Temple's Banner Student Competency Center has announced improvements to the registration and billing process that will debut with the beginning of summer session registration.

Starting this week, Temple will implement registration waitlisting, end registration cancellation (sometimes known as "washout") and introduce a financial responsibility agreement as part of the registration process.

The introduction of registration waitlisting will benefit students and administrators alike. When undergraduate courses are full, students will now have the ability to "get in line" electronically, eliminating the frustrations of lobbying instructors for a seat. Instead, an email will be automatically generated to notify the next student in line when a seat becomes available. Waitlisting also will help administrators at the school and college level by giving them a clear picture of course demand at an earlier point in the registration process so they can plan accordingly.

"Waitlisting sends students an important message: Use the priority registration period to get the classes you need and want, and use waitlisting to get in line for courses that aren't available," said Provost Hai-Lung Dai. "School and colleges will get information that will help them make plans to accommodate student need, an essential part of improving the four-year graduation rate at Temple."

The end of registration cancellation, or washout, will do away with a billing process that had caused stress for some students. In the past, if a student had not paid the minimum amount due on their bill, their registration was automatically cancelled — sometimes while the student was still trying to resolve financial aid options. The end of washout will create more time for bill payment and financial aid processing and give students a chance to make more informed decisions about how to finance their educations.

Students who do not plan to attend classes must drop those classes on or before the last day to drop courses for each term. Those students who are not attending and do not drop their classes are responsible for the payment of all charges.

Students will see another Banner change, the Financial Responsibility Agreement (or FRA), as soon as they begin the registration process. The FRA, which spells out a student's financial responsibilities, will appear in Self-Service Banner once a term upon registration or when looking up classes.

The Banner registration and billing changes will be effective for registration for summer and fall 2013 courses.

More information about registration waitlisting is available on the web; students with questions also should contact their academic advisor. Additional information about the Financial Responsibility Agreement is available at the website of the Bursar's Office. Students with billing questions should email yourbill@temple.edu.