Registration Planner FAQ

These Registration Planner FAQ exists to answer your questions about using the app to generate potential schedules ahead of each fall, spring and summer term. Learn more with the following How-To Guides:

If your question isn't answered here, contact Records and Registration, Office of the Registrar.

The Registration Planner tool allows you to:

  • Create your preferred class schedule each semester by computing all possible combinations.

  • Enter times when you want breaks for work or other activities.

  • Compare possible schedule options.

  • Save your favorites.

  • Send a favorite schedule directly to your enrollment shopping cart, ready to submit when your enrollment appointment arrives.

  • Import the classes from your DPR Plan to Registration Planner.

Navigation: Log in to Registration Planner, find it in the CSUN Portal or use it in the CSUN mobile app.

Learn more with these tutorials:

Registration Planner can optimize your class schedule planning process:

  • Before using Registration Planner, use the degree planning tools — Degree Road Maps, DPR/Planner and academic advisement — to identify the courses you most need to complete your degree and take in the coming semester.

  • Once you’ve selected courses, schedule your priority classes in Registration Planner first. If it's your enrollment appointment time, enroll in your priority classes first. Later, return to Registration Planner to find additional, more available classes that will fit around your priorities using the lock courses feature.

  • If you’ve generated potential schedules in Registration Planner before your academic advising appointment, save and print a favorite to share with your advisor.

  • If a class section you want is full/closed, use Registration Planner to find alternative sections that fit into your existing schedule, even after classes have started. If the alternative classes are full, use Registration Planner to identify sections with the shortest wait-lists. See Wait-List for Closed Classes.

Practical Tips:

  • If it's early in the registration process, Registration Planner may generate over 1,000 schedules for the courses you want. No fear! Bulk edit the schedules by using filters, class padding or attributes. Learn more at Registration Planner Features.

  • If it's late in the registration process, adding filters and break times will limit your class and schedule options, so be flexible if possible. Locking courses or filtering by instructor will also limit your results. If you have generated a large number of schedules, though, using filters will help you narrow down the possibilities.

  • You can customize your schedule planning with the Options button (gear icon) next to the courses you’ve selected in Registration Planner. You can filter class sections by instructor, learning mode (e.g., fully online) and more. View a Course Options video or visit Advanced Filters.

  • Whenever you log back into Registration Planner, it will automatically update to your currently enrolled classes and those pending in your cart. If you haven't logged out but changed your current schedule or enrollment cart in SOLAR in the meantime, be sure to refresh Registration Planner so it will generate new schedules using your most recent information.

You can navigate to Registration Planner in more ways than one:

Registration Planner is also available in the CSUN Portal Student Center "Academics" section as shown below. For details, visit the Registration Planner How-To Guide.

Student Center home page, Academics section and Registration Planner link.

You can also access Registration Planner from the initial "Add Classes" enrollment page using the button to the lower left of your enrollment shopping cart.

Select classes to add page, enrollment shopping cart and direct link to Schedule Planner.

You can use Registration Planner before and after your enrollment appointment, even after classes begin.

While the link to Registration Planner always displays, a future semester or term usually becomes available as early as:*

  • February for the upcoming fall semester

  • September for the upcoming spring semester

  • October for the upcoming summer term

Registration Planner is not available for winter intersession at this time.

*The dates that a term becomes available may vary. Log in to Registration Planner to check term availability.

It's always good to plan early, but knowing the following will help you plan strategically.

  • Registration Planner pulls data from the Schedule of Classes at Class Search in real time. The Schedule of Classes (SOC) will change over time: New class sections may be added and others cancelled.

  • The earlier you plan possible schedules, the more tentative the SOC might be. When the word "Tentative" displays next to a term in Class Search, more changes are likely. The SOC is more set when "Tentative" has been removed. 

  • Closer to the start of a semester or term, some classes will be closed (full). The number of available seats may also change before it's your time to enroll. 

Tips:

Because class availability may change before your enrollment appointment arrives, consider these strategies:

  • Plan one or more class schedules in Registration Planner before your enrollment appointment and save a favorite. Just before your appointment, validate the schedule to detect closed sections, etc. If necessary, adjust the schedule and send it to your cart, ready to import as soon as it's your time to enroll. 

  • When you start a new Registration Planner session — especially if you've changed your real schedule or shopping cart, select "generate new schedules" to refresh Registration Planner with the most current information.

  • If you were late enrolling or you were disenrolled for missing the payment deadline, use Registration Planner to find open sections of the courses you want. You can find classes to wait-list for, too.

Find dates for enrolling, wait-listing, repeating classes, etc., in the Registration Calendar or Student Academic Calendar.

Yes, even with a hold, you can still generate schedules in Registration Planner, save favorites, select the one you like, and send it to your cart.  However, registration holds will prevent you from viewing your cart and enrolling in the classes until you clear them.

You will see a "stop" message like the one below when attempting to view your enrollment cart before clearing registration holds:

Select classes to add page, enrollment shopping cart and direct link to Schedule Planner.

Strategy:

Clear all registration holds as soon as you can. Then return to Registration Planner and export a desired schedule to your enrollment cart. If your registration appointment has arrived, you will also be able to enroll in open classes or wait-list for closed classes.

You may export as many units from Registration Planner to your enrollment cart as you like. When you enroll, however, the registration system will enforce the maximum unit load rule in effect at the time of registration. 

Your best strategy is to use the validate button in Registration Planner to check for errors (e.g., exceeding the maximum unit load) before sending a preferred schedule to your cart.

Tips:

You can send only one schedule to your cart at a time, but you can send a new schedule as many times as you like. 

Tips:

  • When you start a new session, Registration Planner will automatically reflect any updates you've made to your current schedule of enrolled courses and any classes pending in your enrollment cart.

  • If you generate new schedules that duplicate courses or create time conflicts with enrolled courses or your cart, Registration Planner will alert you. You can then uncheck the duplicated or conflicting courses in the Registration Planner course grid, current schedule, and/or cart sections to generate new schedules.

  • If you deliberately want to send to your enrollment cart a new section of a course that is already in your cart, Registration Planner will alert you that the new potential schedule may conflict with your cart. Please keep this in mind when enrolling.

Yes!  The Validate button will check for errors such as:

Tip:  To avoid a "prerequisites (or corequisites) not met" error in Registration Planner and when actually enrolling in classes, check requirements in course descriptions and class notes before you finish enrolling. Read more about course requisites at Registration Policies and FAQ.

Yes, Registration Planner looks great and works well in the CSUN Mobile App if you don't mind a small screen.

It's easy to edit options in Registration Planner. You can:

  • Add or delete courses to generate new schedules.

  • Filter all the sections of a single course by instructor, attribute (e.g., fully online), or start time.

  • Include or exclude courses already in your current schedule or pending in your cart, but use caution.*

  • Edit break times and intervals between classes. See class padding.

  • Lock one or more class sections you really want and plan potential schedules around them

Learn more at Registration Planner Features.

* Because Registration Planner reflects the classes in which you're already enrolled as well as those in your enrollment cart, it can generate new schedules that conflict with your current schedule and cart. However:

  • Registration Planner will alert you of any conflicts before generating schedules.

  • To generate new schedules in spite of the conflicts, just uncheck the conflicting courses in the course grid, current schedule, or shopping cart sections of Registration Planner.

Tips:

  1. If you add or drop classes in SOLAR or edit your cart when Registration Planner is closed, Registration Planner will automatically update your enrolled classes and those pending in your cart when you log back in.

  2. If Registration Planner is still open when you change your enrolled or pending classes in SOLAR, first refresh the Registration Planner page in your web browser to update the new information and then generate new schedules.

  3. If it's early in the registration process, Registration Planner can generate more than 1,000 schedules! Narrow down your potential schedules by using advanced filters, section attributes, and class padding. 

  4. Entering breaks, locking class sections and limiting course options will reduce the number of possible schedules generated. Be flexible if possible.

To remove a class from your enrollment cart, return to the CSUN Portal Enroll in Classes page and delete each unwanted class from your cart. Then go back to Registration Planner, refresh the page to update the information, and generate new potential schedules.

If you do not remove an unwanted class from your cart, you can still generate a new schedule in Registration Planner and send it to your cart. However, this action may duplicate (not replace) a course that is already in your cart. Please keep this in mind when enrolling.

Yes, you can save and print schedules.

To save a favorite schedule, open its View Schedule screen and select the heart icon. Learn more at Registration Planner Features.

To print a possible schedule in Registration Planner:

  1. Navigate to the View Schedule screen.

  2. Select the print button at the top left of the page. 

Location of "favorite" and “print” buttons on a View Potential Schedule page.