May 5, 2023-Rick Robb
Tips For Success Online Classes and Programs Accelerated Online Programs
You’ve been waiting for your date to register for courses, and you find yourself sifting through the listings on LoboWeb for classes offered fully online. But it’s not always clear which are — and which aren’t. It can cause frustration if you accidentally register for a class that has either in-person or synchronous video meetings. How would you like to save yourself a little time and headache?
To help you succeed, UNM Online has created a quick and easy solution for students who can only take classes online. Our Schedule of Online Courses shows you the offerings for the previous three semesters as well as the current one. A few weeks before registration opens, you’ll see what online courses will be offered in the upcoming semester.
Where Do I Start?
Begin by checking in with your academic advisor to determine what classes you need to register for. Nobody wants to sign up for a class they don’t need, so make sure you’ve got the right course and subject numbers available to reference in your search. Once you have this information available, visit our Schedule of Online Courses page.
What Are Those Icons About?
One of the first things you’ll notice on the Schedule of Online Courses page is an explanation of two icons you’ll see with some courses.
AOP? Look for the Lightning Bolt
If you are enrolled in an Accelerated Online Program — known as AOP or MOPS — the lightning bolt tells you which course sections are reserved for you. If you aren’t an AOP student, you cannotregister for these classes and will receive a registration error. Likewise, if you are an AOP student, you should not register for a non-AOP class; you will be charged at a different tuition rate for those credit hours! Note that your academic advisor cannot provide you an override for an AOP course section because of your AOP/non-AOP status. But, read on. We have a solution for you.
The Lobo Pawprint means a well-crafted course
The Lobo Paw icon recognizes courses that have met UNM Online’s rigorous best practices guidelines and have been awarded the prestigious Golden Paw. You can find out more about the Golden Paw certification on the Center for Teaching and Learning’s website
Not all of them every time
You should be aware that not all classes are offered online, and of those that are, not all of them are offered every semester. Your academic advisor can inform you which semester a given course is generally offered for your degree. Many courses are only offered once a year during one semester — Fall, Spring, or Summer — usually the same semester each time. If you are wondering about this if or when it might have been offered before, take a look through the previous semester’s schedules. For instance, you might find that you are trying to register for CJ 350 for the Fall of 2023 but it’s not there. If you go back and look at the schedule for Spring 2023, you see that it was offered then. It will likely be offered again in the Spring of 2024, but always check in with your academic advisor prior to registration to confirm. Note that Topics classes may be an exception to this and offered only one time, or on a broader cycle such as every two years or more. Check with your academic advisor for the most up to date information.
What to look for on a listing
As you’ll see on the Schedule of Courses page, all the various course subjects’ headings are collapsed at the start. To view the course offerings for a subject, click on the arrow on the right-hand side and the courses for that subject will appear. More information about what is listed in the schedule are outlined below.
The CRN, or Course Reference Number, designates a specific class. If you click on the red number, you’ll get a popup that will give you more information on the course including a catalog description, prerequisites, restrictions, and more.
The Course # section gives the subject (in this case Management) as well as the course number (here it’s 300) and section number (002). The section number refers to an individual class taught by a specific instructor.
If you are interested in the class, jot down the CRN and the information in this section. You’ll need it later. If you find this section is full, look for another section with the same course name and number.
As implied, the Credits are the number of credit hours you can earn from the course. Some courses, such as labs, may only be 1 credit hour and occasionally you’ll see one that is 2 or 4 credit hours.
This is the more descriptive title of the course. In this example, there is a black lightning bolt indicating it is an Accelerated Online Program. This means that only students admitted into an Accelerated Online Program can register for this section. If you are non-AOP student, steer clear of the lightning bolts.
This section will let you know if the course runs the Full Semester, the First Half Term, or the Second Half Term. It also shows you the start and end date of the course.
The Instructor section is where you’ll find the name of the faculty member teaching the course.
The Class Schedule section repeats the dates of the term, but also lets you know if the course has meeting times. In this case, the class would meet online (generally via Zoom) on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:30 to 1:45pm. Online MAX means that the course is delivered 100% online with no in-person meetings.
If you’ve found the course you want, but it’s an AOP — and you aren’t in an AOP program — Look for the same course title, part of term, and instructor (usually right above or below the AOP version.) This will be the exact same class, but you’ll be able to register for it.
When you’ve found the classes you want:
- Make a note of the course and section numbers (e.g. MGMT 300.002).
- Log into LoboWeb as usual, but when you are searching for your courses, you can put in, for example, MGMT 300.
- On the next page, you’ll just scroll to section 002 and choose that.
Once you’ve done this a time or two, you’ll see how simple it is to use our Schedule of Online Courses.
Do you have any questions or problems with the registration process? UNM Online's Student Success Specialists are here to assist.
- You can call us at 505-277-9000.
- You can email us at online@unm.edu.
- You can make an appointment through LoboAchieve.
- You can join us on Zoom for Virtual Advisem*nt Hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to Noon. Meeting ID: 967 7118 3893.
We look forward to helping you find the way!
