WMU HOME > ABOUT WMU > WMU NEWS Course registration moves inside GoWMU portal Jan. 5, 2005 KALAMAZOO--Beginning Feb. 14, students at Western Michigan University will "GoWMU" to register for Summer I and Summer II session classes. GoWMU is the university's new intranet portal, launched last August. Beginning with the 2005 summer sessions, the only way to register for courses is through the GoWMU portal. Registration for fall semester 2005 begins March 14. Students can link to the portal login page by clicking on the GoWMU logo on the university home page. To enter the GoWMU portal, students need to have their Bronco Net ID (user name) and password. There is help information available on the login page for those who have forgotten their Bronco Net ID or password. "Students, faculty and staff should never share their password with anyone," says Lynn Kelly-Albertson, one of the project leaders for the new portal. "GoWMU was created to provide a secure environment for each student and employee to conduct business with the university. Giving others your password is every bit as dangerous as handing out the numbers for your credit cards or bank accounts." Once inside the portal, students will go to the "Student Services" tab to find links for registration. Students will see some improvements when they begin the registration process. The system will check for duplicate courses and will not allow registration for different sections of the same course, nor will it allow registration in courses which create time conflicts. Students will notice that all course numbers now have four digits. A zero has been added to the end of previous course numbers, so Accounting 210 is now Accounting 2100. One critical change compared to past practices involves "linked courses," for example, a lecture that carries the letter grade, but has a "linked lab" that is needed to fulfill the course requirement. When registering for a lecture with a linked lab, students must register for both at the same time, or an error will occur, and the student must begin registration again. The system also enforces co-requisites. As with linked courses, students must enroll in co-requisites at the same time. Linked courses are different sections of the same course that must be taken in the same semester; co-requisites are different courses that must be taken in the same semester. SIMS, the current online class listing, is being phased out. It will not be available for the summer session and subsequent registration periods. SIMS will be replaced by new online course listings available through GoWMU. Students are encouraged to get their Schedule of Classes booklets early, review them with their advisors and be ready to register through the GoWMU portal. Course schedule booklets for summer sessions will be available around Feb. 1. Course booklets for fall semester will be available the first week in March. Also around Feb. 1, a separate booklet will be available with detailed instructions on the new registration system, important dates for summer sessions and fall semester and other valuable student information. The instruction booklet is good through the end of 2005, and students are encouraged to pick up a copy and retain it for future reference. Copies will be available in the residence halls, computer labs, academic advising offices, Waldo Library, WMU Bookstore and numerous other locations on campus and in Kalamazoo. Students, faculty and staff should login to GoWMU at <gowmu.wmich.edu> for regular updates on the registration process and other student and employee services being added in the portal. Media contact: Thom Myers, 269 387-8400, thom.myers@wmich.edu WMU News Office of University Relations Western Michigan University 1903 W Michigan Ave Kalamazoo MI 49008-5433 USA 269 387-8400 www.wmich.edu/wmu/news