We hope that you enjoyed your Winter Break, and that you are looking forward to the start of classes tomorrow. In preparation for the first day of the spring semester, we are writing to share three quick pieces of advice:

1. Check your course registration in Courses@Brown: Beginning at 8:00am tomorrow, January 26, you will be able to register for up to five courses via Courses@Brown. If you have not already done so, please review your Primary Cart; you will be able to access the Canvas sites for any courses in your Primary Cart during shopping period. If you are changing your course registration tomorrow, please do not refresh your browser; reloading will lose your spot in the registration queue. 

• Note: If you are in your first four semesters at Brown (First-Years and Sophomores), you will need to enter your advising PIN to update your course registration in Course@Brown (as shown in the GIF below). This is the same advising PIN that you received for November pre-registration.

2. Be prepared for in-person classes: Please mask up with high-quality masks (KN-95, KF-94, N-95, or surgical masks), and please listen for and respect requests from your instructors. During shopping period, your instructors may ask students on the waitlist to leave the classroom, or they may reserve seats for those who are already registered, before remaining seats are offered to other students. Some may also elect to hold the first week of classes remotely. You should check Canvas, course syllabi, and your email inbox for course-specific instructions regarding shopping period prior to the first day of class.

3. Reach out if you need support: Please proactively contact your instructors if you are unable to attend class. As in past years, we know that students may be absent from class for a variety of health and personal reasons. Instructors teaching in-person courses have been asked to support students with excused absences as they normally would. Deans in both the College and Student Support Services may provide deans' notes on behalf of students with specific personal or health circumstances that hinder their ability to complete academic work. Instructors may also provide support for student absences without deans’ notes. 

If you have any questions, academic advising deans in the College are holding appointments (both in-person and virtually) as well as virtual drop-in hours. You can visit the College’s website for more information about how to meet with an academic advising dean.

Sincerely, and with best wishes for the start of the spring semester,

Rashid Zia
Dean of the College