College Colloquium

Colloquium FAQ:

QUESTION

I am trying to choose my College Colloquium and I do not know my login and password.

ANSWER

You will need to set up your WU network account. Please refer to the information sheet entitled "Network Access Information" that "Admissions" sent to you in an earlier mailing. It contains step-by-step instructions for getting your login and password set up so you can access your WU email, check JASON and register for your courses. If you need further assistance, please call the WITS Help Desk at (503) 370-6767 or e-mail advising@willamette.edu.

QUESTION

I received my login and password in the mail about a week ago. I tried logging on to the college colloquium registration website and either my login or password were incorrect because it would not let me log in. What should I do?

ANSWER

If you were able to create a new account and choose your password through JASON, you should be able to access your WU email, check JASON and register for your courses. If you cannot, please call the WITS Help Desk at (503) 370-6767.

QUESTION

I haven't received any information regarding College Colloquium classes yet and the web page won't allow me to register online. What should I do?

ANSWER

Contact Admissions locally at (503) 370-6303 or toll-free at 1-877-542-2787 or email them at answers4admits@willamette.edu. The staff in Admissions will be able to discover why you haven't received your information.

QUESTION

I can not find the mail that has my username and password in it needed to register for College Colloquium classes. When I tried finding it online, an error message said that my first name was not right.

ANSWER

You first need to set up your WU network account. Please refer to the information sheet entitled "Network Access Information" sent to you in an earlier mailing.  If you've lost your student ID, you can call the Registrar's Office at (503) 370-6206.

QUESTION

I noticed when I was submitting my preferences for my College Colloquium that there is no way to indicate a greater preference for one over another. Will there be a time when we do rank our preferences?

ANSWER

We have 500 first-year students and 38 sections to fill, so the Registrar needs all the flexibility possible. You do not rank your six choices, but we assign you to one of your choices since all were of interest to you.

QUESTION

If I understand correctly, of the six College Colloquium courses that I indicated a preference for, I will actually only be enrolled in one. How do you determine which one I will be enrolled in of the six that I requested? Is there a process of elimination or do I get randomly placed?

ANSWER

We ask you to select six options that you're interested in so as to provide us with some flexibility in assigning you to a single colloquium course.  We adjust enrollment in each section according to several criteria, including gender of students and class size. We like to provide for diversity in each section so that you don't end up in a class of people from the same region, or all men (or women), etc.  We also keep each section small -- around 14 students. Having several course options from each student to work with provides us with flexibility to make these adjustments and even out the enrollment in each section.

QUESTION

When will we find out to which College Colloquium course we have been assigned?

ANSWER

You will learn your College Colloquium section by e-mail on July 3rd.  Once you are officially notified of your colloquium section you can go to http://www.willamette.edu/cla/colloquium/courses to review the course description.  You should also look at your colloquium website on WISE (http://wise.willamette.edu), Willamette's collaborative learning environment.  You will find a welcome letter that may contain a summer assignment. Your colloquium instructor may also be using WISE to post announcements, syllabi, assignments, grades and course readings and to include other tools, such as blogs, wikis, live chat, and discussion boards in course activities.  For help with logging into and using WISE please visit our WISE Colloquium course sites page.

QUESTION

When signing up for my College Colloquium classes I selected a few that have nothing to do with my major because I thought that they looked interesting. Should I have just selected groups that had to do with my major due to the fact that the professor will be my adviser?

ANSWER

Your Colloquium need not (and some would argue it should not) have anything to do with your major. Your Colloquium instructor will indeed be your advisor, and can advise you regarding general academic matters such as general education requirements and help you choose a major. When you eventually declare a major, you'll pick an advisor in the department who will be able to provide knowledgeable information about requirements within the field; that person will replace your Colloquium instructor as your advisor.

QUESTION

When should I declare my major and choose my major advisor?

ANSWER

You can declare a major and pick a major advisor anytime after your first semester, although we generally advise waiting until your sophomore year. It helps to explore the curriculum across campus before making a decision, and that takes a bit of time. It's also the case that students often change their minds about their majors, and waiting until the second year can help to avoid losing any progress toward graduation due to shifting majors.

QUESTION

I am entering as a transfer sophomore in the fall, and I was wondering if a Freshman Seminar I took at my first school will fulfill the course requirements?

ANSWER

The simple answer is you don't need to take Colloquium if you have enough credits to transfer as a sophomore. The Registrar's office should be in contact with you to help you get registered for classes. If you don't hear from them you can call the office at (503) 370-6206

QUESTION

Does the College Colloquium count as a class? Or do I have to take four classes in addition to it?

ANSWER

Yes, the Colloquium counts as a class; you will register for THREE classes in addition to Colloquium.  You will register on-line for one course at a time during July and early August.

QUESTION

I missed the deadline for submitting my choices for the College Colloquium. Can I still submit my registration form?

ANSWER

If you successfully submitted your preference form electronically, the Registrar will receive and process it. After the web form is turned off you must call the Registrar at (503) 370-6206.  Note that you must be assigned to a College Colloquium section before you can register for other courses.