Registration: Registering for Classes

Continuing and Readmitted Student Registration

All eligible continuing students (currently enrolled at USA and eligible to register for the next semester) and readmitted students (accepted for readmission after an absence of at least three consecutive semesters) may register and adjust schedules.

New Student Registration

All eligible new students (first-time freshmen, transfer students, graduate students, or graduate students beginning new programs of study) may register and adjust schedules. New students should contact the Office of Admissions to find out about Orientation and Advising requirements.

Open Registration

All eligible continuing and readmitted students as well as those new students who registered during Southbound orientation may register or adjust their schedules.

Late Registration and Drop/Add

Late Registration and Drop/Add begins the first day of the semester at 9:00 a.m. and ends the third day of the semester at 5:59 p.m. Late Registration & Drop/Add is the last opportunity to add a course, to change a course status to audit, or to drop courses without them remaining on your academic record. You are responsible for confirming the accuracy of your class schedule, so be sure to check it and make any necessary adjustments before the end of Late Registration & Drop/Add. If you have questions about your class schedule, contact the Office of the Registrar. During Late Registration and Drop/Add, students may add and drop courses, drop all courses to cancel a registration, and change courses to audit status. Certain fees may be non-refundable at this time (see the Office of Student Accounting Website for refund information).

• Late Registration - All eligible students who have not yet registered may register during Late Registration and Drop/Add. This is considered a Late Registration and a $50 Late Registration Fee will be assessed to these students' accounts.
• Drop/Add - All registered students can adjust their schedules during Late Registration and Drop/Add. Students who were already registered before the first day of the semester will not be assessed the $50 Late Registration Fee.

Drop/Add

Students who have already registered for courses may adjust their schedules: add and drop courses, change courses to audit status. Students cannot cancel their registrations (drop all courses) on PAWS, but may initiate complete withdrawals by contacting their academic deans' offices.

Drop Period

The Drop Period begins at 8:00 a.m. on the fourth day of the semester and ends at 4:59 p.m. on the official last day to drop. Refer to the University Calendar to determine the last day to drop each semester. During the Drop Period, students can drop courses or drop all courses to completely withdraw from the University for the semester. Courses dropped during the Drop Period will remain on students' academic records as withdrawn courses. Students cannot add courses or change courses to or from audit status at this time. Students with holds that prevent registration must go to the Office of the Registrar to drop a course or to completely withdraw. The Registrar cannot drop courses after the deadline to drop has expired. NOTE: You need to understand the University's drop deadlines and refund rules. If you have questions about these deadlines, contact us! NOTE: Cancellation Policy If you register for classes and then decide not to attend USA, you must cancel your registration by dropping all your courses before your time ticket expires at 5:59 p.m. on the last day of Late Registration & Drop/Add. Otherwise, you may be held responsible for tuition and fees and also for grades received for your registered courses. See the University Calendar for Late Registration & Drop/Add days each semester. Non-attendance of a registered class does not constitute a formal withdrawal from that class, nor does it entitle you to a refund. If you have questions about the cancellation policy, call the Office of the Registrar.

• Go to http://paws.southalabama.edu.
• Click Enter Secure Area, and then login. (See Logging into PAWS if you need information about your login).
• Click Student Services & Financial Aid.
• Click Registration.
• Click Add/Drop Classes. The Select Term page will open up.
• Select the appropriate term from the drop down menu, and then click the Submit button. The Add/Drop Classes page will open.

Baldwin County courses are categorized on PAWS as main campus but actually meet in Fairhope, Alabama. Courses that meet in Baldwin County are distinguishable from other courses by their section number (401-499) and by the assigned location code of BCF. Students must use PAWS to register for USA Baldwin County Courses during the normal registration periods.

• Enter five-digit course reference numbers (CRNs) into the CRN squares at the bottom of the page, and then click the Submit Changes button to process your selection.
• Or use the search option to find courses to add to your schedule by following these steps:
  • Click the Class Search button at the bottom of the page. The Look-up Classes page will open.
  • Highlight a subject (other search criteria is optional), and then click the Class Search button at the bottom of the page to obtain a list of available courses.
  • Use the check boxes to select the classes that you want, and then click the Register button at the bottom of the page if you want to immediately add the classes to your schedule. Or, click the Add to Worksheet button to save your selected CRNs to the CRN squares while you continue to search for other courses. Please note that using the Add to Worksheet option does not register the selected courses; it just saves the CRN numbers for you until you click the Submit Changes button or until you quit your registration session.
  • If your search does not return any suitable courses, then click Class Search again to query additional subjects.

Note: Placing too many limits on your Class Search may result in this error message: "No classes were found that meet your search criteria." If this happens, try again, but highlight ONLY the subject name.

When you click the Submit Changes button or the Register button, PAWS tries to register your courses, and the Register/Drop Classes page redisplays. Scroll down the page to see:

• If courses were successfully added to your schedule. These registered courses will display under a new section called "Current Schedule" on the Add/Drop Classes page. Notice the Course Status will say "Web Registered."
• If courses could not be added to your schedule. These courses will display under a temporary section called "Registration Errors." Look for the error message in the Course Status column of these courses. The PAWS Error Message table, available as a hyperlink on the top of the Add/Drop Classes page, will clarify error messages.

You can use the Register/Drop Classes page to change your course status from credit to audit during Registration and during Late Registration and Drop/Add. Audit courses cost the same as credit courses but do not count toward meeting your degree requirements, do not qualify for Financial Aid and result in an "AU" grade on your academic record.

• Click in the Action box of the course you wish to remove from your schedule. Action boxes are located to the left of each course reference number (CRN) listed under your Current Schedule section.
• Select the Drop/Delete option (during Registration and Drop/Add) or the Withdrawn Course option (during the Drop Period).
• Click the Submit Changes button at the bottom of the page to process your request.
• Check your Current Schedule section to be sure the course was successfully removed or withdrawn.

Note: The only way to use PAWS to change a course back from audit to credit during Registration or Drop/Add is to drop the course and then register for it again. However, we recommend that you contact the Registrar's Office for assistance to ensure that the course status may be corrected without the risk of losing your seat in the course.

When you are finished registering, click the Exit link at the top of the page. If you are using a computer that someone else may use later, be sure to close the browser (click the X in the top right-hand corner of the page) to protect your privacy.