Students filed into the first floor of the Student Center for the first day of RegFest, which is held each semester to offer students guidance on class schedules ahead of the next semester.
Two of the nine academic advisors listed in the college directory attended on Tuesday, Oct. 22 to help students build a schedule for the Spring 2025 semester. Columbia Central also had a booth for students to get assistance with any holds on their accounts.
“We want to make sure everybody gets their holds cleared, knows what their actual date is for registration and then also what classes they think they want to take so that when the schedule opens, they can go right in and take care of everything as quickly as possible,” said Greg Foster-Rice, associate provost for student retention.
Students will be able to see the 2025 spring course schedule on Nov. 4 and register starting on Nov. 11.
RegFest took place this year amid budget cuts, layoffs and a restructuring aimed at reducing the $17 million financial deficit.
With only two advisors at RegFest, there was a significant wait to complete a checklist that gave students access to a free lunch and a chance to enter a raffle for one of six $500 scholarships.
Students are navigating a major revision in the core curriculum this year, with potentially more changes to come as programs are revised and reorganized under their new administrative school structure. The college reduced the number of core credits students are required to take from 40 to 32. That went into effect this fall.
The event itself followed a similar structure as previous years, with worksheets designed to guide students through the event to visit each booth.
RegFest will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day through Thursday, Oct. 24, with information booths for international students and scholarships. Representatives from the School of Design and School of Business and Entrepreneurship were there on the first day.
Additionally, Yemima Kebede, an involvement ambassador for the Student Engagement Office, was working with students to navigate the event and find which booths they needed to visit.
“I think it’s beneficial because it will help students figure out where to start in terms of how to understand what it means to register for classes or who to talk to about financial aid,” Kebede said.
Julia Knopfel, a first-year film and television major who attended the event, found it “resourceful” to have all different booths to help students navigate the next steps when preparing to register.
“As a freshman, it’s very overwhelming and I feel kind of nervous about trying to figure out what I need to do next,” Knopfel said.
Lily Meza, a first-year music business major, also attended the event in hopes of finding ways to get more involved and get advice on what classes to take. Meza said she plans on getting into contact with her advisor for help with her classes and figuring out future post-graduate plans.
“I feel like now we’re finally getting in the swing of things being half way through our first semester, so I definitely plan on contacting her because I think it’s important to have a good relationship with my advisor to help me through college,” Meza said.
This year, Teresa Rodriguez, a sophomore graphic design and animation major, was encouraged by her professors to attend her first RegFest. Rodriguez said she hopes to prioritize her graphic design major by taking more studio classes
”I do think that a lot of people should come check it out,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like some people don’t really think about the whole process and they kind of just wing it. I feel like by doing this and taking the time to sort everything out helps me to not stress.”
Additional reporting by Samantha Ho.
Copy edited by Manuel Nocera
