College is a time in students' academic careers where they are free to take any and every course that interests them. That is, assuming they have an early registration time, the course isn't closed or major restricted, it doesn't conflict with any other courses, and it adequately fulfills University requirements.
The registration period, this semester lasting from April 7 to April 14, tends to be a time of high stress for undergraduates. With the many problems and challenges that students and administration face during this process, some have asked if there is a better and more efficient way to manage scheduling and courses.
In 1990, Boston College implemented its current registration system, which is similar to many universities. Before this computerized AGORA process, however, students would get a random registration time and report to Gasson 100.
There, they would sit at a computer with a faculty member and enter in the courses that they desired for the upcoming semester. Their selections were unable to be altered until add/drop week of the following semester.
"Students found it a relief when they were able to [register] themselves," says Louise Lonabocker, director of Student Services.
While registering in the privacy of a dorm room may be more conducive to the actual registration, many students gripe about the advising and course selection processes.
Students are willing to go pretty far in order to secure a spot in a class. This type of conduct ranges from overriding classes to enlisting friends of a different major to enroll in a popular course and then drop it.
Approximately 2,500 students override into courses per semester. This number is based on a variety of motives, the most prominent being time, professor, and interest.
"Overrides have always worked out for me. I actually get overrides frequently by registering for back-up classes and then requesting overrides from the professors," says Phil Chang, philosophy major and A&S '07.
While some students may hold the key to getting the classes they want every semester, others must just learn to be satisfied.
"Students get what they need, not necessarily what they want," says Lonabocker.
"I have been trying to register for Public Speaking, but this class is restricted to communications majors only," says Steven Moore, a political science major and A&S '06.
"Every time I speak with a professor about getting an override, they will not allow it - I think this is a valuable class that should be available for everyone at BC to enroll in."
Even getting what they need, however, can sometimes conflict with other course times, forcing a student to rearrange his or her entire schedule for a graduation requirement.
As a remedy for this registration frenzy, Lonabocker says Student Services "hopes to implement an electronic waitlist for classes." This would certainly be a more unbiased and much more organized method of signing up for popular courses.
Another aspect of registration is deciding which courses will be most valuable with what professors. In instances such as these, many students turn to the PEPs - Professor Evaluation Profiles - on the Undergraduate Government of BC Web site.
When asked about the accuracy of these evaluations, Lonabocker said that she considers them to be "anecdotal" and that "the lack of control is unfortunate." This is only one of the arguments made concerning the PEPs.
While some people consider PEPs to be the final say on the quality of professors and courses, others consider them to be a biased source.
Nicolle Buckley, A&S '07, says that she thinks there are innate problems with the PEPs.
"Generally a concern I have when referencing PEPs is that they only get extreme feedback and biased opinions from students who hated or loved the course. I guess that it can be handy for some people concerned with issues of coursework and assignments," says Buckley.
Lonabocker hopes that in the near future, course evaluations will be completed by all of the students who have completed a course and will be made available online. This will be similar to the way that other schools, specifically Harvard, have put course evaluations in book format for all students to reference.
As progressive and helpful as BC tries to make course registration, some students are still overwhelmed when it comes to determining what courses to take and who they should speak to about their questions.
Lauren Goich, CSOM '08, is currently transferring into the College of Arts and Sciences, and believes that registering for courses for this coming fall is likely to be confusing and stressful.
"I think that the BC registration is fair, but I think that the guidance that freshmen get is absolutely horrible," she says. "We're just figuring out our majors, and we have no idea what courses and things we should take. So I'm really nervous that I won't pick the classes that I actually need, and I'm going to end up needing to take extra classes my senior year to get it all done."
Moore's experience with the registration system has included changing his advisor four times in his college career. His wish is that "students were able to pick an advisor in their majors based on the student's preference. Ideally, a student would choose an adviser's based on his or her experiences and profession. I realize that this may lead to a disproportionate student/advisor ratio, but it is a better solution that having advisors change constantly."
So, there are some considerations that BC must make for the future of the registration process. In the mean time, the University is considering projects in order to make the registration system Web-based and interactive.
"I would love to see the day when we would be able to have a Web-based interactive system," says Lonabocker. "Ideally, students would be able to click on things and put them in a shopping basket, similar to Amazon.com."
Lonabocker hopes that this interactive system will include links to course descriptions, syllabi, professor biographies, and similar courses taken by students. BC hopes the registering for courses will one day really be as easy as the click of a mouse.
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