The first thing to do is look through the Undergraduate Handbook [current] and check through the requirements for your degree(s), keeping in mind that you may, at your option, use the handbook from the year you started going to the school, instead of the current one. After reviewing the requirements, look through the General Bulletin [current] for your department. In many cases, there is even a nice little roadmap (of courses) that you can use to help plan what courses you will take (which is important because many classes are only offered in the Fall or Spring semester).

The General Bulletin is suffused with descriptions of the different departments, and the faculty, laboratories, and classes therein. Browsing through the class list, you may look at these descriptions and perhaps find tech electives. To find out if a class is offered during a certain semester, who teaches it, and in which time slot it falls, you must use the Student Information System and simultaneously look at the ratings for the teacher (occasionally listed incorrectly in the schedule) at ratemyprofessor.com.

Prior to May 2008, students registered for classes through a system called SOLAR. Students can now register for classes through the new Student Information System, also known as SIS, which is accessible here. Students register for classes in this new system by searching for classes, adding them to something that resembles an online shopping cart and "checking out." Generally, classes are available to be added to carts prior to first day of registration for a given semester, allowing students to simply check out when registration is opened. As with SOLAR, students need to talk to their advisors before they are able to register. However, PINs are no longer required; Advisors now have the ability to lift holds on individual students through SIS.

It may also be nice to look at the Academic Calendar in order to see the dates you may add and/or drop classes, though the last day to withdraw (or pass/fail) much be listed some place else. For the confused, there is always the official guide and the FAQ.