Registration Parties

Objectives

• De-stress residents
• Help with registration problems
• Hangout with the community mid-term
• Chat with and check-in with residents about classes
• Eat food or drink tea - Yumma!

Summary
Registration parties became a huge hit with residents. They come in all types from pancake extravaganzas to small tea times around midnight. The trick is to cater to your community within reason and have a supportive time during what can be, a very stressful process. Depending on what you want to do with your residents you will need to prepare accordingly. Also if you are wanting to speak with residents about what classes they are planning on taking or how they feel their current classes are going this is a great time to start the conversation. It can encourage residents to help one another (all being in similar situations) and you to check with residents when in the coming weeks it will become difficult to pin them down!


Instructions
Space
A room in your house that you can have many residents sitting at once. Maybe the kitchen if you're cooking!
Supplies

• Snacks/Food
• Comfy seating
• Internet Access
• Laptops (residents can use their own)

Funding
Personally funded or by the community.
Step by Step

1. Decide what level registration party you want. RA's have made pancakes from 11 pm until 12:30 am. Others have had tea with snacks while some just hang out together without food.
2. Email the house letting them know about it - include start time - 11 pm, 11:30 pm etc.
3. Set up whatever you need to prior to the start time
4. Hang out and answer questions with your residents

Tips

• Helpful Questions:
• Have you thought about what classes you're taking?
• How were your classes this term?
• What are you interested in studying long term?
• Why do you like these classes?
• Why do you think these classes will be beneficial for your learning experience?
• Is this class offered again?
• When residents ask your opinion about teachers or classes make sure to specify your experience and try to allow them to make their own judgement call. Steer away from extreme statements because they may influence your residents heavily. Your residents may have a different experience to yours.
• Make sure the term is correct in the drop down menu before logging in - FA '14, WI '15 etc.
• Some residents may need to enabled pop-ups for the webpage to register.
• Refer residents to their advisers for more elaborate academic information about classes and course plans. 

Results
Many residents attended and enjoyed registering together. It was a great community building activity because they were able to share similar experience or bond over their united lack of registration knowledge. It is a great way for RA's to check-in with residents and make sure everyone is enrolled without problems for next term. It minimizes the amount of panicked residents finding you the following day because they don't know how to register or can't choose classes. You can always refer residents to advisers if they feel out of their depth or you can't answer their questions. You will have already registered for classes before your residents and it is always fun to see the crazy chaos of first years hunting classes.

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If you have tried this event and want to provide feedback please comment below!!