Registration

Step 1: Read the Student Handbook

Before you can view the schedule of courses and register, you must read and agree to the rules, regulations and procedures stated in the Student Handbook. Failure to read the handbook does not excuse students from the rules and procedures described herein. Personal factors, illness, or contradictory advice from any source are not acceptable grounds for seeking exemption from these rules and procedures.

The University Catalog includes more detailed registration information. Registration Information

Step 2: View the Course Listings

If you Agree to the terms and conditions in the Student Handbook then View Course Listings.

Step 3 : View Course Syllabi

View course syllabi online using the Find a Syllabus search.

Step 4: Classes Approved by an Advisor

See your assigned academic advisor to plan and follow a sound program of study, and for approval of your classes.

Step 5: Enter Your Courses in BisonWeb

The registration steps have been provided below for your convenience. Please note, the below steps do not apply to students who are registered for classes by their school/college/administrative unit (for example, first year undergraduate and law new entrant, DCPS dual enrollment, domestic exchange, consortium, EMBA, and professional Health Science students). These students must consult with an academic advisor for assistance with course registration, generally during the orientation period for the respective entry term. All other students (transfer, continuing, returning, graduate etc.) may follow the steps below once there are no holds that impact registration (for example, Medical, Bursar, Admission, Judicial, SFS, Dean, International Student etc.) on their student accounts.

1. Select “Login” on the BisonWeb homepage.

2. Enter your Student Identification Number beginning with the “@” symbol, in the ID section.

3. Enter your six-digit PIN. If prompted (your first time logging in or your PIN was reset prior to logging in), please change your PIN to 6 numbers and ensure you remember your new PIN as frequent incorrect entry of your PIN will disable your account. If you do not remember your PIN and you have added a security question to your account, you may select the "Forgot PIN" option to perform a reset.

4. Follow the on-screen prompts as necessary.

5. Next, select the “Student Services” tab from the Main Menu.

6. Then, select “Registration.”

7. When the “Registration” drop-down menu displays, choose “Select Term.”

8. When the “Select Term” page displays, click the arrow to the right of the word “Term” and select the appropriate term. All non-traditional students (Online MBA, EMBA, online MSW, and Non-Traditional Doctor of Pharmacy) must select the applicable 'non-traditional' term. All other students should not select the 'non-traditional' option.

9. Press the “Submit Term” button, and the system will return you to the “Registration” page. Under the Registration tab, select "Add/Drop Classes". If you receive an error or problem message, ensure 1) you are accessing the system between 9AM and 11:59PM, 2) you do not have any registration holds, 3) you have not selected the incorrect term, 4) registration is open for you (based on your classification) for the applicable term, as is noted on the Academic Calendar, 5) you do not fall into one of the categories of students who cannot self-register via BisonWeb, or 6) you are a currently enrolled student (see also Readmission after a Total Withdrawal). If none of these apply, please contact the Office of the Registrar at registrar@howard.edu.  

10. When the registration page displays, you may be prompted to enter an "Alternate PIN" if you are a continuing student. Please ascertain this PIN for the respective semester from your academic advisor. The Office of the Registrar cannot issue you your alternate PIN, nor can a PIN used for a previous semester be used for the current one. 

11. Next, select “Look up Classes to Add” and follow the instructions.

12. When the classes are displayed, select the courses you want by clicking the boxes on the left side of the courses.  When all courses are selected, press the “Register” button.  If there are no errors, you are now registered.  If there are errors, you must start from step 11. Please see the General Registration Notice linked above the General Registration Calendar for details on resolving error messages.   

After you have registered for your classes, print out your schedule and confirm that all information is accurate.

Step 6: Pay Your Balance

Various payment plans are available for paying your balance. For details, please see the Student Financial Services website. You may view your account balance via BisonWeb by selecting Student Services -> Student Accounts -> View Account & Pay Your Bill. This will route you to epay where you may log in using your BisonWeb credentials.

Alternate PINs are issued by the advising unit of your school/college ONLY

All continuing students require an Alternate PIN to register, with the exception of Graduate students in the School of Business and the Division of Allied Health. A new Alternate PIN is generated each semester; therefore, a PIN that was issued for a previous semester will not work for Spring 2023 registration. Please contact your academic advisor in your school or college to obtain your Spring 2023 Alternate PIN; unfortunately, the Office of the Registrar cannot issue students’ Alternate PINs.

When a section of a course fills to the enrollment limit, students attempting to register through BisonWeb will receive a registration error message that a waitlist exists. The student will then be given the option of adding themselves to the waitlist for the course. If a student already enrolled in the course should drop, that seat will not become available for registration through BisonWeb if there is an active waitlist for the course.

Students must attempt to register for the course via BisonWeb in order to be offered the waitlist option. When a seat becomes available, the first student on the waitlist will receive an email notification to their preferred email address (students can confirm their preferred email address in BisonWeb). A student will have twelve hours (extended from eight hours as of Fall 2021) from the time of the email to register for the class through BisonWeb. It is the student's responsibility to check their preferred email once on a waitlist. If they do not register for the class during that time period, the seat will be offered to the next student on the waitlist. Students MUST have an email address on file (see the Personal Information tab in BisonWeb) or they will not receive the notification and lose their opportunity to register. Obtaining a space on a waitlist should not be interpreted as a guarantee of getting a seat in the course. If your waitlist position is zero, your notification has expired and you will need to drop off the waitlist and (if a space is available) reattempt to register for the course, or select alternate course options.

Please also note, the course waitlist option is no longer available once a given semester has commenced. Students attempting to register for a closed course (at its maximum capacity) will receive an 'Open- Reserved for Waitlist' error message when attempting to register. All students are encouraged to register for alternate course options with the assistance of their assigned academic advisor. The Office of the Registrar cannot override students into closed courses. 

All students are highly encouraged to consult with their academic advisor prior to completing course registration. Please access the link below to view information on the school or college to which you have been admitted, as indicated on your letter of acceptance from the Office of Admission or approved intra-university/major change form from the Office of the Registrar. Your academic advisor will be able to inform you on which courses to select, how to register for them, and will issue you your alternate PIN if applicable. Incoming undergraduate students are encouraged to view the New Student Orientation website for details on advising and course registration. The Office of the Registrar does not provide academic advising services. The Undergraduate Advising List contains the main points of contact for the student affairs/advising unit for each undergraduate school/college. Juniors and seniors generally receive advising assistance from their major/departmental advisor. 

BisonWeb Error Messages

When attempting to register for courses via BisonWeb, students may encounter errors that prevent registration. Restrictions have been applied to courses for various academic and administrative reasons. Unfortunately, the Office of the Registrar cannot assist in resolving most registration error messages. In general, students should consult with the advising unit of their school/college for assistance with navigating the registration process. Please see the following registration error messages:

Please see the below contacts based on the Hold Type. The reason column gives a reason for why the hold was placed, originator indicates the office that placed the hold, and the processes affected details all the processes you will not have access to until the hold is cleared by the originator.

• Admission (Undergraduate Student) - admission@howard.edu
• Admission (Graduate Student) - hugsadmission@howard.edu
• Bursar - bursarhelp@howard.edu
• Dean's - the Dean of your school/college
• Financial Aid - finaid@howard.edu
• International Student - pugbong@howard.edu
• Medical - studenthealthforms@howard.edu
• Residence Life - HUreslife@howard.edu  
• SFS (Collections, Balance Due, Student Accounts) - bursarhelp@howard.edu
• Student Affairs - studentaffairs@howard.edu
• Student Conduct - StudentConduct@howard.edu