Class registration soon begins at Washburn University and Mabee Library is the place to do it. “Fifteen Days to Fifteen Credits” takes place for the fifteen days following the Oct. 24 kick-off. 

Beginning at 11:30 Oct. 24, pizza will be served and at noon there will be a drawing for a $100 book scholarship. There will be additional drawings for $100 each day following, until fifteen $100 book scholarships have been distributed. Students will fill out a small form upon entering the library and must be present for the drawing in order to win. Drawing times for the raffles after Oct. 24 will be promoted on Twitter at @MabeeLibrary, @WUAdvising, and @WashburnFYE.

Registration is important for many reasons. Students that enroll in fifteen credit hours are statistically proven to graduate sooner, have a lower debt burden, and are sooner to start their careers. Complete College America’s “The Game Changer” publication explains this in detail.

“An extra semester of college costs the typical university student more than $4300…which is often tacked on top of student loans,” they wrote. “The nation simply cannot attain the college graduates it needs to be competitive without adopting policies to significantly cut time to degree and increase full-time enrollment at a minimum of 15 credits per semester.”

 Scheduling an appointment with an advisor is key to ensuring students are enrolled in the correct courses. Advanced registration allows for students to have greater control over what classes, what times, and what professors they are enrolled in.

Alan Bearman, dean of University Libraries and the Center for Student Success and Retention, is eager to encourage students to enroll in a full schedule of fifteen credit hours.

“Life gets in the way and time is the enemy,” Bearman said. “About 26 percent of university students are taking fifteen or more credit hours per semester, so that means 26 percent of students are on track for on-time graduation. Seventy-nine percent of students graduate when they take 30 or more credits in their first year, compared to 37% of students that graduate and take 24 credits their freshman year. Of course, nobody is required to take fifteen credit hours.”  

Following Fifteen Days to Fifteen Credits, the Registration Carnival will take place Nov. 17 and additional scholarships and resources will be available.