How to use MyUW:
MyUW (or simply type in my.uw.edu into your search browser)
MyUW's home page contains many essentials for UW survival:
How to use MyPlan:
MyPlan (or simply type in myplan.uw.edu into Google)
Using MyPlan, you can navigate to a bunch of useful places such as:
Tips on registering for classes every quarter:
This website will walk you through the steps of registration. Please read through it before proceeding! We've included some of our own tips below as well.
Things to Note:
How to Navigate Canvas:
Canvas (or simply type in canvas.uw.edu into Google) is the main place you will access your class materials/assignments.
Sign in using your UW NetID and password.
Directions on how to navigate using the purple left hand panel:
How to navigate each individual class Canvas page using the left hand panel in blue font (next to the main purple Canvas one):
Note: The tabs on the left hand panel can change order for different classes, so keep this in mind. Each class's Canvas page is going to be more or less navigable depending on your instructor's organization skills :/
Usually right under Home is Announcements followed by Assignments.
This is where the order of the left hand panel tabs will change depending on each class. We've listed some of the most commonly used tabs below:
Note: The tricky thing about Canvas is that there are a lot of different ways you can find a single thing you're searching for. Know your options so you can better adapt to each professor's organizational habits. You'll get the hang of it after a while!
** We recommend downloading the MyUW and Canvas apps on your phone and/or tablet so you can easily check important information without needing to open a laptop every time.
All this Canvas information we've thrown at you can be really overwhelming! Please know that it's a non-linear and often frustrating learning process for everyone. Reach out if you need any support, or if you want to vent about how unnecessarily complicated your professor's methods are. We've all been there.
Quarters move by quickly, and things can start picking up by the end of week 1. Give yourself the time needed during the first week to familiarize yourself with your Canvas courses, and read each syllabus thoroughly. Don't hesitate to reach out to your TAs and profs, even before school starts! Take advantage of office hours— hardly anyone goes before midterms start picking up, so take your chance to just chat and ask as many questions as you want. I've yet to meet a very intimidating and unapproachable TA, but if you feel uncomfortable, just talk to another TA, your professor, the department advisers (doesn't matter if you're not in the major yet), your peers. There will always be people willing to help and share what they know, even if you happen to run into a few unpleasant encounters along the way! You got this! 💪
How to/What to ask when contacting your Professors and TAs:
communication with professors/TAs
(emailing and office hours, what to do during office hours?)
* ask for things: ex having professors upload lecture powerpoint before lecture so you can take notes and follow along on your own device instead of copying every bullet point down or read it ahead of time and come more prepared.
Textbooks
You can find your assigned textbooks on the Academics tab of MyUW, which will direct you to UBookstore for purchase. However, we don't believe in paying extra for textbooks, so here are some tips to use before you buy:
MyUW (or simply type in my.uw.edu into your search browser)
MyUW's home page contains many essentials for UW survival:
- Your quarterly schedule (time & classrooms for each class you registered for).
- "Academics" tab (left side menu): lists your advisors/how to contact departmental advisors for your major as well as key information for the quarterly classes your are registered for (the class instructor, lecture hall/time of lecture, required textbooks, etc), your transcripts/GPA, etc.
- For more information on accessing UW advising, visit this website's Student Re-entry (UW)'s Academic Support tab and click on the "Advising/Counseling" tab
- "Accounts" tab (left side menu): tells you the amount due for tuition/fees, how much money you have in your husky card, etc.
- "Profile" tab (left side menu): tells you your Student ID, your class standing, your major, your address information, etc.
- class standing: depends on how many credits you've earned to fulfill your degree requirements
- Make sure to check your MyUW account regularly because they will post a notice at the top of the home page once your registration date starts approaching. You aren't emailed a notice so remember to check for it!
How to use MyPlan:
MyPlan (or simply type in myplan.uw.edu into Google)
Using MyPlan, you can navigate to a bunch of useful places such as:
- "Find Courses": allows you to find courses using keywords (ie based on your major, professors, etc.).
- "View Academic Year": allows you to see the courses you've registered for each quarter and plan courses for future quarters.
- "Build a Schedule": allows you to test out potential schedules with desired classes to see if the times work well together or not.
- "Audit Degree (DARS)": auditing your degree essentially means keeping track of the credits you have earned and will need to earn for your major and other graduation requirements.
Tips on registering for classes every quarter:
This website will walk you through the steps of registration. Please read through it before proceeding! We've included some of our own tips below as well.
Things to Note:
- It's best to wake up early and be ready the moment registration opens. Usually this happens at 6 AM. It can be very stressful if you don't prepare in advance, but we got you covered! Just spend time familiarizing yourself beforehand so you know what to expect.
- Always have multiple potential schedules & back-up courses ready to go before registration day— popular classes fill up fast, even at 6 in the morning! It's usually more difficult to register the lower your class standing is, so don't expect to get all your preferred classes your first quarter. Your first registration will likely be a high-stress event. That's ok, it's just part of the ~husky experience~ :)
- Go to MyUW, the Estimated Registration date (and time) will be at the top of the Home page.
- Complete Pre-registration Steps ahead of time so you aren't stuck doing them at 5:59 AM (it's just basic checklist items).
- You can either go to the UW Time Schedule, which lists currently available classes by major, or go straight to MyPlan and click on the 'Find Courses' tab and search for the courses you want.
- You can either add courses on MyPlan and then send them to registration, or register directly on MyUW using the SLN codes of your selected courses.
- Sounds complicated, but they work similarly. Here's how the process works so you can choose which one you prefer:
- MyPlan
- allows you to use Build a Schedule function so you can visualize your calendar
- which searching for classes, you can filter out options that you don't want under the search bar (e.g. classes with prerequisites) and make sure your class times don't overlap.
- **make sure to select an open TA section if needed! Your registration won't go through otherwise.
- Select your classes prior to registration, so you can just click 'Send to Registration' on your Registration Preview page the morning of. This is under 'Manage' tab on the left hand toolbox >> then click 'View _[the quarter you're registering for]__'.
- Tip: wait until the (literal) second registration opens, then send to registration! Be patient, it will take a long time to load— everyone's trying to grab their courses. This way, you don't have to enter in the SLN codes before hitting 'Update Schedule', you can just click one button.
- For more resources + visual aids for MyPlan, try searching through this page: UW IT MyPlan Academic Planner.
- It has so many helpful links on how to get help from advising, finding programs, and even using the Transfer Equivalency tool to help you transfer your credits!
- If the class fills up before you can nab a spot and you want to send your updated course choices to registration again, you can either go back to MyPlan and edit your Registration Preview, or you can directly enter the SLN codes of your backup classes into the Registration page and try again.
- allows you to use Build a Schedule function so you can visualize your calendar
- SLN
- Linked for your convenience. To find this page, go to MyUW, then under 'Quick Links' located on right side of the homepage, click on 'Register using SLN codes'.
- This is the method that the degreereg.uw.edu page explains.
- It's pretty straightforward: copy-paste/type your SLN codes into the blank boxes, and hit 'Update Registration'. If you want to drop a course & add a new one at the same time, select the course you want to drop on the 'Drop from Schedule' column, enter in a new SLN code in another box below, then hit update.
- The downsides: it doesn't let you know if there's an opening in the class, if the times of your classes don't work out— the things that MyPlan does. It just gives you a message saying your registration didn't go through. We recommend doing the planning on MyPlan, then adjusting your schedule on the SLN page on registration day to fix any unforeseeable changes.
- If you're still confused or overwhelmed, not to worry! Contact an adviser— visit our Advising/Counseling tab for tips.
How to Navigate Canvas:
Canvas (or simply type in canvas.uw.edu into Google) is the main place you will access your class materials/assignments.
Sign in using your UW NetID and password.
Directions on how to navigate using the purple left hand panel:
- Account:
- You can set notification settings for how you prefer to view Canvas notifications. You can click the bells next to Course Activities to receive email notifications to your UW email and/or push notifications (alerts that appear if you have the Canvas app on your phone or other devices/tablets).
- Opting to receive email notifications is helpful especially if you remember to check your email more than you remember to check Canvas.
- Dashboard: only the classes you are registered for the current quarter appear here. You can click into a specific course to access that courses's Canvas page.
- Courses: Click on the "Courses" tab and you will see the courses you are registered for currently. Underneath those current courses, Canvas gives you the option to access All Courses, and you can revisit old courses from previous quarters as long as your professor hasn't closed the page (most don't unless they stop teaching the class). This is helpful if you want to revisit the class schedule and find an old reading you forgot to save.
How to navigate each individual class Canvas page using the left hand panel in blue font (next to the main purple Canvas one):
Note: The tabs on the left hand panel can change order for different classes, so keep this in mind. Each class's Canvas page is going to be more or less navigable depending on your instructor's organization skills :/
- Home: Each professor sets a page of their choosing as the home page on Canvas. Sometimes it's the syllabus, sometimes it's class modules (which break down the assignments due week by week), sometimes it's their contact information with a class introduction, etc.
Usually right under Home is Announcements followed by Assignments.
- Announcements: Where your professor/TA will post updates. Usually any zoom links for class attendance are posted here as well as updates to schedule changes or assignments. Make sure to check frequently!
- Assignments: Where you can view/submit upcoming assignments or look at past assignments. Some professors close assignments after their due dates, so be sure to submit ahead of time or communicate your need for an extension well ahead of time by emailing or talking in person at Office Hours with your professor and TAs.
This is where the order of the left hand panel tabs will change depending on each class. We've listed some of the most commonly used tabs below:
Note: The tricky thing about Canvas is that there are a lot of different ways you can find a single thing you're searching for. Know your options so you can better adapt to each professor's organizational habits. You'll get the hang of it after a while!
- Syllabus:
- Where the professor usually posts a pdf of the syllabus and other course materials that usually gives a schedule overview of the assignments due and class expectations.
- Contact information and Office Hour times for profs/TA's are usually listed at the top of syllabus pdfs. Reach out, go to office hours, and email!
- Discussion:
- Where you can post questions to your fellow classmates and sometimes profs/TAs will answer as well depending on how responsive they are. Sometimes this page is used to submit responses for graded discussion, and other times it's an informal chatroom. It really depends on the class.
- Grades:
- Pretty self-explanatory, where your instructors post your grades.
- Even though they're supposed to, professors don't always release grade updates in a timely manner, and grading scales can differ depending on the class. Don't worry, just communicate regularly with your TA, who is the person who actually grades your work most of the time.
- Files:
- Any pdf that is uploaded to the Canvas page can be found here. That includes the syllabus, files for assigned readings, project instruction pdfs, etc. Often instructors will also upload powerpoint presentations they use during lecture to this Files tab, so you can follow along during lecture or review afterwards.
- Panopto Recordings:
- If the class you're taking is equipped with recording technology, professors will often upload class recordings to this page.
- Zoom:
- If the class is hybrid or has hybrid office hours, there's a good chance you can find those zoom links on this tab. Make sure you take careful note your TA section number, so you can join the right zoom meeting!
- Recordings of past zoom meetings may also be on this page.
- Modules:
- A week by week breakdown of the course (usually assignments focused). Sometimes instructors will post pdfs onto Modules that can also be found under Files and Assignments.
- Don't forget to check Modules regularly! Some professors don't always post assignments (especially smaller ones) under the Assignments tab; they just put it under the modules, which makes it easy to miss.
- People:
- Find other students (and their email addresses) currently registered for the course plus your prof and TA(s).
- you can also search up people you've taken previous classes with, in case you want to reconnect!
- UW Libraries: Find departmental Library resources for the department your class falls under.
- For more information on how to navigate Library resources, visit this website's Student Re-entry (UW) Academic Resource's "Research/Writing Help" tab.
** We recommend downloading the MyUW and Canvas apps on your phone and/or tablet so you can easily check important information without needing to open a laptop every time.
All this Canvas information we've thrown at you can be really overwhelming! Please know that it's a non-linear and often frustrating learning process for everyone. Reach out if you need any support, or if you want to vent about how unnecessarily complicated your professor's methods are. We've all been there.
Quarters move by quickly, and things can start picking up by the end of week 1. Give yourself the time needed during the first week to familiarize yourself with your Canvas courses, and read each syllabus thoroughly. Don't hesitate to reach out to your TAs and profs, even before school starts! Take advantage of office hours— hardly anyone goes before midterms start picking up, so take your chance to just chat and ask as many questions as you want. I've yet to meet a very intimidating and unapproachable TA, but if you feel uncomfortable, just talk to another TA, your professor, the department advisers (doesn't matter if you're not in the major yet), your peers. There will always be people willing to help and share what they know, even if you happen to run into a few unpleasant encounters along the way! You got this! 💪
How to/What to ask when contacting your Professors and TAs:
communication with professors/TAs
(emailing and office hours, what to do during office hours?)
* ask for things: ex having professors upload lecture powerpoint before lecture so you can take notes and follow along on your own device instead of copying every bullet point down or read it ahead of time and come more prepared.
Textbooks
You can find your assigned textbooks on the Academics tab of MyUW, which will direct you to UBookstore for purchase. However, we don't believe in paying extra for textbooks, so here are some tips to use before you buy:
- First, look through UW libraries (lib.uw.edu). Sign in with your UW NetID to get full access to electronic copies of textbooks offered through the libraries. You can also request items from the libraries if you can't find them.
- There are also publishing sites that offer free publications (although most have some sort of page limit/paywall in place)
- They include muse.jhu.edu, tandfonline.com, JStor, Ebsco, and many others.
- We believe that open access to academic publications is essential to education justice. Unfortunately, most publications are owned by a small handful of companies, perpetuating academic gatekeeping through outrageous paywalls. There are some websites that are based on open-access file-sharing, and in the spirit of access, we'll share what we know with you, as fellow students navigating a capitalist, neoliberal institution the best we can. These are not university affiliated, and are mostly known through word-of-mouth student networks. These sites include (just search these up in your browser): Libgen, Sci-Hub, and z-library. You'll find the digital copies of publications in pdf or epub format (which, once you download it, will be found under your Books app— for Mac users). If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us. Many professors will provide scanned copies of assigned readings, but many also make it seem as though purchase is the only option.
- You can also rent digital versions your textbooks from UBookstore. This link offers some tips, but it can be quite confusing. Basically, if you want to purchase digital textbooks, you will likely be given a window of time where you can access the book online (e.g. for duration of a quarter). UBookstore is no longer doing physical book rentals, because of the pandemic. UBookstore also has a book buyback option, but the website is almost always down...
- Students also often offer up their used textbooks for sale on networking sites such as Yammer.