Category: Registration and Scheduling

As we move into the final weekend before the start of Fall ’16 classes, I wanted to share a couple of reminders that should be helpful in the beginning weeks of the semester.

Student ID and Program: Please include your Student ID and Program in all emails to Tara, Steve and I. We strive give all of our students the best service, advising and assistance that we can, and in a timely manner. Including your Student ID and Program in your email will aid in our response time, and confirming your degree details.

Registration Request: “HELP! WISER is giving me an error!”  – Though this happens all too often, we in the GPO have created a streamlined process to address your registration needs for any Wiser errors. Simply fill out and submit the Registration Request form, and we will process your request within 24-48 hours (often much sooner).

Student Resources: We’ve also developed the Student Resources page as a destination for many Frequently Asked Questions, forms, and information that you might be looking for.

Immunization holds: Each semester, University Health Services will confirm if each student has verified their immunization records with them. This is of course important for the health and well being of our campus community.  If you have not done so yet, please refer to the University Health Services webpage, as well as the immunization details to begin that process, as it will affect your ability to register come Spring Registration in November.

Just a few helpful hints to keep in mind!

Enjoy your weekend, and have a great first week of classes!

Jeff Masse
Graduate Program Specialist
College of Management
University of Massachusetts Boston

—
The Blackboard portal can be accessed from the main www.umb.edu page, at the top of the page header, next to the WISER link. You will use your student email and password to access it from there.

• Always check WISER to verify your course enrollment.

• Blackboard will not ‘go live’ or be accessible until sometime next week.
• WISER is the official record keeping system for the university that tracks your enrollment. If WISER states that you are enrolled in a class, then you are officially enrolled in that class.
• DO NOT use Blackboard to verify your class enrollment. Blackboard is a supplemental tool for on-ground classes.
• If you are enrolled in an online class, you will use Blackboard exclusively starting  the week of Feb 1. WISER will still be the official record keeper of your enrollment. Check WISER to verify your enrollment and class start dates.
• If you are enrolled in an on-ground class, your professor may or may not use Blackboard. Check with the professor directly to determine if Blackboard will be used for a specific class.

Blackboard functions as a separate portal for any online aspects for the on-ground classes. All fully online  classes will use Blackboard as the primary mode of communication, content and access, so be sure to check it regularly once online classes begin if you are enrolled in an online class. Online classes begin one week after on-ground classes begin.

Any other on-ground class may or may not use Blackboard to varying extents. Some professors will use it sparingly, maybe putting up the syllabus and a reading or two. Others will use it extensively to facilitate threaded chats, assignments, and regular communication.

Be sure to make use of the Getting Technical Help section if you are running into issues trying to log in or other tech-type glitches. 

—

If your room is listed in Wiser as UMassCenter 1 Beacon St Boston, your class will be held off of the main harbor campus. It will instead be held in downtown Boston, at the One Beacon Building, in the lower level.

Example – Room: UMassCenter 1 Beacon St Boston

You can get to One Beacon by way of the MBTA, using either the Red line or Green line stops of Park Street or Downtown Crossing.

One Beacon Building Highlighted with MBTA stops Park St and Downtown Crossing. 

—

If you are trying to determine the location of where your class will be meeting, good news! We’re here to de-code the coding on your class schedule from Wiser.

The first thing to do is log into Wiser, and then look under the heading “My Schedule” – it should be in the center of the landing page when you log in.

Remember, Wiser is the official record system for your classes, so you should start here to verify your class schedule and enrollment. Unless you are enrolled in an online only class, consider Blackboard to be a supplementary tool which some professors may use for their classes.

Blackboard does not ‘go-live’ until the first week of classes, so until then it may look blank for you when logging in there. If you are in an online-class, Blackboard will be your main point of contact for that specific class.

Second, you can use the Campus Map navigate to the Building that your class is in.

Finding Your Classroom Location
In Wiser, you will notice codes such as the following:

Example –  Room: Wheatley W01-0044

This will be held in the Wheatley Building, on the 1-st floor, in Room # 44. You can find the Wheatley Building and the rest of the campus buildings on the campus map. Wheately is noted as location #12 on the map.

Campus map marked to illustrate the examples above.

—

—
MBA Degree Requirements:
Changes to the degree and what that means for MBA students.

Starting Fall 2015, there are now 2 sets of degree requirements for MBA students, which are based on when a student matriculated (entered) into the MBA program.

• If you entered the program before Fall 2015, then you are required to complete 8 electives.
•  If you entered the program starting Fall 2015 or after, then you are required to complete 6 electives.

Requirements for each program can be found on the Student Resource page, under Course Planning Guides. You can also view them below:

Course Planning Guides (linked below, MS-Word format)
MBA (Flex) Planning Guide (started Fall 2015 and after)
MBA Planning Guide (started prior to Fall 2015)
Professional MBA (P-MBA) Planning Guide
MSA Planning Guide
MSF Planning Guide
MSF with Investment Specialization Planning Guide
MSIM Planning Guide
MSIT Planning Guide

This is a change to the MBA program only, that takes effect for matriculated students starting Fall 2015. It is a University policy that program changes can only take effect for the student population that enters during the first semester the change is approved. This means that students already entered into the program are not eligible for the new requirements, and must complete the requirements for the degree that were in effect at the time that they matriculated into the program.

This has been discussed at the University and Registrar’s levels already, and the policy stands as stated above.