On April 11, 2022, rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors of Concord Academy gathered in the Performing Arts Center for an assembly on course requests for the upcoming academic year. During this event, Will Tucker and Alyse Ruiz-Selsky ’05, Director of Studies, introduced students to the newly updated system for course requests. The official course catalog for the 2022-23 academic year was released via CA Connect and Schoology class pages shortly after the assembly. Course request materials including the course planning form and the four-year plan are released on CA Connect on April 14.
One major change to the course request process for next year is its format. Instead of filling out a PDF document and sending it to the registrar, students will now be able to submit course request information via an online webpage on the school’s website, created specifically for this purpose by Kirsten Hoyte. The interface will be similar to the one used during Drop/Add this year. Whereas students were previously able to edit and send in multiple copies of their course request information, only one form may be submitted on the website for the upcoming academic year. The lack of redundancy and confusion would greatly simplify the work of registering courses and creating schedules. To maximize the number of students enrolled in their first-choice courses, students are encouraged to list backup choices for each subject. More specifically, for rising juniors and seniors, this may take the form of selecting a total of eight English electives as opposed to only filling in one or two choices for each semester.
Tucker and Ruiz-Selsky concluded the assembly with a few important reminders and advice: Be sure to discuss your options and plans with teachers and advisors before submitting the final course request form, since advisor approval is mandatory for your request to be processed. Tools such as the course request planning form and the four year plan may be useful to students and advisors in this process. Make sure to also pay attention to prerequisites, as well as the number of credits you are fulfilling. Students are allowed to take a minimum of 14 credits (with at least four majors) and a maximum of 20 credits. Those looking to double major in any department should reach out to the Director of Studies in person before submitting their documents.
The deadline to submit course request forms is May 4 at 3:30 p.m. Courses will not be decided on a first-come-first-serve basis, so take the time to consult your plans with your advisor.