With midterms behind us and November around the corner, it’s time for CCSU students to start planning their courses for the spring semester.
With that comes the knowledge that some students have already signed up for their classes, limiting the availability of some classes for the general student population, a hurdle the Recorder editorial board knows is necessary.
These students – including honors students, disability students, athletes and, as of the Fall 2015 semester, veterans – all have legitimate reasons to receive priority registration. Honors students have to schedule around their honors classes; athletes around practice time; veterans in order to receive all their benefits.
While a large majority of the student body are unaffected by those registering early, there are always those who fall outside of these four groups who could benefit from access to priority registration.
As a college institution heavily populated by commuter students, it’s inevitable that life outside of school can make scheduling classes difficult. Although CCSU and the CSU system has made an effort to streamline class times, it’s not perfect.
Those benefiting from priority registration should continue to do so. But a separate system should be put into place to account for those who feel they could benefit.
Take, for instance, a student working two jobs to pay for school in order to avoid being burdened by loan debt. While this is an admirable route to take, it requires careful planning, something that is made difficult when classes fill up early.
While the amount of students facing problems like this may be small, they shouldn’t be ignored and lumped with all students.
Central’s leaders should look for other solutions, such as an application system that students can submit to, who think they deserve to register early based on extreme extenuating circumstances.
Take the hypothetical student with two jobs. By submitting an application with proof that they are working to pay for school, which could include work schedules from both jobs along with their financial aid records showing they receive minimal help, they could be approved for early registration.
A small board made up of the student’s advisor, department head, school dean and one or two impartial school officials could sit with these students on a case by case basis and determine if they deserve to benefit from early registration.
As Paul Pettersen, chair of the honors program, says in an article in this issue, there is no perfect system. But CCSU officials need to consider that some students fall outside the broad generalizations of priority students who deserve those benefits as well.