To All Bates Students,

This communication provides some information regarding the course registration processes for Winter 2026. Please read this email in its entirety and discuss it with your academic advisor. This, and other helpful information, will also be available on the Student Advising Portal.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

Registration Holds

All students have an ADVISOR HOLD for Winter 2026. You must connect with your academic advisor to lift this hold. Your academic advisor is the only person who can lift the advisor hold.

You may also have other holds on your account. For example, if you have not completed your Title IX and Civil Rights training, that will result in a hold on your account. You will not be able to register for classes until all registration holds are lifted.

Credit Limits

For Winter: All continuing students are required to register for a minimum of 3.0 credits to maintain their Active Student status. 

All students are permitted to register for up to 4.5 credits for the first round of registration. When Add/Drop opens on Dec 2, 2025, you will be able to register for the default semester maximum of 5.5 credits.

Registration Errors & Overrides

With few exceptions, if you receive a registration error, you must contact the instructor of the course for the corresponding override. A list of errors is available here on the Bates Registrar website for your reference.

The Registrar’s Office can only assist with TIME CONFLICT overrides. Even then, all class time conflicts must be approved first by the instructor(s).

DATES:

The entire registration schedule is available on the Student Dates and Deadlines Calendar and the Student Advising Portal. They are also listed below with notes for your convenience.

• Friday, October 24, 2025 – Advising Period begins and the FINAL Winter 2026 schedule is available on Garnet Gateway.
• Friday, October 31, 2025 – Happy Halloween!!! Winter 2026 Registration Opens at 9:00AM ET (Please Note: This initial round of registration is not first-come, first-served and class enrollment capacities do not apply.)
• Friday, November 7, 2025 – Winter 2026 Registration Closes at 4:00PM ET
• Wednesday, November 12, 2025 at Noon ET – First-Round Registration Results are Released
  • Registration results are not final prior to this time. Statuses are subject to change while optimization is processed.
  • If you are satisfied with the outcome, and you are registered for a minimum of 3.0 credits, you do not have to do anything.
  • If you did not get optimized into courses you are still interested in taking, you may file a petition for an available seat via Garnet Gateway.
• Thursday, November 13, 2025 – Student Petitioning Opens
  • You may submit petitions through Garnet Gateway. These petitions go directly to the instructor for review.
  • Do not email the Registrar’s Office or Academic Standing for this petition.
• Sunday, November 16, 2025 – Student Petitioning Closes at 11:59PM ET
  • Faculty will review petitions between 11/17 and 11/23.
  • If the faculty member accepts the petition, the Registrar’s Office will enroll the student; no action is needed by the student.
• Monday, December 1, 2025 – Petitioning Results Released at Noon ET
  • Petitioning results are not final prior to this time. Statuses are subject to change while petitioning is processed.
• Tuesday, December 2, 2025 – Add/Drop Opens at 7:00AM ET
  • If your petition was not accepted, you can choose an alternative course to add to your schedule.
  • Students can also register for up to 5.5 credits for Winter 2026 at this point.
• Tuesday, January 27, 2026 – Last Day to Add a Winter 2026 Course. This is ALSO the last day to drop a Winter 2026 course. Note this is a change from previous practice when there was a longer window to drop courses. After this date, you need to withdraw from a course, which will be indicated on your transcript.

Wishing you the best on the rest of your semester,

Michael