Course registration is a process that students has long dreaded and have gotten headaches over.
This was considered the norm until now, until the recent development of a new way to register for classes at Quinnipiac: WebAdvisor.
On the student’s respected course registration day at Quinnipiac University, students must log onto a computer and compete with other students trying to register for the same courses and times.
Course registration can be tough for students lacking the credits needed to obtain an earlier registration date for their grade level. These students often compromise their schedules, their extracurricular activities, internship opportunities, job schedules and even their major to come up with a feasible schedule for their next semester.
Prior to the registration period for summer and fall 2004 semester, students were connected to programs linked to the DATATEL system, which the institution utilizes to register it’s students.
The university hopes its new web-based system, WebAdvisor, which connects students directly to the DATATEL system, will provide a faster, more user-friendly service.
WebAdvisor has designated four “start times” for registration days: 8:00, 9:00, 10:00 and 11:00 am.
“Hopefully, these times will eliminate a lot of the ‘shotgun’ approaches at day break which have caused a lot of network congestion in the past,” Carolyn G. Hillegas, assistant registrar at Quinnipiac, said.
Though WebAdvisor provides a faster system, the availability of courses still remains a serious issue.
Students registering might find courses available only at times which conflict with their other courses, or some courses may be closed entirely, by the time registration for that student comes around.
The issue of assigned registration days is a matter which remains without an easy solution. Though earlier registration days are given to students who have earned the most credits, there still remains some controversy over whether or not this procedure is fair to all students.
“There is a lot more need on the part of a health science major,” Michael A. Bay, a media production specialist and student advisor, said. “The course that will show them how to oversee a knew surgery is much more crucial than a history major getting into that art class he or she was interested in.”
” I knew it sucks not to be able to take certain courses at certain times and registration is imperfect but is manageable,” Bay said.
Hillegas said that going by credits earned
is the most objective way of assigning students their registration days and has been that way for quite some time.
“In a perfect world, every student could log on wherever and whenever they wanted and would be able to register for every course at every time which suited their needs. That’s just not realistic,” she said.
However, in the opinion of some students, people with many lab credits, such as health science majors and students who can afford to pay for extra courses, are given an unfair opportunity, a debate which many students feel rather strongly about.
“I think the process is stressful, and more time consuming than it needs to be,” Marissa Almeida, a sophomore in the Physician Assistant program, said.
“It takes forever to get logged on. Then, you can get kicked off so easily.”
Almeida admitted that the physician assistant program and her extra credits allow her to register on the first day available, removing some of the stresses in her case.
“I don’t think that students should have to take more classes to earn more credits just to get a better registration day,” she said.
“Registration is manageable, but I think the assignment of registration days to certain students is unfair,” Blair Donahue, sophomore secondary education major, said. “Since it’s done by credits, health science and science majors get first picks.”
Sarah Bell, senior psychology major, said she enjoyed the process of registering for classes.
