Guidelines for WWU Students Taking Courses at Whatcom Community College

Thank you for your interest in Whatcom Community College! Here are a few tips and reminders that will help you get off to a smooth start.

1. Apply for admission. Your first step is to apply for admission to Whatcom. The application process is simple and free. You can apply in person at the Registration Office in Laidlaw Center (the building with the flagpole on Kellogg Road), or you can apply online. Whatcom will send you an e-mail within a week or so, confirming your admission and giving you your student ID number.

2. Find out your earliest registration date. New students register after continuing Whatcom students. You can apply for admission any time, but if you apply after the priority deadline, the earliest you can register will be at the start of “general registration.” See the Registration Calendar on Whatcom’s web site for specific dates.

3. Line up your prerequisites. Many Whatcom courses have prerequisites, which may be different from the prerequisites for a similar course at Western. You can find out the prerequisites by looking at the course descriptions available via the online Schedule Search on Whatcom’s web site.

4. Meet with an advisor and register. If you are planning to take a Whatcom course that has prerequisites you took at Western or another college, you must meet with an advisor and register in person. Contact Entry and Advising (see below) for instructions if you will be more than 100 miles away during the whole registration period.

You may meet with an advisor any time on or after your earliest registration date. Come to the Entry and Advising Office in Laidlaw Center Monday through Thursday 9am to 4pm, or Friday 9am to 11am. There will be advisors seeing students on a first-come, first-served basis. Bring an unofficial copy of your transcript (your Academic History) with you.

5. Pay your tuition. Whatcom’s tuition is due in advance. If you miss the tuition payment deadline, you will be dropped from your courses and have to register again. That means starting from scratch: meeting with an advisor, showing your transcript, etc. Save yourself a lot of work! Check the Registration Calendar for the due date.

A note about financial aid: to be eligible for financial aid for Whatcom courses you must 1) enroll in a Whatcom degree or certificate program, 2) register only for the courses you need for that program, and 3) transfer your financial aid to Whatcom. It may take up to eight weeks before you are awarded financial aid (if it is determined that you are eligible).

6. Manage your waitlist. If you are registering for a course that is in demand for Whatcom’s own programs (for example, Anatomy and Physiology), you may find that the section you want is full by the time you are eligible to register. In that case, you can place yourself on a waiting list. If space opens up before the quarter starts, you will automatically be moved into the class. If you are still on the waitlist on the first day of the quarter, you should go to the class and see whether the instructor will give you permission to enroll.

The date you are moved into the class will determine when your tuition is due.

7. Questions? Feel free to contact the Entry and Advising Office at 360.383.3080 or [email protected]. Rev. 1/28/14