You are here: American University Provost Undergraduate Education First Year Advising Registration Resources

Back to top

First-Year Student Registration Support

New Eagles: Prior to registering for classes, it is recommended that you review the resources below that will aid you in planning your schedule. Please make sure to use your AU email when communicating with your advisor, your faculty, and other staff at AU.

Registration Resources

Your first year advisor will email information on how to register, resources to support your planning of classes, and a reminder of how to make an appointment with them. You will receive a Suggested Course Letter on June 4th!

The New Student Registration Webinar Recording reviews how to read and understand your Suggested Course Letter (which emailed on June 4th), how to start planning and registering for courses in Eagle Service, and additional tips and tricks for registration.

To plan and register for courses, be sure to log in to Eagle Service and open the "Schedule and Plan" page. If you need a refresher on using Eagle Service, review the Eagle Service 101 document.

Below are the registration resources you can use to help you start planning courses in Eagle Service. You can receive additional support from your assigned First-Year Advisor to choose, plan, and register for classes.

  • Course Planning Checklist - This will guide you through the course planning process including items to reflect on, items to prepare for, and items to plan. 
    • If you are part of a specific cohort, please make sure to plan the appropriate courses for your cohort for the upcoming semester.  
  • Student Advising Documents SharePoint – use to this to review what is recommended to take next semester for your major of interest. You will need to login using username@american.edu NOT username@student.american.edu. This site contains: 
    • Suggested First Year Courses by major – use this document to verify that you're taking the recommended courses for your first year. 
    • Graduation Planning Documents - use these links to find your major and suggested courses for your future semesters in your major. Links to the different graduation planning documents are at the bottom of the Student Advising Resources SharePoint.
    • Blank Planning Documents – use these documents as a template for you while planning your future semester. Links to different blank planning documents are on the right side of the Student Advising Resources SharePoint.
  • Academic Programs section of the Course Catalog for your intended major – you can review your intended major requirements in full here. All majors and minors are located in this section of the Course Catalog if you are planning to add a minor or double major and want to take a course for these programs. Pay close attention that you are looking at your academic year (the academic year you started at AU). 
  • For Frequently Asked Questions, registration tutorials, and other resources, please visit  

AU Core Foundation

In your first year at AU, you want to progress through the AU Core Foundation Requirements. In consultation with your first year advisor, check that you are making progress to finish these requirements. 

Review the entire AU Core

Students will take AUx1 in their first semester and AUx2 in their second semester. See more about the AUx program and see course descriptions in the AU Experience Homepage.

All students have to complete one or more writing courses to fulfill their Written Communication and Information Literacy I requirement. You will receive guidance in your Suggested Course Letter. Below is more information about each course option:

WRT 100: Not all sections of WRT-100 will be open when registration begins. If you do not get a seat in any section, select a section to waitlist. The Writing Studies Program uses waitlist data to strategically open more sections to accommodate the demand. The Writing Studies Program will open sections throughout the summer. 

WRT 106: If you see WRT-106 listed in your Suggested Course Letter, you indicated having AP/IB credit that qualifies you to fulfill the Written Communication and Information Literacy I requirement through one semester of courses instead of two. You must submit your scores and/or transcripts to AU Admissions once they become available. Your first-year advisor will verify your score/transcript in late July/early August. The Writing Studies Program makes enough seats available to accommodate half of the eligible population for WRT-106 each term. This means that you will take WRT-106 next spring term if you do not get a seat now.

WRT 101: This recommendation has been made if you indicated anticipating dual-enrollment credit.

WRT 102: If WRT-102 is listed, you will be pre-registered for a section. No further action is needed.

All students have to complete one course in their first year to fulfill their Complex Problems requirement. You will receive guidance in your Suggested Course Letter. Below is more information about each course option:

CORE 105: Each section has a unique topic. Search the course catalog in Eagle Service to find a section that interests you. If you cannot get a seat now or you choose to take it in the spring, there will be plenty of sections of CORE-105 open next spring to do so.

CORE-106 and 107: These sections are only open to students in Honors (106), Community-Based Research Scholars (106), AU Cornerstone (107), and University College (107). If you see CORE-107, you have been pre-registered in a section.

To fulfill the Quantitative Literacy I requirement, students will take a Math or Statistics course. Depending on your major, you may have a specific Math and/or Statistics course(s) to complete as a requirement for your major. 

If you’re planning to pursue a major that eventually requires Calculus, you need to complete the Math Placement Exam to ensure placement into the appropriate course. Check out the exam website for the list of majors that require the exam.

To receive additional advising on an appropriate course to fulfill the Q1 requirement, you can reach out to your first year advisor.

Fall 2024 Key Dates
  • August 26: Classes begin
  • September 2: Labor Day; no classes; university offices closed
  • September 9: Last day to add a class, internship, independent reading/research, or Community Service-Learning project. Last day to drop a class with 100% refund and no "W" recorded.
  • September 10: Withdrawal period begins ("W" recorded; 50% refund)
  • September 16: Last day to withdraw with 50% refund
  • September 23: Last day to withdraw with 25% refund (no refunds after this date)
  • September 30: Schedule of classes for Spring published
  • October 11: Fall break; no classes, university offices open
  • October 24: Spring priority registration for undergraduate students begins (registration dates vary - see EagleService for specific dates/times)
  • November 1: Last day to withdraw or change a grade option
  • November 5: Election Day; no classes; university offices closed
  • November 26: Tuesday classes cancelled; Friday classes meet
  • November 27-December 1: Thanksgiving holiday; no classes; university offices closed Thursday and Friday
  • December 6: Classes end
  • December 7-8: Study Days; no classes
  • December 9-14: Final examinations
  • December 23, 2024 - January 1, 2025: Winter break; university offices closed