Information for First-Year Students

First-Time Registration for Incoming Students

Make sure to read all email communications from New Student and Family Programs and the CMCI Advising staff.
Have a general question? Email the advisors.
Please note: No advising registration appointments are available. The first date any student can register is July 8.
Students will be assigned to an advisor in late May.

Email your final transcripts to CU Boulder's Admissions Office or send by mail:
Regent Administrative Center 125
University of Colorado Boulder
552 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0552
Select an enrollment window on Buff Portal. Everyone will have equal access to classes, regardless of your enrollment window.
Plan ahead: Make an appointment with your academic advisor during your enrollment window. Your appointment will be conducted over email, phone or in person, if you are a local student. To find out more about setting up an appointment with your advisor, see your academic advisor’s biography.
Watch for communications from the college that will tell you more about pre-enrolled courses and CommRAP courses.

Learn the status of any AP/IB credits and how they transfer for credit into CU Boulder. If you have questions about transfer courses or course credit, contact CU Boulder Registrar's Office.
Review the online degree audit on Buff Portal. Become familiar with this tool prior to your advising appointment.
July 8 is the first date students can register for additional classes. CU Boulder's updated Class Search allows you to directly add courses to your shopping cart, which are stored on Buff Portal.
Remember to plan ahead: Make an appointment with your academic advisor during your enrollment window. Your appointment will be conducted over email, phone or in person, if you are a local student. To find out more about setting up an appointment with your advisor, see your academic advisor’s biography.

Prepare for Fall Welcome. See details here: Student & Family Programs.
Advising drop-in hours will be held from 1 to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 22, in the CMCI Advising Center at Gate 3, Folsom Stadium 110D.
CMCI Connect: Save the date for this mandatory CMCI orientation event, which will be held from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 23,in Folsom Stadium, Byron White Room 8.

Continuing Student Registration Guide

Review Degree Audit in Buff Portal (Feb. 1 to 15)

How to navigate the official student portal:

Click on the hamburger menu icon () next to Buff Portal and type 'Degree Audit' in search field or click on Registration Checklist.

Click on the arrow next to 'Run a Degree Audit' to expand the menu and run your report. Do not simply click 'Run a Degree Audit', all that does is check a box!

Click on Transfer Evaluation, if applicable, to review AP/IB/Transfer credit.

Request an audit type:

For declared programs, click Run Declared Programs.
To view alternative programs of interest, click Select Different Program. Select criteria from the drop-down menus. Click Run Different Program.

After the degree audit is finished processing, click View Audit (look for the link on the right).

From the degree audit, make a list of classes for major(s), minor(s), certificate(s) and/or core (general education) classes to take in the upcoming term.
New first-year students are encouraged to register for a minimum of 13 credits from the class options below.

View Sample Schedules

CMCI 1010 Concepts and Creativity 1: Media, Communication, Information—4 credits (required class for Fall 2020)
Select from CMCI Core Class(es)—3 to 7 credits:
- Quantitative Reasoning or Computing or Natural World
- Lower Division Composition
  - WRTG 1160: CMCI First-Year Writing and Rhetoric (recommended)—3
- People and Society
- Humanities and the Arts
- Historical Views
- Diversity and Global Cultures
A 1000-level and/or 2000-level class(es) listed for your major(s), such as—3 to 6 credits:
- Communication:
  - COMM 1210: Perspectives on Human Communication—3
  - COMM 1300: Public Speaking—3
  - COMM 1600: Group Interaction—3
- Information Science:
  - INFO 1111 (Fall): Introduction to Information Science: Understanding the World Through Data—4
  - INFO 1121 (Spring): Introduction to Information Science: Designing Interactions—4
- Media Production:
  - CMDP 1400: Introduction to Contemporary Media Cultures—4
- Media Studies:
  - MDST 1001: Foundations of Media Studies—3
  - MDST 1002: Introduction to Social Media—3
  - MDST 2002: Media and Communication History—3
- Journalism:
  - JRNL 1000: Principles of Journalism and Networked Communication—3
- Strategic Communication:
  - APRD 1003: Principles of Communication—3
Class(es) for secondary area of study (second major/minor/certificate)—2 to 4 credits
Elective class—1 to 3 credits

Make an Appointment with an Advisor (Feb. 1 to March 15)

Click on the advisor's photo under 'Student Success Team' to view their calendar.

Click on an available meeting to reserve an appointment.

Confirm or cancel appointments by clicking 'Show History' under My Meetings in the upper-right corner of the Buff Portal Advising Site.

View the Buff Portal Advising Student User Guide for more details.

Check Your Enrollment Date (March 4)

The Office of the Registrar notifies students via email when enrollment dates are posted.

To check individual enrollment dates:

Click on Registration Checklist and select the term from the drop-down menu.

Note: The enrollment appointment is listed in mountain (MST) time. Complete the following steps as close to the enrollment start date and time as possible!

Check for Any Holds or To-Do Items (March 4 to March 25)

Holds and To-Do items are listed in Buff Portal.

View any Holds and To-Dos.

Expand the menu for more information.

Holds: Prevent you from taking some kind of action (i.e. registering for classes). CU Boulder departments and offices may place a hold on a student's record for a number of reasons. Resolve holds as quickly as possible by following the instructions associated with each hold listed.

To-Do items: Recommended actions necessary to complete specific outcomes. Some to-do items become holds if not completed by a specific date. Monitor to-do items closely and follow the instructions to resolve it.

Learn more about Holds and To-Do items »

Search for Classes/Add to Cart (March 4 to Enrollment Date)

Click on Registration Checklist.

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Search for classes: CU Class Search

Simple 'Search Classes' tips

Use the following search criteria:

Title, Subject, Instructor or Keyword: enter class code (e.g. CMCI 1010 or 1020)
Term: (e.g. fall, spring, summer)
Any Campus: select Main Campus (Continuing Education classes cost extra)

'Advanced Search' tips

Select the following:

Open, Waitlisted or Closed: use Open Only

Use A&S general education attributes to search by category

Search classes by A&S general education categories to complete CMCI Core requirements.

A&S General Education		CMCI Core:
Foreign Language	=	Foreign Language
Written Communication	=	Composition and Expression
Quantitative Reasoning	=	Quantitative Reasoning
Natural Science Lab	=	The Natural World Lab
Natural Science	=	The Natural World Non-Lab
Social Sciences	=	People and Society
Distribution - Arts and Humanities	=	Humanities and the Arts
Diversity - Global or Diversity - U.S. Perspective	=	Diversity and Global Cultures

Use A&S core attributes to complete CMCI core requirements.

Search classes by A&S core attributes to complete CMCI core requirements.

A&S Core Attributes		CMCI Core
Historical Context or any HIST class	=	Historical Views

Click on the class options generated from the search. Review class registration restrictions, description, time and location and section information.

Registration Restrictions:

Prerequisite: a specific class that must be completed before taking another class at the next level.
Co-requisite: a specific class that, if it has not been completed already, must be taken at the same time as another class.
Recitation: some classes require enrollment in a Lecture (LEC) and a Recitation (REC); a recitation is a smaller class that meets in addition to the lecture.

Click on the desired section(s). Note: Classes may require a LAB or REC (Recitation) along with the LEC (Lecture). Select both to register for the class.

Click Add to Cart.

Hints:

To view instructor and/or class ratings, click on the hyperlink with the instructor's name or on Course Evaluations. The scale is 1 (lowest rating) to 6 (highest rating).
You can view most syllabi from past semesters. (Not all are currently available.)

Register for Classes (Enrollment Date)

At the date and time of your enrollment, log in to Buff Portal.

Click on Registration Checklist and select Enroll in Classes.

Select Continue.

Scroll down to CU Boulder Shopping Cart to select desired classes.

Click Add Selected Classes.

Click Finish Enrolling.

Review schedule in the Buff Portal to confirm enrollment.

See the Office of the Registrar's website to learn how to waitlist for a closed class, swap a class or drop a class.

Important notes about registration:

Saving classes in the shopping cart does not save a spot in the class. Students are not enrolled until they complete their enrollment through Buff Portal.
Students are encouraged to avoid waitlists and confirm enrollment. Waitlisted classes do not count towards enrollment.
RAP Coordinators need to make any changes to RAP classes. First-Year Academic Advisors are not authorized to add, drop or swap RAP classes.
Students may make changes to their schedule (with the exception of any RAP classes) during the first full week of classes.

Review Academic Calendar Dates (Enrollment Date)

Deadlines: Add, Drop and Withdraw

View all academic dates »

Tips and Additional Information

Include your student ID number in every communication.
You may be pre-enrolled in some courses, like CMCI 1010 and/or Writing 1160. Plan to work other courses around these assigned CMCI courses. You will know what courses you are pre-enrolled in during mid to late June.
If you are participating in CommRAP, you will learn your RAP course in late June.
The suggested academic course load during the first semester for first-year students is 13 credits, and students are allowed to enroll in up to 16 credits. View policy info on the Office of the Registrar's website.

Remote Resources for Current Students, Faculty and Staff:

Information for First-Year Students

Welcome to CMCI!

What is the role of advisors?

First-Year Advisors

What is your role as a student?

Action Steps:

First-Time Registration for Incoming Students

Continuing Student Registration Guide

Review Degree Audit in Buff Portal (Feb. 1 to 15)

Make an Appointment with an Advisor (Feb. 1 to March 15)

Check Your Enrollment Date (March 4)

Check for Any Holds or To-Do Items (March 4 to March 25)

Search for Classes/Add to Cart (March 4 to Enrollment Date)

Simple 'Search Classes' tips

'Advanced Search' tips

Register for Classes (Enrollment Date)

Review Academic Calendar Dates (Enrollment Date)

Deadlines: Add, Drop and Withdraw

Tips and Additional Information

Search

Remote Resources for Current Students, Faculty and Staff:

Breadcrumb

Information for First-Year Students

Welcome to CMCI!

What is the role of advisors?

First-Year Advisors

What is your role as a student?

Action Steps:

First-Time Registration for Incoming Students

Continuing Student Registration Guide

Review Degree Audit in Buff Portal (Feb. 1 to 15)

Make an Appointment with an Advisor (Feb. 1 to March 15)

Check Your Enrollment Date (March 4)

Check for Any Holds or To-Do Items (March 4 to March 25)

Search for Classes/Add to Cart (March 4 to Enrollment Date)

Simple 'Search Classes' tips

'Advanced Search' tips

Register for Classes (Enrollment Date)

Review Academic Calendar Dates (Enrollment Date)

Deadlines: Add, Drop and Withdraw

Tips and Additional Information