These instructions were created for my Writing for the Professions class at Northwest Missouri State University. I created these instructions for an assignment to determine my ability to write instructions. These instructions provide the information first year students at Northwest need to successfully register for classes.

1. HOW TO
REGISTER/REGISTERING
FOR CLASSES
Step-by-Step Instructions
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS FOR CLASS REGISTRATION
A month into the current semester,
you will receive an email through
your northwest email, and it will give
a list of registration dates.
BE ON THE LOOKOUT!
Registration opens at midnight of the
day you register. For example, if you
register on October 22, the earliest
you can register is October 22 at 12
a.m.
DON'T BE LATE!
When you are ready to register for classes you need to be
sure that you have good internet connection so that your
process will not be interrupted.
You will also need to be sure to have the pin number that
your advisor will give you to access the registration site. The
registration process could take anywhere from two minutes,
to ten minutes, depending on your ability to get into the
classes you want, the availability, and how prepared you are
with CRN numbers.
MUST HAVES TO REGISTER
This is bring up your transcript, you will
scroll to the bottom of the page, until you
reach “Transcript Totals”. Under transcript
totals, and the overall section, earned hours
is where you find the credit number that
will give you the date you will need to
register.
Accessing your Transcripts
Next to each date will be a credit number,
you will register on the date that
compares to the number of credits you
have earned. To find the number of credits
you have earned, you will log onto your
Catpaws account, click on the tab
“student” then click on “student records”.
From there you will select the tab,
academic transcript. On the next page you
will select all levels, and web, for the drop
downs tabs.
IntroductionAs a first time student, you are now
responsible for your future at Northwest. One
responsibility will be making your class
schedule and registering for classes. You are
solely responsible for registering for classes, if
you do not register, you will not be enrolled in
classes at Northwest for the next semester.

2. STEP 1:
Continue to next page!
Once you know when you can
register, you need to schedule a
meeting with your academic
advisor, your advisor will give you
the pin code you need to access the
registration site.
STEP 3:
CHECK YOUR NORTHWEST EMAIL FOR AN EMAIL ABOUT
REGISTRATION DATES AND PREREGISTRATION FORMS.
If you do not know who your academic
advisor is, their name will be listed on your
degree audit, which can be accessed on
Catpaws, click the student tab, degree audit,
and it will be in the top heading of your
degree audit, under advisor.
STEP 4:
STEP 5:
Beside each course needed
on your degree audit will
be a check box.
STEP 6:
STEP 7:
If the box is checked, you have
completed and passed the course, if
you are currently taking the course,
there will be a blue wave line through
the box, and if you still need to take
the course the box will be empty.
STEP 2:
As discussed in the introduction, you will need to look up your
earned credit hours to know the earliest date you can register.
Prior to meeting with your advisor you
will need to spend time on your degree
audit, looking at which classes you will
need to take.

3. STEP 8:
If you are a full time student, you will need to choose at
least 12 credit hours to take, as a first year student, you
won’t want to take more than 18 credit hours.
Once you click on the course number, a box
will show up with information about the
course. It will tell you if there are any courses
needed before you are allowed to take that
course and it will tell you the number of credits
that course is worth, and it will also tell you
when that course is offered in the fall, spring,
and summer with the day and time.
STEP 10:
STEP 9:
You will need to find classes that’s
credits add up to more than 12
credits, and that do not overlap
through the day.
STEP 11:
Once you have found the courses you
would like to take, you need to write
down the course CRN numbers.
STEP 12:
The CRN numbers are found on your
degree audit, next to the course
number which is listed by each class
you need to take.
STEP 13:
You should also write down three to
four extra courses and their CRN
numbers that you need to take in case
you are unable to get into the courses
you have chosen.
STEP 14:
When looking at which courses you want to take,
you will need to click on the course number,
which is located to the right of the course
number, beside “still needed”.
Continue to next page!

4. STEP 15:
When you meet with your advisor, they will look over the schedule you
have created for yourself and give you advice. They will let you know if
those are the best courses for you, they will make sure there are no
prerequisites and that your schedule doesn’t overlap. Once they have
approved your schedule, they will give you a pin that you will need for
when you register.
Being a first year student, you will be
one of the last people to register for
courses, so at this time classes will
be getting full.
STEP 17:
STEP 16:
To have a better chance of getting
into the classes that you need, it is
suggested that you be ready to
register for your classes at midnight.
STEP 18:
The first step to getting online to
register is to go onto Catpaws. Once
you are on Catpaws you will need to
click on registration.
STEP 19:
On the registration tab you will
then click on add/drop classes.
STEP 20:
STEP 21:
The night before you register you need to make
sure you have your class schedule you and your
advisor planned with you, you will need to have
your laptop charged, and be somewhere with
good internet connection.
Select the term you are wanting to
register for, click submit, and it will ask
for your access pin.
Continue to next page!

5. STEP 22:
You can have your pin typed in, and when it turns
midnight, click submit.
Continue to next page!
You will enter your CRN numbers
that you have prepared.25. Once you
have entered the numbers, press
submit.
STEP 24:
STEP 23:
If all of the classes have spots open that you are
signing up for, then the screen will say
approved for the number of credit hours you
are seeking to take.
STEP 25:
If there is a problem with one of the classes, it
will not show that classes’ credit hours in your
total and it will show it below and explain what
the issue was.
STEP 26:
This is when you will need to
enter your alternative “extra”
CRN numbers.
STEP 27:
The same process as step 27 will take
place, if they are open you will see
their credit hours appear in your
total, if not, you will need to type in
another CRN.
STEP 28:
You will then see a screen with
spaces open to put in CRN
numbers.

6. STEP 29:
Once you are in the total number of credit hours you are
anticipating taking, your total credit hours will show at
the bottom of the page.
Northwest Missouri State University
The program will save your
information and you are done
registering.
STEP 31:
STEP 30:
To check to make sure everything is correct,
you can go into Catpaws, click the student tab,
then click registration, then select student
detail schedule. Choose which term you are
wanting to look at, this will show what classes
you are enrolled in, the day and time, what
building, and who the instructor is.
STEP 32:
Once you have completed the above
steps, you have successfully
registered for your first semester at
Northwest Missouri State University!
Have a great semester Bearcats!
CONCLUSION
Once you see your desired credit hour
number, you can exit out of the page.
If you need extra assistance, contact the
Registrars Office
@ 660.562.1151 or in the Administration Building
room 207