By Nicholas Proch
By the end of the coming week, all continuing students will have registered for their next semester and selected their courses. For an upperclassman, this process has become learned behavior, but it can still be a daunting task. There are classes which students need to take to graduate from their respective programs.
In several cases this semester, I’ve found that it’s almost impossible for me to advance in my major because the courses I need to take are not being offered this coming semester. There are those who might need these courses to graduate after next semester, but they cannot. What does one do in this situation? Do they not graduate? How is this allowed by the university?
This institution needs to make it a priority for students to graduate on time. While the graduation rate is increasing, this doesn’t account for the amount of time and money it’s taking these students to actually get their degree. There is a big difference between graduating in four years compared to five or six years. By not offering courses that are necessary for a student to earn their degree, they are making this process an impossible one.
This coming semester is going to feature a new schedule block. It’s supposed to make it easier for students to get into the classes that they need. This is a step in the right direction, but it’s making things confusing along the way. The times start and stop at strange ends of the hours and make school conflict with work for many.
This university has always been cooperative with the working student, but this schedule is not. With classes starting at obscure times, students who come from work are going to have to get out early to make it work.
The bigger issue that is arising from this new schedule is the fact that it may have made overlap even worse. While there are more times to take classes, the departments themselves have scheduling issues now. In the larger programs on campus, there are multiple courses taking place at once in the same department. This proves to be troublesome yet again for the student. With the option to only take one class at a time, we are extending their stay here yet again.
The last thing that really needs to be changed with our registration system is the advising process. A simple meeting with an instructor and a handout of your personal identification number isn’t enough. With students not receiving quite enough guidance, they are not going to know what to take to get them through. Instead of an instructor providing guidance, there should be a entire advising staff whose job it is to take care of students and keep them on track to graduate. A staff that is completely dedicated to this will not lose focus and will know the ins and outs of the schools degree programs.
While it’s safe to say that we have a higher graduation rate than previous years, it’s also clear that this university needs to make strides to allow students to make timely exits from their programs. This is going to begin with registration and come down from there. Get the student body the staff and resources they need and we we’ll look even better as an institution.