With bookbagging opening Monday, here's how registration will work for the Fall semester

As Duke prepares for a year unlike any before, undergraduates still have to register for Fall classes before the semester starts Aug. 17.

Students have to re-register for classes, after students other than first-years initially registered in April, because of changes to the academic calendar and classroom spaces due to the coronavirus. Bookbagging will open Monday at noon, while course registration will take place in early August, staggered by year as usual.

The re-registration windows will take place from Aug. 3 to Aug. 12, beginning with graduate and professional students and ending with first-years. Re-registration comes on the heels of Duke’s announcement that on-campus housing for the Fall will largely be limited to first-years and sophomores. 

Each class will be coded in Duke Hub in one of four formats, according to the website of the Office of the University Registrar: in person, hybrid, online synchronous or online asynchronous. Students may not register for two courses that occur at the same time, regardless of format. 

Provost Sally Kornbluth noted in a Sunday email to faculty that a “large majority” of faculty have currently opted to teach remotely. An FAQ page released Sunday states that “the number of in-person classes will be very limited so there is neither a guarantee nor a requirement that students living in Duke-provided housing will have access to them.”

In-person classes are intended for students who can be in the classroom during class time, the registrar’s office website states, and hybrid classes offer a combination of in-person and online aspects. 

Students studying remotely must consult with an academic dean if they believe that an in-person class is necessary for their academic plan and there is no online option. In the case of hybrid classes, both remote and in-person students can enroll.

For online synchronous classes, attendance at the scheduled time is required and time-zone differences may not be excuses for absences. Asynchronous classes do not have a specific meeting time—although they may have optional meeting times—so any student can participate regardless of time zone.