First-Year Students

Incoming Students

Incoming Summer-Start and Transfer Student Info

Welcome, transfer and summer-start students. We are so excited that you are joining us at CMCI!

Summer registration is open to summer-start students now, and fall registration will be opening soon. Make sure you have a smooth transition into CU by connecting with a CMCI registration advisor.

Explore the first-year welcome website and start completing action steps!
- Note: CMCI students are not required to complete placement tests.
Fall 2023 registration will be open for transfer and summer-start students from May 22 to June 15. Fall registration will re-open later in the summer, but classes fill up very quickly and students who register later in the summer will have fewer options for classes to enroll in.
- Advisor assignments will occur once a week starting on Feb 18. If you have questions or your advisor has not been assigned, email CMCI Advising for assistance.

In order to be able to register for classes, it is critical that incoming students:

Complete the required online experience
Meet with a registration advisor

All summer-start and transfer students will be assigned a temporary registration advisor, Kira Hachtel, during the months of May and June. Kira is available to help you review and confirm transfer credits, understand CMCI degree requirements and to plan and register for appropriate fall classes.

Summer-start and transfer students will gain access to the advising calendar in Buff Portal Advising by May 12 and will be able to self-schedule individual appointments and find open drop-in advising hours starting on that date.
- Use the online student user guide (PDF) for Buff Portal Advising to learn how to find and schedule appointments.
- Email Kira Hachtel with any questions.
After June 15, transfer students will be assigned to a departmental advisor who will be able to assist with any remaining questions or registration needs.

Incoming Fall 2023: First-Year Student Registration Timeline

This timeline highlights key dates and action steps specific to CMCI academics and registration. For a full list of summer steps for incoming CU Students, be sure to visit the New Student & Family Programs website. For questions about student housing please visit the Housing and Dining website.

Make sure to review the whole summer timeline regardless of when you get started in your process so that you don’t miss anything!

Stay connected: Follow @CUBoulderCMCI and @CUBoulderLife on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook!

Key Dates:

May 10: Online Experience and placement assessments available

To-Do:

Activate your IdentiKey
- Your IdentiKey is your CU login name and password and you will need it to access all your CU tools and resources. It typically takes three to five business days after you activate before you can access these services.
Complete your Online Experience
Complete placement assessments (if desired - CMCI Students are not required to complete placement tests)

Events:

Welcome to CMCI: Major Exploration Sessions (Sessions offered late May through June)

Key Dates:

Early June: Your First-Year Advisor Assignment will appear in Buff Portal Advising

To-Do:

Resolve holds and to-dos!
Complete the New Undergraduate Health Requirements
Make Sure your Online Experience is complete!
Select your Enrollment Window: Consider your summer plans and make sure to select an enrollment window at a time that you will be able to access a computer and the internet to complete your registration.
- Students must complete their online experience to be able to select an enrollment window
- Students needing assistance with the online experience or selecting an enrollment window should contact New Student and Family Programs for assistance.

Events:

Welcome to CMCI: Major Exploration Sessions (Sessions offered late May through June)

Key Dates:

Early July: Pre-enrolled classes will be added to your fall schedule
Late July: First-Year Enrollment Windows begin: students can register for classes during their selected enrollment window.

To-Do:

Attend support opportunities!
Transfer any Credit: Incoming first-year students may already have college credit from AP or IB exams, or from dual-credit/concurrent-enrollment programs. To receive credit students must submit final, official documents directly to CU.
- Find out about AP and IB credit at CU. Find information about how to submit your final scores directly on the AP or IB websites.
- Final official transcripts for dual credit or concurrent enrollment coursework must be sent directly from the college-level institution to CU Boulder’s office of admission or can be emailed to transcripts@colorado.edu.
Make sure to also notify your assigned advisor of any AP/IB/college credit that you may have to make sure you’re planning appropriate fall classes!
Schedule a follow-up advising appointment (if needed).
- Students must attend summer support opportunities (Advising and Major Sessions and/or Registration Readiness) prior to requesting an individual appointment.

Events:

Registration Readiness workshops (Workshops run mid-July through early August)

Key Dates:

Early August: First-Year Student Enrollment Windows continue: students can register for classes during their selected enrollment window.
Aug. 21-28: Schedule adjustment period (do not make any changes to a completed schedule without help from an advisor)
Aug. 23: New Student Orientation on campus!
Aug. 28: First day of classes!

To-Do:

Make sure you have attended a Registration Readiness workshop (Workshops run mid-July through early August)
Make sure you have completed your fall schedule!

Events:

Registration Readiness workshops (Workshops run mid-July through early August)
Fall Welcome

Summer Support for Incoming CMCI Students

To prepare for fall registration and your first semester at CU, incoming CMCI students are expected to complete the Online Experience and attend CMCI summer group-advising sessions and registration readiness workshops. All summer support events are virtual and will be held over Zoom in the Mountain timezone.

Welcome to CMCI: Major Exploration sessions (offered late May through June)

Learn more about CMCI Majors this summer!

Connect with CMCI advisors, explore the majors and opportunities CMCI has to offer and learn about the Major you applied for. Every other Wednesday from May 31 through June 21 on Zoom, get to know CMCI by learning about our programs and requirements and be sure you are in the right major for your academic goals. View specific dates and RSVP for a session!

Note: Major Exploration sessions do not cover registration topics. Students should plan to attend a Registration Readiness workshop as well as a major session to prepare for fall enrollment.

Registration Readiness workshops (offered mid-July through early August)

Prepare for fall registration by learning to use CU's enrollment tools and planning specific classes before your enrollment window!

Confirm your enrollment window dates and time, identify pre-enrolled courses and plan additional course options for your first semester in CMCI. Attend Wednesdays through early August, beginning July 12 through Aug. 9 on Zoom. Review dates and RSVP for a workshop!

Note: Students can select their enrollment window as soon as they have completed the online experience. Make sure to select an enrollment window prior to attending a Registration Readiness workshop.

Continuing Students

First Year and Second Year at CMCI

First-Year Students

New first-year students should meet with their assigned first-year advisor for any advising-related needs during their first academic year.

When meeting with your first-year advisor, students are encouraged to consider the following:

Explore a variety of areas of study, learn about events, academic opportunities, etc.
Collaborate on a degree planning guide to include your academic goals.
Ask your advisor if there are ways to incorporate your other interests into the plan you create.
Create a class list of possible courses to take future semesters. Continuing students register for classes on their own and during their assigned enrollment appointment.

Continuing Students

After the first year at CU is complete, continuing students will transition to a major—or disciplinary—advisor for future academic support.

Students will stay with this advisor through the remainder of their time in CMCI. Advisor transitions for continuing students take place at the end of May. Check your assigned advisor in Buff Portal Advising! When connecting with your new disciplinary advisor, students are encouraged to consider the following:

Secondary Area of Study
Long-term planning and graduation timeline
Clubs, organizations and Education Abroad

Continuing First-Year Students

Keep on top of spring classes!

Check your grades in Canvas. Talk to your instructors about your academic progress in each course.
Have concerns about your spring courses? Please reach out to advising before March 24, which is the deadline to make changes to your fall classes. See the academic calendar for more information.
- Make sure to speak to your assigned first-year advisor before making any changes to your fall schedule!
- Check your finals schedule. If you have more than two finals in a day, you can move one! Check with your first-year advisor before March 24 if this applies to you.

Advisor transitions in May

In the month of May, you will transition from your first-year advisor to a disciplinary advisor! Be ready for this transition by meeting with your first-year advisor before May.

Summer Registration Tips

Summer schedule of classes is currently available in the CU Boulder Class Search.
March 1: Registration for summer classes opens.
Summer classes have a variety of different dates! Learn more about summer at CU.

Fall Registration Tips

March 1: Fall schedule of classes posts to the CU Class Search, continuing students will be assigned enrollment dates
- Check your Enrollment Dates in Buff Portal
Attend CMCI Group Advising Workshops for fall registration: April 3-7 (early bird: March 21-22)
- RSVP in advance for the session you plan to attend.
- For Virtual Sessions, use this link.
March 20-24: Course reservation for fall
- Students who did not make it off of a waitlist in spring may be eligible to reserve that course for fall 2023. See information on course reservation on the registrar’s website.
March 27-31: Spring Break (the university will be closed Friday, March 31)
April 3: Registration for fall 2023 begins for continuing students (by assignment)
- Registration for continuing students remains open through June and will reopen for schedule adjustments in August.

Other Support

Academic Coaching

Paige Wilson

First Year Advisor

First Year Advising • CMCI Advising

Advises: First-year students | Academic CoachRead more »

paige.wilson-1@colorado.edu

Academic Coaching cultivates a steadfast partnership between coaches and students to support their individualized learning and growth process, contributing to a transformational student experience.

What is coaching?

We:

Support students to develop critical thinking and academic skills.
Challenge students to deepen their self-awareness.
Encourage confidence in academics and self.
Facilitate an iterative and actionable goal setting process.
Trust and empower students to take ownership of their college and life journey.

How are academic coaching and advising different?

Academic coaching is a complementary service to academic advising. Academic coaches work in collaboration with advisors to provide targeted support to students.

Through a partnership with students, academic coaches help students develop critical thinking and academic skills, while facilitating a goal setting process to support student’s personal and academic development.
Academic advisors help students navigate their education, create plans to maximize their academic programs, and support students from a holistic perspective.

Are you interested? Fill out this form→

Prioritize Your Mental Health

Student Counseling Services

Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS) offers confidential, on-campus mental health and psychiatric services for a variety of concerns such as academics, anxiety, body image, depression, relationships, substance use and more. All services are remote this semester.

Screening appointments can be scheduled through the patient portal. This is the first step for all clinical services.

SilverCloud Health: CU’s online program to support emotional health and well-being at your own pace.
Peer Wellness Coaching: Free service available to all CU Boulder students. Attend one-on-one virtual meetings with peer coaches to help set and achieve wellness goals. Schedule a session online.

CAPS hosts workshops on a variety of topics. View upcoming dates for workshops on managing anxiety, practicing mindfulness, determining ways to coping with emotions, and methods to manage stress.
Health and Wellness Services also hosts workshops. Visit their site for workshops on managing anxiety, practicing healthy sleeping habits, and managing stress.
Feel Good Fridays is a drop-in group that lead you through a powerful guided meditation to help you reduce stress, relax and feel better.

CMCI Embedded Therapist

Trinity Bryant

CMCI Embedded Therapist

CMCI Staff

Trinity Bryant, PsyD (she/her/hers) joins the College of Media, Communication and Information as an embedded therapist for Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS).Read more »

trinity.bryant@colorado.edu

CMCI Registration

Support Events

CMCI Group Advising Workshops

Attend CMCI group advising workshops to learn important skills and information for your program while connecting with your CMCI peers! Students are expected to attend group advising sessions before scheduling one-on-one meetings with their assigned advisor.

Check Buff Portal Advising and the CMCI Events Calendar for workshop details, including dates, times and topics.

CMCI Registration Help Labs

In addition to the important advising workshops, CMCI invites you to join our registration help labs to complete your enrollment during mid-April.

Check CMCI Events Calendar for event details.

Events for First-Year Students

View all events for first-year students »

Registration Guide

Follow these steps to prepare for class registration.

Review Degree Audit in Buff Portal

How to navigate the official student portal:

Detailed Degree Audit Walk-Through

Note: This video reflects the MAPS requirements that will be changing for students starting in fall of 2023. All other information is still relevant. If you ever need assistance accessing or understanding your audit, please connect with your advisor.

Log into your Buff Portal to access your "Class Registration Guide Card." Open the "Plan" section and click "view Degree Audit" to access the audit page.

Screenshot to finding your audit

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).

Screenshot for viewing audit

Planning courses

View Sample Schedules

Review the below video from New Student and Family Program (also included in your Online Experience)

New first-year students are encouraged to register for a minimum of 13-16 credits during their first semester. Remember that you will be pre-registered for some classes at the end of June!

First-Semester Students may be pre-enrolled in:
- CMCI 1040 (4 credits) required in first year—fall or spring (students are pre-enrolled in this course and do not need to self-register)
- The first class for their selected majors
- A CMCI Core or RAP class (such as WRTG 1160 or ANTH 1170)

Plan to complete the rest of your schedule by adding one to three more classes to get to your desired number of credits. Additional major courses, CMCI Core classes, or lower-division electives make great options for your first semester schedule.

CMCI Major Classes to consider: Note: First-Year students should look for lower division (1000-level or 2000-level classes)
- 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
  - CMDP 2100: Historical Media Practices—3
- 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
  - JRNL 2401
  - JRNL 2014
- Strategic Communication:
  - APRD 1003: Principles of Communication—3
  - APRD 1004: Fundamentals of Grammar—1
CMCI Core classes to consider:
- Note: First Year students should look for lower division (1000-level or 2000-level classes)
- Note: Students with AP and/or IB credit may already have fulfilled some areas of CMCI Core. Contact your advisor if you need help understanding your completed credits.
- Quantitative Reasoning or Computing or Natural World
- Lower Division Composition
  - Recommended: WRTG 1160: CMCI First-Year Writing and Rhetoric—3
- People and Society
- Humanities and the Arts
- Historical Views
- Diversity and Global Cultures
Elective classes: Note: First Year students should look for lower division (1000-level or 2000-level classes)
- Electives are classes that apply to your total required number of credits for graduation, but may not be meeting specific major or core requirements.
- Most CMCI students will need some elective credits to graduate.
- Elective credits are great for exploring possible areas of interest outside of your major and may help you choose your secondary area of study later on in your program.

Make an Appointment with an Advisor

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

Click on an available group-advising session, drop-in or meeting:

Only group advising and individual appointments can be scheduled in advance.
Make sure to check the modality of your selected meeting so you know how to attend. CMCI offers advising over Zoom, phone and in person.

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 (PDF) for more details.

Check your Enrollment Date and Time on your enrollment dates card in Buff Portal (you may be prompted to log in).

Continuing student registration remains open from your assigned enrollment date until the date specified in the registration calendar.

Check for Any Holds or To-Do Items

These items are listed in Buff Portal on the "Holds and To-Dos" card.

Expand the menus 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

Open the “Plan” section and click the search for classes link. You can also navigate directly to the CU Class Search directly by clicking the below button or by typing classes.colorado.edu into your web browser

How to Search for Classes

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)

'General Education/Core Courses' search tips

Open the “General Education/Core Courses Search" section to see Core requirements by college.
Use the CMCI Core Attributes filter to search for courses that meet the CMCI Core Requirement Areas listed in your Audit.

'Advanced Search' tips

Select the following:

Open, Waitlisted or Closed: use Open Only
CU continues to offer courses in a variety of instruction modes. Learn more about Instruction modes in the Registrar's Glossary of Terms. Use the “Instruction Mode” filter to look for classes in the modality that you prefer.

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

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

Click on Classes and Registration, Registration Checklist and select Enroll in Classes

How to Enroll in Classes

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

View Calendar

Search

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First-Year Students

Jump to:

First-Year Advisor

Paige Wilson

Temporary Registration Advisor

Kira Hachtel

Connect with Advisors

Types of Advising Support

Campus Resources

Incoming Students

Incoming Summer-Start and Transfer Student Info

Incoming Fall 2023: First-Year Student Registration Timeline

Summer Support for Incoming CMCI Students

Welcome to CMCI: Major Exploration sessions (offered late May through June)

Registration Readiness workshops (offered mid-July through early August)

Continuing Students

First Year and Second Year at CMCI

First-Year Students

Continuing Students

Continuing First-Year Students

Keep on top of spring classes!

Advisor transitions in May

Summer Registration Tips

Fall Registration Tips

Other Support

Academic Coaching

Paige Wilson

Prioritize Your Mental Health

Student Counseling Services

CMCI Embedded Therapist

Trinity Bryant

CMCI Registration

Support Events

Events for First-Year Students

Registration Guide

Review Degree Audit in Buff Portal

Make an Appointment with an Advisor

Check for Any Holds or To-Do Items

Search for Classes/Add to Cart

Simple 'Search Classes' tips

'General Education/Core Courses' search tips

'Advanced Search' tips

Register for Classes

Review Academic Calendar Dates