Undergraduate and graduate students (e.g. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, School of International and Public Affairs) who need elementary- and intermediate-level courses to fulfill degree requirements are given priority.
If spots become available, that is, once those students who need to fulfill degree requirements are seated, students and staff in other colleges and schools (for example, Columbia University’s Medical Center and the Mailman School of Public Health) must complete the following procedures:
Procedures
1. You must take the placement exam (click here for FAQs), unless you have taken the prerequisite at Columbia or Barnard.
2. Save a screen capture of your results.
3. If a class is full, add your name to the waiting list in SSOL.
4. If your school or college does not use SSOL for cross-registration, obtain the appropriate form from your Office of Student Affairs or advisor.
5. If spots become available, the signature of the instructor of that specific section is required.
Staff in the Department of Latin American and Iberian Cultures CANNOT sign a Registration Adjust Form (Add/Drop form).
6. When you register for the wrong level, you have to drop that class and put yourself on another class’s wait list.
7. You may NOT be registered for two different sections at the same time.
Overview of Registration Protocols
We have designed a set of protocols to help as many students as possible to be placed into the correct level.
The placement exam is an accurate tool to place you into our Language Program, so you must register for the level your score recommends and attend that class to get a better grasp of our classes at Columbia/Barnard.
During the first two weeks of classes, your instructor will also gauge your proficiency and she/he may suggest a change of level, which will have to be approved by the Director of the Language Program at Columbia or the Language Program Director at Barnard.
Before the Change of Program Period Begins
1. SSOL Wait Lists are automated.
2. The first student on a wait list is added automatically by the system if there is an opening
3. Instructors and Language Program Directors cannot add or drop students; they have no control over registration.
During the Change of Program Period
Click here for registration protocols (add/drop) during the Change of Program period.