How to register using NOVO
NOVO is the system Notre Dame students use to add and drop courses during the registration period. This page explains how to use NOVO.
NOVO Terminology
Attribute
An attribute indicates which degree requirement (a Core requirement, a college requirement, a major requirement, etc.) is fulfilled by taking a course. Core attribute codes are WKxx. For example, WKFT is the attribute for “Way of Knowing Foundational Theology.” To find courses that fulfill specific Core requirements, select the attribute you want to search for in the Attribute dropdown menu within Browse Classes in NOVO.
Corequisite
Some courses, such as lab sciences and calculus, have required labs, tutorials, or discussion sections that you must register for in addition to the main lecture component of the course. Check for corequisites in the Corequisites section of the course details in NOVO.
Course Reference Number (CRN)
A randomly generated five-digit number, every course has its own unique CRN. You can search for courses by CRN in NOVO Browse Classes by entering the CRN into the Keyword search field. You can also register for classes in NOVO by using the Search by CRN option on the registration screen. The CRN is not the course number - for example, PSY 10000: Introductory Psychology has a course number of 10000 for all the Introductory Psychology sections, but one section is searchable using CRN 10868 and the other is searchable using CRN 10869.
Crosslisted Course
Some courses are listed under two or more course numbers, usually to make the course available to students in different majors, minors, or academic years. If you are interested in a course but it is full or you do not meet the restrictions, check for a crosslisted course option in the Cross Listed Courses section of the course details in NOVO.
Hold
A hold is a restriction placed on a student’s account that will prevent them from registering for courses. Check for holds under Registration Status and Holds in NOVO.
Prerequisite
Some courses are only open to students who are currently taking or who have successfully completed another course. Prerequisites are most common for math, science, and language courses. For instance, you cannot register for MATH 10560: Calculus II unless you are taking MATH 10550: Calculus I or have AP or IB credit for MATH 10091: Calculus I. Check for prerequisites in the Prerequisites section of the course details in NOVO.
Restriction
Many courses are restricted to students in certain groups, such as classification (first-year, sophomore, etc.), college, or major. You can only register for a course if you meet any restrictions listed. For example, PHIL 10111: God and the Good Life has an “Enrollment limited to students with a semester level of Freshman” restriction, meaning only first-year students are allowed to register for it. Check for restrictions in the Restrictions section of the course details in NOVO.
Seat Allocation
This is the maximum number of seats available for a select population (i.e. first-year students, sophomores, etc.) in a particular course. Seat allocations are noted under the Seat Allocations column as part of the course search results in NOVO and in the Enrollment Information section of the course details. However, the most detail about seat allocations is found in PATH Class Search at the top of the course details section for a specific course.
Time Ticket
This is the date and time a student’s registration period begins. Check your time ticket under Registration Status and Holds in NOVO.
Waitlist
Some departments choose to use a waitlist feature through NOVO in which students can add themselves to a waitlist once a course is full. Not all courses use the waitlist feature. If one does, you will see the number of available waitlist seats under the Status column as part of the course search results in NOVO. More information about waitlists is available from the Office of the Registrar.
Ways of Knowing
This is the name given to categories of Core requirements and is abbreviated “WK.” For example, WKFT stands for "Way of Knowing Foundational Theology." This is why attributes for Core courses begin with “WK.”