By Mickey Smith

The Dallas County Community College District has combined summer and fall registration in an effort to streamline the process and give faculty and administration more time to respond to enrollment trends.
Priority registration for currently enrolled students begins April 19 for both semesters. Regular registration begins April 25.
Summer registration ends before the summer classes begin, June 6 for summer I and July 12 for summer II. Fall registration ends Aug. 20 and classes will begin Aug. 29.
“Combining summer and fall registration into a one-stop process makes it really convenient for students to sign up for the classes they need to have their schedules set through next December,” Associate Vice Chancellor for Educational Policy and Student Success Anna Mays said.
June 30 will be the deadline to pay for the fall semester for those who registered April 19 through June 16. This excludes continuing education courses.
The district’s main goals are to increase continued enrollment among current students from spring to fall and increase early registration.
“While it sounds more convenient, I won’t be taking summer classes,” English major Micah Garcia said. “I don’t think I’ll be enrolling until the fall semester is a bit closer.”
Students with financial aid will not be affected by the plan. Awarded students will be protected from deregistration, and those who applied for financial aid will be protected through Aug. 15.
Students not receiving aid will have more time to pay for their classes, and two separate invoices and fee receipts will be sent for each term.
“The way I see it, it could be more efficient in helping us students plan our fall and summer semesters by saving money and creating a budget,” biology major Rocio Manriquez said. “However, I could definitely see a rise in dropped classes because things can happen between the time of registration and when classes start.”
According to the DCCCD, the change will benefit students by allowing them to plan in advance for summer and fall classes and avoid “closed” classes and long wait times for advising by registering earlier than last year.