Incoming Exchange Students
(Students coming to UNO on exchange from overseas)

Information on finding and taking courses (classes) at UNO

1. Academic Advising: It is important to note that Dr. John Hazlett (jhazlett@uno.edu) is the academic advisor for all exchange students and will help you to enroll in the courses that are right for you.
2. Early Class Selection: You will often be expected to find UNO classes before the class schedule for a semester is available. You may wish to look at current or past semesters to get an idea of what courses are offered in which semesters. That information is available at: http://registrar.uno.edu/bulletin/index.cfm
3. Academic Organization: UNO has centralized enrollment, so it is fairly easy to attend courses in different departments (known as "Faculties" at European institutions). Most students are actually EXPECTED to enroll in classes in different departments. The only major challenge will be if you are a graduate student, and/or if you are taking high-level classes in these programs.
   1. If you are a graduate student in a European University (5th year and above) and wish to take Master's or doctoral level courses, you will have to communicate with the academic coordinators of those programs in order to satisfy their requirements. Be sure, also, that you select graduate level admissions when you do the UNO online application for admissions form.
   2. If you are a third or fourth year student (considered undergraduate) and wish to take junior or senior levels, you will have to establish that you have the prerequisite courses required for each. Prerequisites are listed in the course descriptions available in the course catalogue (see below).
4. Finding UNO Classes: There are two places where you must look to find the information you will need on courses (note on American English: when we say "courses" in the U.S., we mean "classes." When referring to a course of study, we use the term "major").
   1. For the master listing of all possible courses of study and course descriptions, we have what is called the course catalogue (http://registrar.uno.edu/catalog/index.cfm -- pick the most recent from the list). In this document you will find course descriptions, which tell you about the courses and list any pre-requisites. The course catalog does NOT list course offerings specific to any semesters, nor does it show schedules, etc.
   2. Information on specific courses offered, their schedules, etc. is available in the course bulletin (http://registrar.uno.edu/bulletin/index.cfm). Click on the pop-up menu to select the course listing for the semester you wish to enroll in. Note: listings for Fall courses will be available in early April. Listings for Spring semester courses are available in early November.
   3. If you are looking for courses prior to those dates, you may wish to look at the current year's course offerings as a model, but there is no guarantee that courses offered will be exactly the same from year to year.
   4. It is each student's responsibility to communicate with his/her home institution for course approval if credit at the home institution is required.
5. Pre-registering for Classes: Once you have chosen your courses for a given semester, and you are fully admitted to UNO, you will be able to pre-register for classes. It is highly advisable that you do so prior to leaving your home country. Even if you register for one or two classes, this ensures that your profile in the database is active for when you arrive at UNO.
   1. In order to pre-register, you must first be fully admitted to UNO and have all holds lifted (advising and immunization holds -- if you have a hold on your account, contact Mary Hicks at isep@uno.edu ).
   2. To log on to the UNO registration system, go to the UNO homepage and click on "Webstar." Then click on "Students." Then click on "First Time Users." You will need to know your UNO student ID number, which is given to you in your UNO letter of Admission. That number is VERY IMPORTANT for your life at UNO. Remember it!
   3. Expect not to be able to fully select all of your classes prior to arrival. Most students must drop and add classes in order to get the class schedule best for him/her. Even students in the U.S. go through a period of uncertainty right at the beginning of each semester. It's part of college life!
6. Using UNO's Online Systems: Once you have your login information set, you can start doing things like registering for classes, checking your UNO fees, etc. You will also use this username and password for access to computers on campus, your UNO email address (yes, you will automatically have a UNO email account that we suggest you check regularly while a student here), UNO's online classroom software called Blackboard, as well as other computer services on campus. Get used to using Webstar and the UNO email service.