The clock is ticking down and the end of the quarter is drawing near. As this time approaches, many students have begun to – if they have not already – register for Winter 2003 classes. However, what should be a fairly simple procedure turns into quite a headache for many students.

The registration process has undergone several changes in the past few quarters, including the removal of phone registration, the dropping of PAC codes and the discontinuation of a printed Master Schedule.

Though the university has tried to advertise these changes as improvements in the ease of the process, it has done the opposite. The university made these alterations in an effort to save a few more dollars, and while for the most part these are not harmful changes, they are inconvenient.

For students not lucky enough to qualify for early registration because they are not athletic enough to play a varsity sport or didn’t make the grades to be in the Honors and Scholars program, the process of course registration often turns out to be the biggest problem of any quarter.

The one word haunting many students at this time in the quarter is waitlist. For many, it is the only way to get in line for the classes required for graduation. However, the university sees it fit to limit the number of waitlisted classes to three – which is unacceptable – especially for sophomores and juniors who are fighting for spots in major courses and GECs.

It should be made simple for students to sit down at one time and within a matter of minutes, have a schedule that at least gives them enough credit hours to be full-time students. Especially in many of the engineering majors, where courses count for only three hours in length, it can be quite difficult to schedule the right number of hours.

For students unfortunate enough to not own a computer, it may now be necessary for them to waste their time in a computer lab in order to properly register for classes. This could be a greater inconvenience for those students living off campus since they may not always be in the area long enough to register for classes at one of the labs.

Some students do not even have completed schedules until the day before the new quarter begins. This can be frustrating for those who would like to be sure of where they will be when the quarter starts. There are a few things the university could easily do to correct many of the current system’s problems.

The best thing for all involved would be to make sure the colleges offer enough sections of each course. This is especially important for major courses that are prerequisites for other courses within the major. Some individual colleges do a good job of opening course sections later, while others seem to be unwilling or unable to make enough courses available for their students.

Another suggestion would be to limit the allowed number of waitlisted hours to 15 instead of just making three courses the maximum. This would mean a person with a major that has mostly three-credit-hour courses could waitlist enough to get the hours they need.

Another waitlisting problem that would benefit from improvement is the e-mail notification system. If you are admitted into a waitlisted course, you are supposed to receive an e-mail notifying you of your addition to the class.

The problem is that these notifications often arrive several days or up to a week after you have been added to the course. While this doesn’t hurt registration, it can be a hassle for students who need to properly balance the hours and schedule of their courses.

There are many changes the university could make to the course registration process that would improve the experience for students – and not just in another attempt to save money by making some small cutbacks. It is not like it will keep them from raising tuition again this year.

Joey Maresca is a junior in electrical and computer engineering. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].