Records and Registration

Using COURSES

Registration is a two-part process using the COURSES system: the bidding period and the add/drop period. An automated bidding algorithm enrolls students in courses based on the number of points bid for courses and a fixed set of criteria described below.

You will see references to two systems, COURSES and Albert: 

COURSES

COURSES is the Law School’s registration system.

Keep in mind that you use COURSES for:

  • Registration (for law classes and Stern Preferential classes)
  • Checking your law school schedule

Albert

Albert is the University’s student information system.

Keep in mind that you use Albert for:

  • entering your emergency contact information
  • credit/fail selection (for J.D. Students only - which begins each semester AFTER add/drop ends)
  • checking your non-law class schedule (not cross-listed classes – classes that have numbers OTHER than LAW-LW). Please note Preferential Stern classes will be converted to the Stern course number after the add/drop period.

Registration Tip: Plan carefully and  pay attention to dates, deadlines, and bidding selections as well as the results of the bidding cycles.

  • There are four registration cycles for Fall courses, one in June, two in July, and one in late August.
  • After the bidding period for each semester, students may make changes to their schedules during the add/drop period.
  • Fall registration resumes for daily add/drop cycles in July.
  • There is a cycle for Spring courses in July and August. Spring daily add/drop cycles begin in October. If you are admitted in a program that begins in the Spring or otherwise do not begin registration until after September, you may participate in the Spring bidding cycle in October. See the Registration Calendar for bidding period and add/drop dates for all students.
  • Students are assigned 1000 points for each semester. At the end of each round, the bid requests are processed when the automated bidding algorithm is run. Students who win a seat in a class are charged a clearing price.
  • The clearing price is the amount of the highest losing bid.
  • Students are charged zero points for a class that remains open after the bids are processed. We will publish the clearing price for classes that close once the bidding period requests are processed.

When will COURSES NOT permit you to submit a bid for courses?

  •  The course is not available due to a degree (JD or LLM) or class-level restriction;
  •  The prerequisite or permission/waiver form was not timely submitted;
  • The same course was taken previously (note: that other than year-long courses, students cannot register for the same class more than once); 
  • The course is your third or more seminar and you do not have permission to exceed the two-seminar maximum for the semester in question;
  •  Within the same semester, you bid the same number of points (other than zero points) on more than one class; NOTE: When submitting several bids at one time, if the submission contains an invalid bid or bids as listed above, COURSES will not accept any of your bid requests.
  • You can enter either an alternate bid or a conditional drop bid but not both for the same primary bid.
  • Before you register, read Registration Eligibility for All Students. If you have not met all these requirements by stated deadlines, you will not be eligible to participate in registration.­­­­
  • First-year students should read Registering for Your 1L Elective.

When will COURSES NOT schedule courses?

  • A time conflict exists with a course already scheduled;
  • The co-requisite was not scheduled because of a time conflict or because the course was not requested;
  • The course was canceled (refer to the course updates website);
  • The maximum number of credits of 15 has already been scheduled;
  • The class was full.

Changing Your Course Schedule 

  • Once the results from Cycle #1 are published on COURSES, you can make changes to your schedule during the subsequent cycles. You must use COURSES to participate.
  • The first opportunity to make schedule changes for fall will be in July and for spring in August. During the longer cycles, students will enter their requests and results will be processed and available at a later fixed date. During the daily cycles, bids will be processed daily at the published times.
  • Registration will resume in October for spring classes. See the Registration Calendar for the specific add/drop dates.

  • Note: Clearing prices are not published during the daily add/drop cycles.

  • You have the ability to be place yourself on a wait list in subsequent cycles. Your place on the wait list is determined by the number of points bid on the course.
  • Students who did not participate in the initial registration cycle may register for classes at this time.

  • NOTE: It is recommended that you complete your transactions well before the last day of the bidding period to avoid problems connecting to or being disconnected from COURSES. We recommend you finalize your registration during business hours in case you need assistance. No special accommodation can be made if you miss registration deadlines.