Registration priorities change

Registration for fall classes began on Monday, but this time it started without athletes, honors students and other special group members getting priority treatment.

A committee of deans chaired by Vice Provost Perry Lee Roberts brought the issue before Associate Dean of Enrollments and Registrar Scott Ingold, suggesting changes were needed in the registration process, Ingold said.

“The deans agreed that we’ve gotten to the point now where we really needed to rethink the process to make it a little bit more equitable,” Ingold said.

Ingold posed the question:

“Do we continue to provide opportunities for special groups to be given priority during registration and then fill in with everybody else, or have we gotten to a point now where we look at the special groups in terms of where they would fall based on their class?”

Ingold decided it was time to make the switch and allow priority registration for honors and special groups students only within their class level.

The decision came after juniors and seniors were being locked out of classes they needed to graduate, Ingold said.

“That was part of the impetus behind the conversation,” Ingold said. “Those types of issues are what caused the group to bring it up.”

“I think it’s a good idea because if I was a senior and there was a freshman athlete signing up before me, I’d be pretty mad,” Megan Dwyer, a junior in the honors program, said.

“Instead of letting all the honors students and special groups register on the first day, it is more equitable to allow all the honors and special groups seniors to go on the first day, and then seniors on the second day,” Ingold said.

“I’m not happy about this,” freshman Billy Bludgus said. “The whole point of having early registration for special groups is because it’s imperative that we get the sections that fit into our demanding schedules.”

Bludgus is a 4.0 student in the honors program. He is also an athlete and a member of President’s 100.

Under the old system, Bludgus would have registered on the first day, Monday April 8th. Now, freshman Bludgus has to wait until April 17.

“Only being able to register before other freshmen serves me no good at all because all the courses I’m taking are upper level courses which are being filled by sophomores and juniors,” Bludgus said.

“Are there going to be some issues with some students? Yes there will be. And I’ve already got a commitment from the associate deans that they would look at special cases,” Ingold said.

One issue some students stumble upon is being a few credits short of being considered a member of the next class level.

“Because I had a withdrawal from one class last semester,” Dwyer said, “I was one credit short of being considered a senior, so even though I’m in the honors program, and an athlete and it’s my senior year I had to wait till the third day.”

Everything worked out for Dwyer since she got the classes she needed.

“Even though it seems more hectic, I still think it’s a good idea,” Dwyer said.