Building a Semester Schedule

After understanding your use of time, deciding your course load, completing your pre-enrollment activities, and enrolling in your courses, you are now ready to build a semester schedule. Begin by gathering all the available course materials and any key dates that you must keep track of. Also note any personal key dates like family events, birthdays, and other special occasions. Remember to plan and schedule a time for self-care activities, too. Planning in restorative periods ensures you stay well and avoid burnout.

For UTA students, key dates and information are found in the following places:

• Academic Calendar
• University Catalog
• Registration Timetable
• Schedule of Classes
• Course Syllabus Information
• Final Exam Schedule
• Academic Advising
• New Maverick Orientation
• College of Nursing and Health Innovation Student Resources

Getting Organized

The cost and utility of available organizational tools are important to consider when deciding which is best for your situation. Applications, paper planners, and other software are widely available. Most require payment for use and do not offer the robust features you might enjoy with your university’s free student software offerings.

Students with limited access to resources outside of UTA can leverage the Google Suite (G Suite) of products to save on costs, minimizing the need for multiple mechanisms to keep organized. Here is access to the G Suite learning center where you can learn more about those products.

UTA students enjoy free access to a Microsoft 365 account, including Outlook, which has all the functionality necessary to stay on track. Outlook integrates your student email account, calendar, tasks, to-do lists, and more. You can access Outlook by phone, computer, or mobile device. The Outlook desktop and web versions sync seamlessly, which is helpful when you are on the move!

Proceed to the activity where you will learn to populate your schedule in Outlook based on the key dates you have gathered.

Activity 2.5: Building Your Semester Schedule in Outlook