Carnegie Mellon University

Start Time Assignments

Start time assignments (day and time you are scheduled to register) are viewable on your Registration or Plan Schedule page within Student Information Online (SIO). Detailed information about start time assignments may be found below.

Registration start times are assigned randomly using the last three digits of a student’s ID Card number. Student last/family names are not used for start time assignments.

Registration start time assignments are randomly decided (using the last three digits of students ID Card numbers) and students rotate among four time blocks (the best time block is 1, or early morning).  As students advance each semester, their time block positions improve (from 4, to 3, to 2, to 1) before moving back to time block position 4.

For example:
Semester 1: Student assigned to time block 4 (the latest group)
Semester 2: Student moves to time block 3
Semester 3: Student moves to time block 2
Semester 4: Student moves to time block 1 (the earliest group)
Semester 5: Student moves back to time block 4 (the latest group)

Within each group, students are randomly assigned into one of the ten 15-minute start time assignments.

The day on which students register depends on their enrollment status. For fall and spring registration, fourth and fifth-year students register on Monday, third-years register on Wednesday, second-years register on Thursday, and first-years register on Friday. Students may register any time after their assigned registration start time. 

Registration start time assignments are randomly decided. To ensure masters students who are close to graduating are able to register earlier:

  • Students with closely approaching expected graduation semesters are placed into earlier time assignments on their designated registration day;
  • Students with higher cumulative units passed are placed earlier in their existing time assignments in order to account for distribution across expected graduation semesters; and
  • Masters registration start times begin at 6 a.m. (EST) in order to allow the students to be spread out in smaller groups every 15 minutes throughout the day. 

During fall and spring registration week, masters students register on Tuesday and may register any time after their assigned registration start time. 

PhD students may register any time after 8 a.m. (EST) on Monday during registration week and do not have start time assignments.