Shy of sleeping with professors, there’s no guaranteed way
of getting into classes, and let’s face it: no matter what your mother may have told you, some of us weren’t born beautiful.
Every semester, students reduce themselves to sniveling,
groveling, e-mailing and pleading to get a spot in a popular
class, and while those may still be a part of the process, the newest incarnation of drop/add has at least been streamlined into a more efficient and friendly process.
Drop/add has been at the forefront of registration qualms
ever since the administration adopted the process years
before any of us got here. In the new system, passed last
spring, but put into effect this upcoming semester, much of
the bureaucratic responsibility has shifted from students to
professors. Students will no longer have to carry stacks of
drop/add forms with them to classes, as the process has cut out any paper transactions. Once they’ve let you in, teachers simply have to check your name off of an enrollment reques link and, bam, you’re enrolled.
The move is a positive step towards reforming the
registration system into something convenient for both
students and professors. A few concerns come to mind
though, namely the added steps that teachers have to take to
let students into class. While many of our distinguished professors are at the forefront of their fields, some of them are still waiting to catch the information technology wave. The University would do well to spend a significant amount of time and resources going over the process with faculty and students alike.
Furthermore, there are still a lot of things that need
improvement within the drop/add system. Red and Black
periods are still too short; students would greatly benefit if the period were lengthened to include at least two class cycles. The ranking system for the new enrollment requests also puts students at a disadvantage if their preferences change or if two classes carry the same priority.
So, applause to the University for taking an important step
towards making registration something students wonХt have
to suffer over. Until the reforms are taken further, students should still plan on some serious brown-nosing at the beginning of next semester.
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