By Gretchen Konrady | UW-IT Strategic Communications
A significantly enhanced registration tool is now streamlining how University of Washington students register for classes.
Register.UW is the new, unified app for all student registration needs, replacing the decades-old Student Personal Services (SPS) registration webpage and other outdated processes. The new tool’s modern platform also provides a flexible foundation for ongoing improvements, supporting faster development and releases of future features.
Register.UW joins the suite of core academic web tools — MyPlan, MyUW, Notify.UW, and DawgPath — that help students explore majors and minors, map academic plans, snag high-demand classes, and more.
Developed by the Student & Educational Technology Services team in UW-IT, the new tool was built in close partnership with the Registrar offices of all three UW campuses. Student feedback, gathered through user research, along with input from academic advisers, guided the redesign.
Students began using the new tool on April 7, when summer quarter pre-registration tasks became available, and when students could make final updates to their spring schedules.
Having a single, modernized registration app is already improving the student experience.
“Register.UW provides one easy-to-use app. At 6 a.m., when they go to register, students want the system to be simple and fast. Register.UW is finally making this possible,” said Dr. Helen B. Garrett, University Registrar.
The app covers the full range of registration tasks — from notifying students when they’re eligible to register, to alerting them about holds or blocks, to students adding and dropping classes, and confirming final schedules.
A critical focus for the app’s redesign was the elimination of ambiguity through streamlined workflows and clearer communication to students within the tool.
“In the past, students couldn’t always tell if they’d successfully registered for a course,” said Ammy Phuwanartnurak, the project’s business analyst. “They’re saying that’s now much more clear, and our on-screen functionality and messages help them recover from errors faster.”
Like the old SPS page, Register.UW is tied to MyPlan — with a click, students who use MyPlan can take advantage of the new tool’s “Import from MyPlan” button to pull in courses they want to register for.
Familiar user interface elements enhance usability, including an “Add to cart” option for classes and a progress indicator for pre-registration steps. Also, students no longer need to know the number of a course section, and they now can alternatively enter course codes; the data entry field will autofill either one when a student starts typing.
Accessibility was a major consideration during Register.UW’s development. The team collaborated with the IT Accessibility Team and iterated on the app’s design to ensure that it works well for all students.
“Register.UW represents a major leap forward in how we support students through innovative technology,” said Andreas Bohman, Vice President for UW Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at the University of Washington. “This app reflects our deep commitment to creating intuitive, accessible, and student-centered digital tools. It’s a great example of what’s possible when we listen closely to our community and work across campuses to deliver modern, trusted solutions.”
The release of Register.UW is a key milestone in the UW Information Technology Strategy — particularly its goal of fostering personalized, responsive digital experiences under the principle of “You get me relationships.” The project emphasized agility and cross-campus collaboration while it dealt with historically complex registration processes and technical infrastructure limitations.
Student feedback from summer registration will be used to refine the tool further in preparation for fall.
Register.UW now serves all undergraduates, graduate students, non-matriculated UW Summer Sessions participants, and students enrolled through Continuum College.