Electronic waitlists 'easier' for registration

In the past, students registering for full classes resorted to desperate measures to get seats in the classroom. Some showed up to class every day until a professor let them in, while others refreshed the RAMweb page every five minutes until an opening was displayed.

This year, with the introduction of new online waitlists, the Registrar’s Office has developed a first-come, first-serve system for students trying to register for full classes.

Under the new system, students electronically denied enrollment to a full class will be prompted to add their name to a waiting list. When the next available opening belongs to them, they will receive an e-mail or text message and have 24 hours to enroll in the course.

“It will make it easier for students. They’ll be allowed to wait in line electronically,” said Sue Coulson, systems specialist in the Registrar’s Office.
If a student needs a class for graduation or other pressing reasons, they can still get an enrollment limit override. An override will take precedent over the class waitlist if granted to the student, Coulson said.

Joe Champ, an associate professor in the Department of Journalism and Technical Communication, said the program will make professors’ lives easier as well.
“We get requests over the summer to put people on a waiting list, but we’ve never kept a formal list before,” Champ said. “This gives us a nice record.”

The waitlist method does not check for scheduling conflicts. This will allow students to build a full schedule regardless of their waitlisted classes. If the student later finds an opening in a previously full class, they can re-adjust their schedule at that time.

Students can also join the waitlists for multiple sections of one class, and the number of waitlists one student can sign up for is limitless.

Though this new program will likely eliminate some frustrations students have while trying to register, it is still important for students to register in a timely manner, said Gaye DiGregorio, executive director of the Center for Advising and Student Achievement.

Tommy Crews, a senior psychology major, has had few problems with getting the classes he needs because he does register within close range of his registration time.
“People who wait too long to register are the ones who can’t get the classes they want,” Crews said.

Staff Writer Allison Welter can be reached at news@collegian.com.