2008 Woodie Awards
Registration Troubles Abound
Emily Anderson
Issue date: 1/21/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 3 next >
Students returned to campus this week rested and prepared for the new year and the semester ahead with fresh academic, social and extracurricular challenges awaiting them. Before rigorous coursework begins, many students must engage in battles to simply register for classes.
Students attempting to enroll in classes are turned away due to excess demand for courses and "caps" on class numbers that are established by the administration. The student interest in classes seems to exceed the supply of many specific courses and professors in several departments, leaving students unable to register for the classes that they desire -- or are required -- to take.
Well before the end of the last semester, students met with their academic advisers to make tentative plans for their course schedule. They then participated in online registration, which allows groups of students to enter the website at a specific time, determined by lottery, in order to select their courses. Many students came away from this process on multiple waitlists, feeling disgruntled because the classes that they wanted to take were full.
Students attempted to secure places in classes through the chaotic procedure of "drop-add," which entailed waiting in long lines and generally unsuccessful cajolery with department chairs. Because students are generally not able to change their schedules at this event, the remaining hope of registering for many courses lies in the jurisdiction of individual professors.
While professors manage their own class lists, they are confined by boundaries on class sizes imposed by the administration. Thus they cannot allow all students desiring a place in the class to register.
Students expressed frustration and confusion with Colgate's registration process.
"While I intend to major in political science," sophomore Julia Fleckman said, "registering for even one course in the department was almost impossible this semester."
Provost and Dean of the Faculty Lyle Roelofs and Associate Dean of the Faculty Jill Tiefenthaler cited a specific reason for students' difficulty in registering for desired classes.
Students attempting to enroll in classes are turned away due to excess demand for courses and "caps" on class numbers that are established by the administration. The student interest in classes seems to exceed the supply of many specific courses and professors in several departments, leaving students unable to register for the classes that they desire -- or are required -- to take.
Well before the end of the last semester, students met with their academic advisers to make tentative plans for their course schedule. They then participated in online registration, which allows groups of students to enter the website at a specific time, determined by lottery, in order to select their courses. Many students came away from this process on multiple waitlists, feeling disgruntled because the classes that they wanted to take were full.
Students attempted to secure places in classes through the chaotic procedure of "drop-add," which entailed waiting in long lines and generally unsuccessful cajolery with department chairs. Because students are generally not able to change their schedules at this event, the remaining hope of registering for many courses lies in the jurisdiction of individual professors.
While professors manage their own class lists, they are confined by boundaries on class sizes imposed by the administration. Thus they cannot allow all students desiring a place in the class to register.
Students expressed frustration and confusion with Colgate's registration process.
"While I intend to major in political science," sophomore Julia Fleckman said, "registering for even one course in the department was almost impossible this semester."
Provost and Dean of the Faculty Lyle Roelofs and Associate Dean of the Faculty Jill Tiefenthaler cited a specific reason for students' difficulty in registering for desired classes.