registry vs administration office [school]

S

Super Saiyan

Senior Member
Cantonese
Hi, may I know whether a registry is used to mean an office in a primary/secondary school where students do their registration for the school or other administrative matters about the school?

Or for an office like this it is called administration office? Thank you.
 
    • Have you seen “registry” used like this somewhere?

    I don’t think I have seen the word “registry“ used in this way; but the world is a big place. “Registry” can be a rather grand term for a room where files are stored, I suppose.

    I am not sure what you mean by “do their registration”. Is this an activity that happens every day?
     
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    Like Teddy, I have never heard the word 'registry' used in this way. If we're talking about the place where the day-to-day admin of the school happens, I'd just call it 'the office' or 'the school office'.
     
    Super Saiyan said:
    Hello, I just found another ones. Are they used correctly in school settings? The bottom one is from a university in Hong Kong.

    Tung Wah College - Registry - Contact Us

    About Registry - 教務處 - 嶺南大學
    Click to expand...
    Inasmuch as a school has the freedom to call a department anything that it chooses, I suppose you could call " registry" "correct." Apparently, it's used in Hong Kong, according to your examples, but I've never seen it in the United States in the context of higher education.
    We do have "registries," such as the American Kennel Club, which maintains a registry of pure-bred dogs.
    I would not use it in an American higher education context.
    On the other hand, American universities have an official called the "registrar."
    What are the duties and responsibilities of a Registrar? Typically, a Registrar processes registration requests and manages academic records for students, such as grades and class schedules, and keeps a permanent record of grades for each student.
    Click to expand...
    Registrar job description.
     
    As @sdgraham says, schools can call their departments and offices whatever they think sounds good, and apparently 'registry' is correct in Hong Kong.
    In the US I would not expect to see the word 'registry' for an office with the services that the registry at Tung Wah College provides. It seems to have the functions of the admissions office and the registrar's office at an American college or university.
     
    Super Saiyan said:
    Hi, may I know whether a registry is used to mean an office in a primary/secondary school where students do their registration for the school or other administrative matters about the school?

    Or for an office like this it is called administration office? Thank you.
    Click to expand...
    In primary and secondary schools (grades 1 to 12), almost all the student "registering" happens at the start of the school year. There is no reason to have a "registry office" the other 10 months of each year.

    But there is an "administrative office" always, so that is the more common name. It does registering and many other things.
     
    thank you everyone. So it can be called ‘admissions office or registrar’s office or administrative office.’ Thank you.
     
    Super Saiyan said:
    thank you everyone. So it can be called ‘admissions office or registrar’s office or administrative office.’ Thank you.
    Click to expand...
    No. In an ordinary American public primary or secondary school it is called the office, or the principal's office. (Maybe the headmaster's office at a private school.) Most primary or secondary schools, whether public or private, are not big enough to have separate admissions or registrar's offices. Those would be at universities.
     
    I answered the question based on the examples from the universities in Hong Kong. While those offices would be called admissions offices or registrar's offices in American universities, I agree with others here that a similar office in schools in the US (kindergarten through high school) would be the principal's office or maybe the administrative office, especially if it's a large school with several administrative staff members.
     
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