New Course Registration Process!

Last fall, PLATO sent out a Member Satisfaction Survey to all PLATO members. When the results came in, each committee reviewed the information that was relevant to that committee. The Curriculum Committee found that the top request in “Improving Member Support” was to improve the registration process, so we’ve been working on creating an online, automated process to:

• make course registrations smoother and more intuitive
• allow sign-up without logging in (although you can log in; see next paragraph)
• reduce the need to contact coordinators directly
• show course capacity and the actual number of open seats
• enable potential registrants to sign up for the waitlist if the course is full
• see all the courses for which you have registered or have joined the waitlist.

The new process will be as simple as reading the course description and clicking the “Register” button, which will open the screen that allows you to enter your information. (If you log into PLATO first, your information will automatically be populated.) The system will automatically notify both you and the course coordinator via email that you have registered.

Check out this video first for how to register with this new system and then explore this video to learn how to register for a coordinator reserved seat so that you are up to speed when registration opens.

Also, at the top of the Courses webpage beginning in the Summer session, there will be a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document that will provide answers to common questions. We encourage you to review this easy-to-read document.

We will be piloting this new process in the Summer 2026 session with just three courses. The other courses will instruct you to send an email to the coordinator, as in the past. Below is a mockup of one course with the Register button and another course that directs registrants to Contact Coordinator.

If all goes well, then most of the courses in the Fall and subsequent sessions will also be automated, unless the coordinator opts out of the process and prefers to be notified via email. We will continue to provide you with information about this improved registration process later in the summer.