisite(s).
5. Students can click on a class link to see a description of the course and when it meets.
6. Students can see if they have any holds that would prevent them from registering.
7. Degree Works displays the number of credit hours students have earned to help them determine their priority registration date/time.
8. Students can log in to Degree Works the day after they register to see how the courses will be used to satisfy specific degree requirements.
9. Degree Works identifies completed requirements or courses in progress to help students avoid registering for classes they don't need.
10. Degree Works helps to foster the vision of WMU sustainability by providing an online environment that supports real-time delivery of degree completion.

Security re-authorization is underway

The semi-annual security re-authorization process began Sept. 30 and will run through Oct. 11 for employees. Supervisors will have through Oct. 18 to approve or deny employee authorization requests. Security re-authorization allows us to audit access to critical computer systems used at WMU and to ensure that users are familiar and up-to-date with the latest policies. Users and their supervisor should have received an email notification that re-authorization has begun. The email includes instructions on how to complete the electronic re-authorization process. Questions about the re-authorization process should be directed to the Registrar's Office at (269) 387-4300 or @email.  

"Remember Me" option for DUO two-factor authentication will change Oct. 7

On Oct. 7, the "Remember Me" option for DUO two-factor authentication (2FA) will be changed from 12 hours to 30 days. "Remember Me" pauses the requirement of 2FA on a specific device and internet browser for the given time period. If you log in to another device (e.g., a shared office computer) within 30 days, you will be required to use 2FA. Similarly, if you log in to a different browser on the same device, such as Chrome instead of Firefox, you will be required to use 2FA. In either scenario, you may select the "Remember Me" checkbox to remember that device and browser combination. This particular change is being made in preparation for the implementation of 2FA for students. On Oct. 14, the Office of Information Technology will begin a self-enrollment period in which students may opt-in to two-factor authentication to protect their accounts. Once students opt-in, 2FA will be active and required for all services that utilize the WMU Login page, including GoWMU, Elearning and others.

On Jan. 22, 2020, enrollment in 2FA will be required for all currently enrolled students. Later this fall, staff and faculty will be encouraged to self-enroll for 2FA, but there are no plans at this time for a mandatory requirement on all services. Information regarding 2FA may be found at https://wmich.edu/it/2fa. If you have questions or concerns regarding DUO and 2FA, please contact the IT Help Desk at (269) 387-HELP or @email.

Free shred event next Friday at Sangren Hall (Lot 41)

To encourage proper disposal of the University’s protected information, the campus GLBA Committee is hosting a free document and media shredding event on Oct. 11 from 10 a.m. to noon. All students, faculty and staff are encouraged to drop off professional or personal documents and media to ensure they are properly destroyed and recycled. University records must be destroyed in compliance with the University’s Information Security Program. Restricted/confidential information should be retained only as long as needed. See records management and the University Record Retention Guide for more information.

Details:

• Personal or professional documents (no plastic or metal; rubber bands & paperclips are okay)
• Non-paper media (CDs, DVDs, VHS, Floppy Disks; for hard drive disposal, please contact WMU Surplus)
• Maximum capacity: If you have more than 15 boxes to dispose of, please contact Data Guardian to schedule a pickup (for a nominal fee) at your convenience by calling (269) 327-8553 or visiting online.

Did you know? A fact from the Registrar...

This fall, more than 2,000 undergraduate students are repeating a class. The five most frequently repeated classes are:

1. ECON 2010
2. CIS 1020
3. MATH 1110
4. MATH 1160
5. CHEM 1110