As the fall semester is drawing to a close, students at SHSU are busily looking toward the spring term and taking part in the process of advanced registration. The job of seeking advisement and getting into desired classes is easier for some students than for others.One of the common complaints during any registration period is how quickly classes reach capacity and are closed.William Fleming, executive director of the new SHSU Student Advising and Mentoring Center, said while the SAM Center has seen some students with problems due to class closures, the majority have been able to get into needed courses.”We’ve had a little bit of that,” Fleming said. “Some students have come in worrying about closed courses; however, most of the departments on campus have done a very good job of making room for more students. “Several even made sections of in-demand courses larger or opened new ones to accommodate more people,” he said. “Some students also have success getting into a class they really need if they go and talk with the professor or department involved.”Many students said by taking advantage of advanced registration, they were able to get into most, if not all classes they wanted this spring.”I got all the classes that I needed,” sophomore international business major Jason Martinez said. “I registered using the Sam phone line, because it was faster than trying to get onto the Internet.””I was surprised to get all of the classes I needed,” freshman Keri Klett said. “I thought since freshmen have to wait until the last day, more classes I wanted would be closed already.”Students agreed getting into upper-level classes, which often are only offered one time, could be an unnerving experience.”I got everything I wanted,” sophomore human resource management major Heather Mitchell said. “I was very happy about that because I needed a lot of junior-level classes and I was worried I would have a hard time getting into them.”I think it can be a lot harder for seniors to get into the classes they need,” she said. “They get to register earlier, but my roommate is a senior and I know she had some trouble getting into the few classes she still needs.”Fleming said common registration problems, including classes being closed or not offered, could be attributed different factors.”Problems with closed classes can sometimes depend on what a student’s major is,” Fleming said. “Also, students who try to advise themselves might not realize that certain classes are only offered in the fall or in the spring. That can cause some students trying to graduate to be here longer than they anticipated.”What we try to do is find out in advance when classes are going to be offered,” he said. “For example we make calls to find out if classes that aren’t offered this spring will be available for students this summer.”Fleming said the SAM Center also tries to aid students planning to transfer here for the spring semester.”The students who will transfer here in the spring should already be able to register for classes with everyone else,” he said. “That should keep them from having problems with courses already closed. New people don’t usually understand how the Internet and phone line registration process works so we help them with that.”Fleming said although the problem is not extreme this semester, students currently kept out of closed classes still have hope.”Payment of fees for the spring are due Dec. 5, and all students who don’t pay by that date will have their schedules deleted,” Fleming said. “Registration opens up again Dec. 18. There are always students who don’t pay or just forget and the classes they signed up for will become available again.”It inevitably happens every semester,” he said. “Students who couldn’t get some of the classes they wanted will still have a chance.”Flemming said he has seen many students looking for advisement in the month the center has been open.”We’re just now beginning to calculate the numbers and are estimating we have had over 3,000 students in here since we began advising,” Fleming said. “That accounts for near half of all students, and we know we have seen 70 percent of the students on mandatory advisement, either because of their grade point average or because they are freshmen.”