FAQ ACES
How do I log in the first time?
Use your existing username (for example, jgarcia123). Your default password will used for the first login only. Your default password will be the first two letters of your last name, IN CAPS, followed by your birthdate in MMDDYY format. For example, John Garcia, born on June 17,1965, will use GA061765. If your last name and login name are different (usually due to a change in marital status), use the first two letters of your actual, current last name.
What features does ACES offer?
- Single sign-on access to registration/drop & add, course search, grades, academic history, class lists, web grades, Canvas, change of address, student webmail and online billing and payment info.
- 23 x 7 availability (the system will be unavailable between 1:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. daily for maintenance).
- Personalized content delivered right to your web browser!
- Real-time Alamo Colleges-wide announcements (such as class cancellations).
What is the purpose of the Portal?
The ACES portal will be the single web platform for the integrated delivery of information, services and online collaboration tools to the college community. The primary goals of the ACES portal include:
- Providing a single sign-on environment for all internal resources.
- Providing increased web access and self-service capabilities.
- Increasing availability of and access to campus computing systems.
- Delivering personalized content to each portal user in a quick and efficient manner.
- Providing a level of technological services that meet the ever-growing expectations of students, faculty, and staff.
- Enhancing teaching, learning and research through the delivery of integrated resources and tools.
- Improving collaboration across departments and user groups in an online, real-time environment.
Who will use the ACES Portal?
- The ACES portal is for all current students, faculty and staff. Channels have been designed to deliver content based on the user group of the person accessing the portal. Only persons with Alamo Colleges ACES IDs will have access to this information.
- Students will be the primary users of the portal at its launch, as they will use it to register for courses, drop/add, pay bills - any functionality previously performed using PALS.
- Communications are being sent to incoming students with the portal address, while press-releases and email announcements will go out to all current students and employees.
How do I register in ACES?
Alamo Colleges currently uses a student record system called Banner in addition to the portal system call ACES (Alamo Colleges Educational Services). Students will login to the ACES portal to access Banner Student Self-Services to register for classes.
For detail information on the registering process, go to Future Students.
General Student Banner Information:
Students should make a habit of checking their Alamo Colleges e-mail each week for important messages from various Alamo Colleges offices (Financial Aid, Records, Registration, Billing, etc.). Your Alamo Colleges e-mail is the official method of communication for you to receive information about financial aid, admissions, registration, student billing and other official notifications.
Additional information regarding access to the ACES portal and for fall registration will be available on the Alamo Colleges web sites.
Registering with a Course Reference Number (CRN)
From the ACES Registration screen Choose Add and Drop Classes.
- Select Term and then Submit
- Your current schedule will appear at the top and the worksheet at the bottom.
- In the "Add Classes Worksheet" section you can enter CRN(s) for classes you would like to register.
- Choose Submit Changes.
- If there is a seat available and no errors appear, the class is added to your schedule (you are registered).
- Your current schedule will appear on the same page above the worksheet area.
Registration Restrictions
Click on CRN, then the course title, restrictions will appear on the Detail Class information screen if there are any.
Registration Status
Check this area for registration holds or override status.
Search the Class Schedule Before Your Date to Register
Before you login to ACES you can search the class schedule (specific class sections). Access the class schedule using this link.
Term Selection
Before you being working in any area of Student Self-Service, you need to select the Term. For example, if you want to register for Fall 2015 classes you would select that Term. If you do not, when you perform a function you will be asked to pick one. The one you choose will remain active until you change it or you log off.
To choose a Term, go to the Student link, located within Student & Financial Aid, select Registration and click on "Select Term."
Terminology Tips
- Subject: Area of study e.g., History.
- Course Number: The number following the four letter code for a course: i.e. HIST1301, the course number is 1301.
- Title: The title of the course from the course catalog. If you search by title, you can enter any part of the title for it to display upon the search.
- Credit Range: Search by credit range criteria
Select: Click in the select box to choose a class to attempt to register for.
- "C" indicates the course section is closed (full)
- "SR" indicates a Student Restriction. Check for holds.
- No Check Box indicates that you are already registered for that course.
Course Reference Number (CRN): Identifies a specific section of course (5 digit number).
Course: Four digit code for the Course Number e.g., 1301.
Title: Title of course.
Credit Range: Range of Credit hours.
College: College where course section is being offered.
Part of Term: Flex 1
Duration: Length of course
Start Time: Start time of course
End Time: End time of course
Days: Days of the week the course meets.
Cap: The total number of seats for a course.
Act: Actual number of seats for course filled so far.
Rem: Remaining seats
Instructor: Instructor(s) of course, (P)=Primary.
Date: (MM/DD): Semester dates.
Location/Attribute: Location where the course will meet.
There is no waitlist, how do I try to register for a closed (Full) course?
- Look for other open sections in the same course or other courses that fulfill your academic requirements. Contact your advisor if you need help identifying other appropriate courses.
- Departments will be monitoring enrollments in course sections and may be able to offer additional sections as demand increases. Check back often to see if additional sections have been offered.
- Check with the department for the course you are interested in.
View and Print Your Class schedule
Use the Student Detail Schedule to see detailed information on the classes you are registered for in a printable format. You can print from your web browser.