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REGISTRATION FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How Does CASPER work?
The first phase of CASPER is based on class level priority. As an eligible student, you will be assigned an appointed day to use CASPER. On that day and hour, your Student Identification Number (SID) will be activated. Provided your fee payment has been recorded and all holds are cleared, you may call or log on to request classes. Each time you ask for a class, CASPER will respond to indicate that you have been enrolled in the class if it is open; if the class is full or cancelled, CASPER will prompt you to make another request.
The second phase, called CASPER Plus, permits late registration and change-of-schedule. All eligible students whose fee payments have been recorded may add and/or drop classes. CASPER Plus opens the week before instruction begins; it ends on the Add/Drop Deadline (end of second week of semester). The CASPER phone number remains available until the University census date to list and verify your courses, and CasperWeb is available all semester to verify your schedule.

Am I Eligible to Use CASPER?
Yes! If you are a

Continuing student (attended every semester since you were admitted to Sacramento State)
New student (and received your letter of admission to Sacramento State before the beginning of CASPER)
Returning student (you last attended Sacramento State two or more semesters ago but have reapplied and received your letter of admission prior to the beginning of CASPER)
Out-One-Semester student (you stopped out of Sacramento State for one semester, but at least one month before the start of CASPER, you notified the Registrar’s Office of your intention to return)

If you applied to graduate, you will not receive an Invitation to Register for the following semester. Therefore, if your plans change, you must notify the Degree Evaluations Office (undergraduates) or the Office of Graduate Studies and give us time to re-assign your registration eligibility.

When you complete your academic program and are awarded the degree, credential, etc., your eligibility to register in that program ends. If you intend to continue to enroll at the University, you must notify the Office of Graduate Studies of your new objective and reapply if necessary.
Sixty-Plus students and ACE students may enroll during CASPER Plus only. Students registering for audit may not enroll by telephone or web.

What Is In the Invitation to Register?
Two weeks before the start of CASPER for Fall and Spring semesters, each eligible student will be mailed an Invitation to Register with a specific date and time assigned. The Invitation is mailed to the most recent address we have for you. Remember, it is very important to maintain an accurate address at the Admissions and Records Office or on CasperWeb so you can receive your Invitation to Register and financial aid checks. Also keep your email address up-to-date, as many campus offices conduct official business by email.
The Invitation to Register contains each student’s individual Registration Day and time, notification of HOLDS that must be cleared before you register, and the Fee Statement form which you must use to pay your registration fees at least five business days before your Registration Day. For Summer registration, continuing students are sent only email notification with registration information.

What Determines My Individual Registration Day?
Your CASPER Registration Day and time are scheduled in accordance with University priority policy in this order: disabled students, retention programs, graduating seniors*, freshmen attending orientation (Fall semesters only),
seniors, freshmen, classified graduates, juniors, sophomores and unclassified graduates. Within each class level, students are scheduled according to total units completed.

*Graduating seniors must have submitted a graduation application by the deadline. See page 19. Priority is granted only one time. Second bachelor’s degree candidates are considered unclassified graduates except during the one semester for which they file to receive graduating priority.

On the first day of CASPER Plus (in Fall and Spring semesters), your time to call is based on your student ID number (SSN). See page 10 for schedule.

What is a Hold?
A financial or administrative obligation to the University is a “hold” and will block your access to CASPER and the credit card fee payment system. Your Invitation to Register will list any holds as of the date it was printed. Hold status can also be checked on CasperWeb. You MUST clear your obligations to qualify for registration and to pay fees on-line or by phone. Financial obligations require a minimum of two business days to clear. Here are hold codes and where to go to clear them:
Hold Code Clear at:

What do these messages From CASPER mean?
BUSY SIGNAL – All lines are busy. Hang up and redial later between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., Monday - Friday.
“ALL CIRCUITS ARE BUSY AT THE PRESENT TIME”– This message from AT&T is likely to be heard on August 28, January 22, and other days when thousands of students are calling and logging in at the same time. Try again later.

“YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO REGISTER AT THIS TIME”–
Check your Registration Day and time in your Invitation to Register. On August 28 and January 22, check page 10, Access Hours for CASPER Plus.

“YOU HAVE NOT BEEN CLEARED FOR REGISTRATION” – You have a hold on your registration or your fees have not been paid. Check your Invitation to Register or call the CASPER Helpline at (916) 278-8088.

“THE SECTION YOU REQUESTED IS RESTRICTED” or “COURSE REQUIRES A PREREQUISITE WHICH YOU HAVE NOT MET” – The course you requested is restricted by major, class level, test or course prerequisite, which our records show you have not fulfilled. Check the schedule footnote or catalog course description. If you believe you have met the prerequisite, contact Admissions and Records.

“THE CLASS YOU REQUESTED WILL EXCEED THE MAXIMUM UNITS PERMITTED”– The course you requested would put you over the maximum units allowed by the amount you paid, your academic contract and/or campus policy.

“DID YOU FORGET TO BEGIN YOUR REQUEST BY PRESSING 2 FOR ADD, 3 FOR DROP, 5 FOR LIST or 6 for Conditional Drop/Add?” – You did not enter an action code, as indicated.

“THE CLASS YOU REQUESTED CANNOT BE DROPPED. YOUR REGISTRATION MUST EQUAL AT LEAST 12 UNITS” – Your program requires a minimum unit load. Enter any course(s) you wish to add first, then enter your drop. Or contact your program advisor.

“YOU ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE A COURSE TO SATISFY ENGLISH (OR MATH) REMEDIATION.” – You must register for the indicated course before you will be allowed to request other courses. You may not drop the required course. Contact Learning Skills (916) 278-6725, if you have questions.

What do these words or terms mean?
MAXIMUM UNITS – During CASPER you may register for a limited number of units. Whichever of the following numbers is the lowest will control the maximum units CASPER will allow you to register in:
• 17 units
• the number of units that you paid for (for example: 6 units if you
paid the lower fee category)
• the maximum units allowed by your counselor (students on academic contracts)
• 14 units (students on Continued Probation)

During CASPER Plus, students may add up to 21 units unless they are subject to an academic contract limiting them to fewer units. Students who wish to enroll in more than 21 units must follow the instructions on the Excess Units Petition, which is available at the Admissions and Records Counter.
Students who originally paid the lower fee category, then added units during CASPER Plus which placed them in the higher fee category, will be billed for the additional fees. See page 16 for details.

HELPLINE – The CASPER Helpline (278-8088) is available from
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on registration days to resolve difficulties which you encounter in using CASPER or CasperWeb.

PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (PIN) – To access CASPER by telephone, you must use a PIN. Your assigned PIN consists of four digits combining your month and date of birth. (Example: your birthday is February 9; your PIN is 0209.) If you wish to change your PIN, you must visit Admissions and Records with photo identification. PINs will not be released or changed by telephone.

OPINION Polling – California State University, Sacramento surveys student opinion during the registration process. You will be asked two questions, randomly selected from a list of twenty. You answer by touching the appropriate key on your touch-tone telephone or clicking the radio button. Your responses are confidential; they will be used only by the Office of Institutional Research in campus analyses.

CALLING BACK – If you miss your Registration Day, or if you need to change your schedule, you may use CASPER after your appointed Registration Day and hour until the last day of CASPER.

IMMUNIZATIONS – All new and readmitted students born after January 1, 1957, are required to show proof of immunity to measles and rubella. Students 18 years and younger are required to show proof of immunization against Hepatitis B. Be prepared to present copies of your immunization records to the Health Center. Verifications of immunity will be requested early in your first semester. Failure to comply with this requirement will prevent you from registering in future semesters.

COURSE RESTRICTIONS – Registration is restricted in some
courses based upon a student’s class level and/or major, or score on ELM, EPT or WPE. Check course footnotes carefully to determine eligibility to register in any course.

PREREQUISITES – Some classes have prerequisites and others may require permission of department or instructor as noted in footnotes. If you have not complied with any such requirements but are allowed into a class by CASPER, you may be asked to leave at the first class meeting. However, you are still responsible for officially dropping the course on CASPER or CasperWeb.

AUDITS – Students may not register for audit via CASPER. Obtain an approved Add Permit from the instructor to register in a course as an auditor. Submit the Permit to Admissions and Records. All units for which you enroll as an auditor are included in determining the fees that you owe for the semester. No audit registrations are accepted after October 2 , 2006 for Fall 2006; and February 23, 2007 for Spring 2007.