My education belongs to me. Sometimes, though, I need to keep a close eye on my education to make sure it doesn’t go astray. This is especially important when it comes to class selection. So I spent an hour and a half in line, waiting to register for classes. I couldn’t help but notice that things were running less smoothly than I would have hoped, considering the task at hand.
The first problem that I noticed with registration was that some of the information I received was blatantly inaccurate.
For instance, I was told that registration would open at 9 a.m. When I arrived, a half an hour early, registration had been open for some time. I don’t know precisely when it had opened, but the 9 a.m. starting point was most certainly misleading. Had I known that it would be opening before eight in the morning, I would have shown up earlier.
Apart from that, there remain some other issues that need attention. For instance, we might follow the lead of many other universities, and allow online registration. This would save students from wasting a substantial part of their morning waiting in line.
Online registration could still be set up by class. This would still allow rising seniors to begin registration first. Adviser approval could be done by electronic signature, which would also streamline the process.
Revised online registration would also allows students to register at their own convenience. Many students work or have classes on weekdays, and that is no reason why they should be at a disadvantage for registration.
This would also save students from having to wake up at unreasonably early hours to wait in long lines. The part of the line in front of me, at times, got longer. How, might you ask, would the line get longer in front rather than in back? This is because many students felt as though they had the right to move to the front of the line, and they had friends up front who agreed with them.
I think these two problems are related. I felt that I had the right to be at the front of the line, and while I personally didn’t skip to the front, I can understand why someone would. Many of us are busy, especially this time of year. Our time is valuable to us, and waiting in hour and a half long lines to register for classes doesn’t seem the best way to spend that time.
So, while I was frustrated with the students who managed to forego the line waiting, it was more out of jealousy than actual anger. The actual problem goes back to the line itself, which is that there is no reason why, with the technology we have at hand, registration needs to be done in this manner. Powell can be reached at lpowell@campustimes.org.
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