There’s no doubt that registration is one of the more stressful times of the year, right up there with midterms and finals.
The ritual has changed quite a bit since I first started here at UTM, but the experience is always the same: stressing about what classes are offered when, nervously checking and double-checking your calculations to make sure the class you need three semesters down the line will be offered then, hoping and praying that it doesn’t fill up beforehand.
Certain innovations have made it easier to manage. Flight Plan, for example, despite its occasional strangeness, has revolutionized the way that I plan out my semesters.
Nevertheless, there is room for improving the registration process. Here are some of my key suggestions for making signing up for classes smooth, stress-free and relatively painless.
The first suggestion is allowing electronic signatures on manual approval forms for classes. There is nothing more frustrating than scrambling all over the campus collecting the needed signatures and stamps to be manually added to a class; doubly so if you have more to do that day than simply registering for classes.
The whole process would be much simpler if, like at most financial institutions in America these days, all parties could sign and stamp manual class adds electronically. Not only would this cut down on the number of frantic cross-campus trips come registration time, but it would be simpler, easier and less time consuming for everyone involved, including UTM staff. If you can sign for a loan online, you should certainly be able to manually add a class online.
Next, we might think that the registration process could be done earlier in the semester. Granted, not all plans for the next semester are finalized until well into the current term, but it certainly would help students and their advisors plan better if, instead of a week of advising and a week of registration, we had two weeks of advising. Perhaps a preliminary, speculative advising session and a later meeting to set everything in stone. If students have a good idea of what they’re taking before finals are even within view, it would cut down tremendously on student anxiety or confusion come registration day.
Another idea is “pre-registration.” The concept is essentially that students would be able to “lock-in” the CRNs for the courses they intend to take next semester before registration day. Then, when they are eligible to register, the system automatically populates their classes for them, no need to sit with your finger twitching over the computer waiting for exactly noon. This would also remove the unfair advantage some students have over others in getting into competitive classes by not having a class during registration time.
When filling up classes, the computer would prefer students with more credit-hours, and students whose classes fill up prematurely would get an email alerting them to the fact. They could even specify one or two “backup courses” that the computer would slot them into automatically if one course fills up before they can get in.
These are just a few ways UTM might improve the registration process. Even with all the potential improvements, it’s probably true that figuring out what classes you will need to finish your education every semester will always be a stressful task.
Photo Credit / Inside Higher Ed
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