I'd like to thank the refresh button (F5), as well as my cat-like reflexes, because I just registered for one of the last available seats in two of my Fall 2008 classes.
It's a good thing I am a class registration ninja, because my spot in line wasn't until the last day of registration, and a lot of the classes were already full. I don't know how other schools process registration requests, but UC Hastings employs a method similar to a fantasy baseball snake draft, where students register for classes in one order and then register for waitlist positions in reverse order (A-Z for registration, then Z-A for waitlist).
Anyway, I was so happy to enroll in the classes with only a few open seats that I took the dog out this morning when it was clearly my wife's turn. Registration ninjas are all around great guys.
Not everyone was fortunate enough to enroll in most of the classes they want for next fall.
While I still need to join the waitlist for one class, Copyright, I'll have a very good waitlist position because I'll register first as the line snakes back through the alphabet. Really, it's the kids in the middle chunk that are at a disadvantage when attempting to enroll into small classes. Not only did they register after the class was likely full, but their waitlist spot will also occur in the middle of the pack. Maybe that is the true registration ninja test...
In all seriousness, however, I've overheard quite a few student complaints about things other the actual registration calendar. Click the jump to overhear, too, or email me/post a comment below with your own hellish registration experiences. For information on Berkeley's registration woes, check out the post on the issue over at Nuts & Boalts.
The biggest complaint seems to concern the recent class time changes at UC Hastings. This year all classes lasted 50 minutes and began at 40 min past the hour and ended at the following half hour. The uniformity of class start times made commuting and remembering class times very easy. Fall 2008 is a bit different because each class lasts a full hour. That doesn't sound so bad, but when you add in the 10 minute buffer zone between classes the start time for each class is staggered: 8:30, 9:40, 10:50, etc..
I don't know how other schools schedule their classes but Hastings' new start times seem odd. How do other schools schedule their start times? Feel free to take a moment and post something in the comment section below.
Part of me is frustrated that the administration would change something that is functioning properly. While it's annoying to re-learn my BART schedule, in the end it's a relatively minor change and I'll get over it.
Another complaint I've overheard deals with the limited number of classes offered this fall as opposed to previous semesters. The class selection seems fine by my standards, thought I did notice that several of the classes I was interested in were only offered during the same 60 minute time block. I realize that some time slots are more convenient for professors than others, but it really makes picking classes much more difficult if classes are not evenly distributed. I know a lot of other schools are currently running the gauntlet of class registration, and I'd love to hear about your experience.
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