With spring registration approaching, students are stressed with selecting courses, meeting with advisers and hoping the school’s WiFi signal doesn’t go out during registration. But for students in the University Honors Program, registration is coming with it’s own set of changes.

At the Honors Town Hall on Oct. 16, Joseph Berendzen, interim director of honors, announced changes to advising and curricular substitutions.

For this upcoming advising period, meeting with the honors director or honors student services coordinator is not required, despite it being a requirement in order to register for classes.

When asked about the former advising requirement, Berendzen said, “I don’t want to do it that way, and I don’t think we need to do it that way.”

Now, honors students will rely solely on their major/minor advisers in order to be approved for registration. All honors students may register the first day course registration opens

Despite dropping the advising requirement, Berendzen said he will still be accessible throughout the advising period like it has been done with honors directors in the past and he recommends that students stop by his office.

“During the next three weeks in particular, I’m going to make a point to be around,” he said.

Berendzen also announced that the honors program is attempting to eliminate most curricular substitutions. Before, honors students had the option of taking classes outside the listed honors courses to fulfill honors requirements but now the program is cracking down on that rule with an emphasis on honors students taking more honors courses.

“The courses listed on your DPCL should be the courses you actually take,” he said.

However, Berendzen said, “past substitutions, when noted in writing, will be honored.”

The Spring 2019 honors courses were also released on Oct. 16, giving in-depth descriptions on the courses honors students can look forward to next semester.