Dear Returning Undergraduate Students,

We are so excited to welcome you back for classes this fall. We are writing to share with you detailed information about the pre-registration process and the virtual shopping period for this upcoming semester.

Courses@Brown

Official course information for the Fall 2020 term is now available in Courses@Brown (CAB). CAB allows you to explore courses, review syllabi, and register for your courses. CAB also includes a new search filter that allows you to find courses based on mode of instruction (fully online or hybrid).

New Two-Stage Pre-registration Process

This semester, we will implement a two-stage process to increase the likelihood that everyone can pre-register for their preferred courses before the start of classes. Specifically, we will not have a first-come, first-served system, because we understand that not everyone will be able to push the “register” button at the same time around the world. Therefore, pre-registration will begin with a matching process where all students can submit initial preferences, followed by an add/drop period.

To pre-register for your Fall 2020 courses, please share with us your preferred course list by Noon EDT on Monday, August 10 by adding all course components into your Primary Cart in CAB. When placing a course in your Primary Cart you must add all required course components (e.g., conferences, labs, and sections) to the cart. During the week of August 10th, we will use your Primary Cart information, together with course enrollment limits and prerequisite rules, to match you with up to 3 initial courses. The matching process will provide priority based on student semester level, as well as declared concentration requirements for juniors and seniors. We will also seek to prioritize placement into at least one hybrid course for all students that are returning to Providence to study in residence.

You can begin adding courses to your Primary Cart right now, and you are welcome to add as many courses as you would like. Adding all required course components (including conferences, labs, and sections) for at least 5 non-conflicting courses into your Primary Cart by Noon EDT on August 10th will provide you with the highest likelihood for course matches.

By Friday, August 14, you will be able to see your initial Fall 2020 course registrations in both CAB and Self-Service Banner. Then, you will be able to add/drop courses from August 17 until the end of the virtual Shopping period on September 22. Please note that you will not need to enter an advising PIN to change your course registration during this period.

Virtual Shopping and Canvas Access

To facilitate virtual shopping and help maintain social distancing during the quiet period, the first week of courses from Wednesday, September 9 to Tuesday, September 15 will be fully online. Hybrid courses may begin in-person meetings on Wednesday, September 16 for registered students only, but all courses will be accessible to remote participants (including students not yet registered for the course). You will be able to access the published Canvas site for any course in your CAB Primary Cart until the end of shopping period on Tuesday September 22nd.

Upcoming Webinar

The College will host a webinar for all returning students on Thursday, July 30 at 3 pm EDT to discuss these updates to CAB, pre-registration, and virtual shopping period. Click here to register and view additional webinar details. Please note that you will be able to submit questions in advance via the webinar registration form.

We look forward to seeing you soon, whether on campus or online. Please feel free to reach out to college@brown.edu if you have any questions or would like to connect with an academic advising dean.

Sincerely,

Rashid Zia
Dean of the College