Registration for spring classes started Feb. 11, leaving many Cal Poly students worried about not getting their necessary classes.
Though students can choose to use priority if they are anxious about getting necessary classes, priority must be used wisely because it is only available three times.
Debbie Arseneau, the Associate Registrar and employee in the Office of the Registrar for 28 years, said priority enrollment was originally intended for students’ last three quarters, in which students have less flexibility in their schedules. However, Arseneau said many students do not save their priorities for their intended purpose.
The issue of when to use priorities aside, some students also have trouble getting enough units to be considered full-time.
Ryan Blumenthal, a physics sophomore, has had this problem multiple times at Cal Poly.
“I have had trouble securing even 12 units before,” Blumenthal said. “When I don’t have a good registration date, I find it hard to get classes I need and classes I require for my major.”
Arseneau said acquiring classes was harder before PASS and CPReg were utilized in 2006. Before, Arseneau said, students sent in scantron-type sheets with the classes they wanted bubbled in with hopes they would get them. The schedules then had to be mailed, often taking a month for students to find out their classes, and some students were left with no classes at all.
“Less than 50 percent of the students actually got schedules, and then the rest had to crash classes,” Arseneau said.
Before that, students went through “arena” registration in the gym where students would grab cards from representatives of the classes they wanted. If they got a card, then they were enrolled in the class.
Now, with a more effective system, students still have problems but do not have to scramble or wait.
Some students still worry about their place in the registration rotation. The rotation periods vary from Feb. 11 at 8 a.m. — for qualified students with disabilities — to March 3 at 4 p.m., leaving some students registering far after the majority have.
To combat not getting classes Arseneau said students should be flexible. Not only are classes added during later rotation periods, but departments also monitor how classes fill in case they fill faster than anticipated. In that case, Arseneau said, more sections of those classes will be made available for students.
“Sometimes a class will be available and sometimes it won’t, or it may be available at a time when you really don’t like it, but that’s a time when it can be offered where it creates the least amount of conflict,” Arseneau said. “And sometimes for a quarter you have to kind of suck it up and take the class, even if it isn’t at the opportune time.”
Even then Arseneau said students may not get their preferred classes because of availability.
Statistics sophomore Diana Said said when she had late registration rotations, she would just be a little more flexible with her class choices.
“I got into ENGL 134 on a super late registration just by being flexible and taking early morning classes, and being willing to take Friday classes,” Said said. “I think it’s a good idea that Cal Poly does put some more classes for the people in the later rotations.”
The rotation schedules allow students to get into the top third of rotations once a year, but this qualifies for the lower third as well. The summer term is also included in the rotations, so sometimes students get into the top third during the summer when they may not be attending classes.
Mark Lerner, a software engineering sophomore, said Cal Poly’s method of registering was more effective than some alternatives.
“In others, registration is done by grade level, then by GPA,” Lerner said. “I feel that a rotation schedule like that becomes almost self-perpetuating, in that the people that are doing well get the classes they want, while people that may be suffering can’t choose the classes they need.”
Arseneau said at one point, Cal Poly used a year system, but it became problematic with a growing number of seniors.
“I think the most difficult part when we were doing it by year was that we had so many students who were seniors, because they would get to a certain number of units that would determine whether you were a senior or a junior or a sophomore or whatever,” Arseneau said. “Once you met that unit limit, you were a senior until you graduated, and that could be if you changed your major and (were) here for another two or three years after that. So, you had that big pool of students, and it just kept getting larger and larger.”
With the advancements Cal Poly has made, Arseneau said there is still always room for improvement. There is a registration and scheduling committee that discusses improvements in the system to make it easier for students to get the classes they need to graduate. Arseneau said the priority system currently in place actually came from this committee. Now the system may need updating.
For Lerner, the Cal Poly system would be more efficient if PASS were updated to be more “individualized.”
“That is, have PASS detect your major, and what classes you’ve already taken, and show you what classes would most benefit you,” Lerner said. “Something to that end would make it much more efficient. Also, I wish that they’d let you save more schedules in PASS.”
Lerner also said departments should make their course lists available sooner.
“I feel like the individual departments need to make their offered courses more available,” Lerner said. “For instance, I tried to plan out my schedule for this coming quarter a while ago, but I couldn’t find a list of offered courses for a couple of the different departments that I needed.”
Yet, even with registration woes, there are resources for students to use in order to get the classes they need.
Arseneau also said students should use their resources, such as the Office of the Registrars office and department advisers.
Blumenthal said he enlisted the help of his adviser when he was unable to get core classes.
“My department was a huge help by supporting me when I had trouble getting major courses,” Blumenthal said. “If anyone’s having a rough time registering, definitely send an e-mail to your adviser because they’re miracle workers.”
Arseneau still felt the registration process has improved significantly.
“From getting a card in the gymnasium to then submitting a request and getting it back a month later, to now when it’s instant and available,” Arseneau said. “I think definitely things have changed. And all for the better. They will continue to change for the better.”
If the purpose of Priority registration is that upper division students can use it when their schedules are more constrained, why are they even available to Freshmen and Sophomores? Make it so that you can’t use a priority registration until you are Junior standing or higher to prevent people from using it to get into Bowling their freshmen year.
First of all, freshman are not allowed to use priorities. You can not use a priority until you are registering for your fourth quarter at Cal Poly. That being said, the real problems are not necessarily the registration system (although I do feel it has many flaws), but the fact that the school takes on more students than it should. So many majors are impacted and there is just not enough money to offer more sections of GE’s. Sure, being flexible and taking classes at less desirable times can make it easier to get into classes, but what happens if you’re one of the last to register and get stuck with a class that ends at 10 p.m. and then one that begins at 7 a.m. the next morning? It’s doubtful you’d be able to get enough sleep during the night to be fully rested. In addition, you’d probably get more stressed out and your grades would likely be effected. In my opinion, the ideal registration system would give every student their top two classes. That way everyone would have at least one or two classes on the day/time they want and hopefully with a teacher they want. Students could then register for the rest of their classes using the current system. I don’t know how possible my idea is, but it’s just a thought as to how registration could be improved.
First of all, freshman are not allowed to use priorities. You can not use a priority until you are registering for your fourth quarter at Cal Poly. That being said, the real problems are not necessarily the registration system (although I do feel it has many flaws), but the fact that the school takes on more students than it should. So many majors are impacted and there is just not enough money to offer more sections of GE’s. Sure, being flexible and taking classes at less desirable times can make it easier to get into classes, but what happens if you’re one of the last to register and get stuck with a class that ends at 10 p.m. and then one that begins at 7 a.m. the next morning? It’s doubtful you’d be able to get enough sleep during the night to be fully rested. In addition, you’d probably get more stressed out and your grades would likely be effected. In my opinion, the ideal registration system would give every student their top two classes. That way everyone would have at least one or two classes on the day/time they want and hopefully with a teacher they want. Students could then register for the rest of their classes using the current system. I don’t know how possible my idea is, but it’s just a thought as to how registration could be improved.
The first two paragraphs were written so poorly that I refuse to read the rest of the article.
You can get what you need with planning. Lots and lots of it.
Figure out what classes you have left, what is being offered, and what classes can substitute if one of them is full.
Always make a “back up” schedule that has second choice classes that are necessary to graduate.
Talk to people in your major and figure out what ones are REALLY hard to get into, so that you can try two or three times if necessary.
I know people hate the words Summer School, but it seriously is the only way I graduated on time, and I thank my lucky stars I took American History that way because it would have been a NIGHTMARE as a regular class. It had half as much work as he regularly assigned but was still tons and tons of reading.
Look at what your priority will be on the chart that lays it out for the next few years. If you have REALLY bad priority, but will have awesome priority for the next year, then use 1 of your three for that quarter.
If you’re a senior, you can usually get into what you need by emailing the teacher early and explaining that you’re a graduating senior. Clear communication is your friend!
Most importantly, DO NOT leave your Sr. Project for total last unless you absolutely positively know what you’re doing. Get that thing done as early as you can, get the topic, and start researching it. It’s a freaking nightmare otherwise.
Look at the requirements and see what is listed in the whole group of classes, don’t just take the first thing it lists. Sometimes 3 things from the same area will be offered, and 1 will be impossible to get into, while the others aren’t bad at all. You just have to really research what is going to be offered each quarter. Get those sheets that tell you for your major.
It sucks to have to do SO much planning, but it is worth it to get out of there on time.