I decided to migrate this guide which I posted on realFASS last time over to my personal blog.
Our purpose for creating this guide is to aid and educate. There are a number of CORS bidding guides out there, including the official 'briefings' by the faculties, unions and whatnot. However, most, if not all of them are not written in a very newbie-friendly way. Thus, our aim here is to create a succinct, easy-to-understand walkthrough to the whole bidding process.
And, please don't be insulted when we say 'dummies', we mean no malice.
The layout of this guide is as such:
a) The first portion will be a picture-aided step by step guide on HOW to actually bid.(via CORS, what to click, etc) (For total newbies!)
b) The next portion will explain the details of bidding, such as when can you bid for what modules, etc.
c) The last portion will cover FAQs. (if you're a senior and have a question, it may be here!)
Step-by-step picture-aided guide (click on any picture to view full-sized screenshot)
NOTE: You can only bid during certain periods of time.
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| Step 0.1) Go to NUS CORS website at www.nus.edu.sg/CORSStep 0.5) Click on Schedule and Module info (as circled in the screenshot) |
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| Step 0.7) The table shows the periods when you can actually log into CORS. If it's not those periods yet, be patient. You can't log in to CORS. |
Ok I had to write that first pre-section because there's always people asking 'OMG I CANT LOG IN HALP ZXZX'. So on to the actual stuff -
1) Go to CORS website at www.nus.edu.sg/CORS
2) Click on Login Here (2 big fat red arrows pointing to it for those visually retarded)
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3) If it IS the period when you can bid, you should reach this login screen. Key in your Matriculation Number for NUSNET ID with your password/pin (This should have came in an email/mail some time ago. Check your inbox/junkmail/letterbox) and Login.
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4) Click on Module Management
There is an extra step (for freshies) which I don't have a screenshot of - the declaration of major. They will ask you to declare a major when you first use CORS. You most likely can't do so yet so just choose None or Nil. When the time comes when you can or you are able to, of course just select your intended major.
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5) Click on Add New Module
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6) Follow my foolproof instructions in the screenshot.
7) Repeat this step for all the modules you want to bid for. You will not be able to select certain modules which you have not met the pre-requisites or are not available in the current round.
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8) Click on Bidding Management. If you can bid for a module in the current round, it will be in 'Modules Available in Current Round' (duh)
9) Follow instructions in screenshot. You have to repeat this step for every module individually.
10) If the module is not available for bidding yet, you can place an advance bid.
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11) Voila! You're done!
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Centralised Online Registration System - The CORS of all your problems.
This section will explain things in more detail. We will try to keep things as succinct as possible while not making you fall asleep.
* Before reading this, you may want to check out this excellent summary written by Fenix from Brightsparks forum. We will generally avoid things already mentioned there, and explain things we deem relevant or are more complicated.
What is CORS all about?
In NUS, you are supposed to choose the modules that you want to study on your own. The system here is a bidding system, somewhat like an auction. Thus if you want a module, you have to bid for it during the respective rounds of CORS bidding.
- Every module has a limited number of slots, or a quota. For example, let's say Module ABC has only 10 slots available, but 11 students want to take it. Only the 10 highest bidders at the end of the round will get the module.
When can I bid for what module?
This is the first thing everyone asks. Before reading on, we highly suggest you thoroughly read the modular system/ academic requirements PDF file here. Do read the most current one, as there may be changes each year. Read especially the parts about what General Education Modules (GEMs) / Singapore Studies (SS) / Unrestricted Electives (UEs) are, and what you need to graduate. You need to be familiar with those terms before even knowing what to bid for.
(NOTE : The link provided is for FASS students. For other faculties, go to your own faculty page and locate it under Undergraduates section)
From here we will assume you already have the 5 modules you want to bid for in that semester.
For freshmen it is simple in your first semester -
Apart from GEMs, SS and Breadth modules, you should bid for everything else in Round 1C. This is the round where you are bidding among yourselves, and have no competition from seniors who have 198273 bid points. If you can't get the modules you want in 1C (though we advise you to try to get them) you can bid for them again later on IF there still are slots.
For GEMs and SS, you can only bid for them in Round 2A onwards.
For Breadth modules, you can only bid for them in Round 2C onwards. (You MAY be able to bid for some of these from Round 2A onwards, I'm not 100% sure about this. Just check in at Round 2A to see if the module shows up in "'Modules Available in Current Round'")
Refer here for an informative table. (Sem2)
Or here (Sem 1)
For seniors, (or freshmen in your second semester (there's no more Round 1C!)), refer to that link as well, the table there tells you very clearly when you can bid for which type of modules.
To see what type a module is,
See the numbers in brackets after the module name?
E.g. Introduction to Chinese Language (01)
The numbers in brackets is the Module Type Code which you can match with this table.
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How on earth should I bid??
You can submit a bid as early as Round 0. (an advance bid - when the system first opens your bid is automatically submitted)
There are two periods to every bidding round - Open and Closed bidding.
Open bidding is when you can see the highest and lowest bid points (HLBP) and the next minimum bid.
The next minimum bid is the smallest number of points you need to bid to be 'still in the race' for that module.
Remember our earlier example of Module ABC with 10 slots? Imagine there are already 10 bidders, and the lowest bidder bids 100 points. If you are the 11th bidder, to beat him, you would have to bid 101 points. This is the 'next minimum bid'.
Before the system enters 'Closed Bidding', it takes a 'screenshot' of all the final modules/HLBP/Minimum bids, and it will be uploaded to CORS (CORS -> Useful Info -> Lecture Bidding Reports)
In Closed bidding, you can still see the quota and number of bidders, but you cannot see the HLBP or the Next Minimum Bid anymore. You can only gauge from that screenshot at the end of Open Bidding and raise your bid accordingly.
Some nuances of bidding
- Any time a module does not hit its quota at the end of the entire bidding round (after Open/Closed) , everyone who has bidded for it will get it for 1 point.
E.g. Module ABC has 10 slots, but only 5 people bid for it. Everyone gets it for 1 point.
- This applies as well if it JUST hit its quota
E.g. Module ABC has exactly 10 bidders. Everyone gets it for 1 point
- The moment the module exceeds its quota, the top bidders according to the quota will get the module for the bid of the lowest bidder.
E.g. Module ABC has 10 slots, but 15 people bidded. The 10th highest bid was 123 points. It doesn't matter if the other 9 top bidders bidded 219837 points, all 10 of them will get the module for 123 points. This means 5 people will NOT get the module (The 5 lowest bidders)
If all these sounds confusing, don't worry, it really isn't. Once you start bidding, it will all become alot clearer.
Feel free to ask any questions you may have via comments/email. We have compiled a list of FAQs below so just scroll through them you may find your question there.
FAQs
Q: Why can't I log into CORS!? It doesn't let me log in! aFEWY!$!2%#@!%!
A: It probably isn't time to bid yet. Check here to see if it's the correct time. If it is, then either your date/time is wrong or the entire system is down. Start spamming the school with calls then.
Q: Why can't I bid for the modules I want?!? !@$@^SD@$&(
A: Either you haven't declared your major yet (Freshies entering Sem 2 especially) or it's not the appropriate round to bid for that module(s) yet. You can check here for an informative summary table about when to bid for what.
If you are Year 2, another reason could be that they are reserving spots for that module for year3/year4s first in the earlier rounds, before opening it up to everyone.
Q: Your guide sucks! Is there a better one?
I like this other guide too, quite a well-written FAQ.
http://life-of-a-nus-computing-student.blogspot.com/2009/08/unofficial-nus-cors-faq-for-freshmen.html
Q: Should I take Module A B C D E in Semester 1? Can I handle it?
Ask your seniors, but take their comments with a grain of salt as some people tend to be bitter about modules they didn't do well in.
Alternatively, you can always drop me an email atqhteo@gmail.com and I would be glad to give you some advice (If I can).
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