By Aimee Bulger
Staff Writer
Enrollment for fall classes has recently concluded, with dates for fall enrollment running between April 2 and April 12. After clearing up any possible holds on PAWS, students were able to select their desired fall courses during their given time slot.
While many course options were available, many students feared that they would not be able to obtain a seat in the ones they wanted or needed for their major and/or College Core requirements.
The time slot assignment process is based on earned credits, meaning priority slots go to those closest to graduating. This ensures that students can meet their final requirements before applying for graduation.
“I definitely had one of the latest time slots, just like I did last semester, so I definitely experienced most classes being full already, including college core classes,” said freshman psychology major Katie Rogina. “I like having pretty small class sizes but I do think the amount of seats available in the classes do have a big effect on our chances of getting into the classes we need.”
Rogina added that she did not get into many of her required classes for next semester, limiting the number of requirements she has met thus far.
While this benefits upperclassmen who need courses for graduation, it may also put students with later enrollment dates at a disadvantage when looking to pursue upper level courses for their majors or requirements.
Abby Holliday, a sophomore business management major, stressed that since all of the other sophomores she knew had already gotten to select classes before her enrollment date, she would not be able to get into the ones she needed.
When asked why she felt her classes would not be available, she stated, “Mostly because of my time slots and only a little because of the class size.”
Due to the sizes of classes and the large window in which students can enroll, most of the higher level courses ran out of seats before many students had a chance to select them.
“Based off of my time slot for fall enrollment, I did not feel confident that I would get all of the classes I needed,” said freshman psychology major Morgan Rosenthal. “Two of my classes filled up before I got the opportunity to choose them, leading to me having to get out on a waitlist. I needed specific courses as I am scheduled to graduate early, but was unable to put certain courses in my schedule for next semester.”
If a student is not able to select their desired course during enrollment, they can join the waitlist by filling out the form on the Records and Registration website.
Rosenthal said that the waitlist program helped her get into a few classes she needed.
“If it were not for the waitlist, I would’ve had to take courses that were not beneficial to my concentration,” she states. She also mentioned her stress beforehand due to her time slot and the lack of remaining seats in classes.
Contacting your advisor and devising a semesterly plan for courses may help ease the selection process. However, this does not guarantee that those courses will be available during your time slot.
All information about enrollment can be found on the College’s website. Selecting one’s courses any semester may be challenging and stressful, but there are resources available to assist.
