Registration Planner FAQs

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 How To Guide (the basics)
• Registration Planner Features (a deeper dive)

Here are a few ways Registration Planner can help you optimize your class schedule planning process:

• Before turning to 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 in the coming semester.
• Once you’ve chosen your courses, use Registration Planner to schedule your priority courses first. Then you can enroll in them as soon as you can and return to Registration Planner later to plan other classes around them. Or, you can use the Registration Planner lock courses feature to generate schedules around them. View a lock courses video.
• If you’ve generated potential schedules in Registration Planner before your academic advising appointment, save and print a favorite schedule to share with your advisor.
• At any time during registration (even after classes begin), if the class sections you want are full, you can use Registration Planner to find open sections that fit into your existing schedule or choose sections of closed classes to wait-list for.

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 options, so be flexible if possible. Locking courses or filtering by instructor will also limit potential schedule 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.
• Whenever you log back into Registration Planner, it will automatically update 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, refresh Registration Planner so that it will generate new schedules using the most recent information.

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

• Direct link: Log in to Registration Planner.
• In the CSUN Portal: Log in, chose the top Academics tab, then Advising & Degree Planning.

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

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.

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 into 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. 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 available classes may change before your registration appointment arrives, consider these timing strategies:

1. Plan your class schedule in Registration Planner before your enrollment appointment and save a favorite. Just before your appointment, validate the schedule to detect closed sections, etc. Adjust as needed and send the preferred schedule to your cart, ready to import as soon as your enrollment appointment arrives. 
2. Refresh Registration Planner (generate new schedules) and send the desired schedule to your enrollment cart.
3. If you didn't enroll on time or you were disenrolled for missing the payment deadline, use Registration Planner to find open sections of the courses you want.

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

Yes, 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 the following "stop" message when attempting to view your enrollment cart before clearing registration holds:

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.

• Learn more about registration holds at Before You Register.
• Find enrollment dates in the Registration Calendar.

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, including going over the maximum unit load, before sending a preferred schedule to your cart.

Tips:

• Enroll in your priority classes first. Then use Registration Planner to find additional classes that will fit into your schedule.
• Find enrollment dates in the Registration Calendar or the Student Academic Calendar.

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 reflects any updates 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, Registration Planner will alert you. You can then generate new schedules by unchecking the duplicated or conflicting courses in the course grid, current schedule, and/or cart sections of Registration Planner.

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 warn you that the new schedules it creates can conflict with your enrollment cart. Please keep this in mind when enrolling.

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

• Missing course prerequisites and corequisites
• Exceeding maximum unit load
• Time conflicts with your enrolled classes and those in your cart if any
• Repeated courses - Registration Planner reads your course history.

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.

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 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 (class padding).
• Lock one or more class sections you really want and plan possible schedules around them

Learn more at Registration Planner Features.

Because Registration Planner reflects the classes you are already enrolled in as well as those in your enrollment shopping cart, it can also generate new schedules that conflict with your current schedule and enrollment cart. Registration Planner alerts you of possible conflicts before generating schedules. To generate new schedules, you must 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 shopping cart when Registration Planner is closed, Registration Planner will automatically update your enrolled classes and those pending in your cart on your return.
2. If Registration Planner is still open when you change your enrolled or pending classes in SOLAR, refresh the Registration Planner page in your web browser to update the information, and then generate new schedules.
3. If it's early in the registration process, Registration Planner can generate more than 1,000 schedules! You can exclude classes from 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 whenever possible.

To remove a class from your enrollment cart, return to the CSUN Portal Student Center 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 click 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. 

Tip:  You may want to print the "Send to Shopping Cart" page (displays after you select a schedule to "View") because it includes class details, class numbers and a weekly schedule grid.