It's registration time again, and for many students that means waitlists.
Auburn's online waitlist system was implemented last fall on tiger i.
"You go through registration on tiger i," said Laura Ann Forest, University registrar. "If you hit a class already at capacity, you will be rolled to a waitlist. There's no priority. It's all by time.
"If someone drops the class, the system automatically generates an email to the student on the top of the list. It gives you 24 hours to respond, and if you don't, it moves on to the next person."
After classes begin, the online waitlists are shut off and go to departmental waitlists.
Waitlists allow more flexibility, which help encourage departments to cooperate with the online switch.
"I think what some people were afraid of was that it would always be first-come, first-served," said Constance Relihan, associate provost for undergraduate studies. "What we're able to do with the waitlists is restructure them so departments can come in and give priory to their majors and those closest to graduation. They can help those who need it the most."
The system did run into a few glitches last fall.
Clayton Bartlett, junior in chemical engineering, experienced one of these issues while waiting for an organic chemistry class last spring.
"I started off on the waitlist roughly at No. 60," Bartlett said. "Every week I moved up a few spots, and a few days before class I was No. 2 or 3. (When class starts) they turn off the online order system, and a lady in the office prints the list. She didn't realize how competitive it was--that it's not just by day, but by hour and even second.
"I was No. 3 five days into class. I went and talked to the lady and found out that five or six people had been let in. She was just doing it by the day, not by the time."
Bartlett was told he could attend class and participate, but couldn't officially be enrolled until someone dropped the class. He came to class every day, took the first two tests and was finally let in three weeks before finals.
Forest said the system is now a "well-oiled machine" working to ensure equality.
Students no longer have to resort to begging for classes, and department faculty no longer have to approve or deny requests. It is based solely on numbers.
The system also allows the University to gauge which classes are in higher demand than are being offered.
"We wanted to move the waitlists online to make it easier for departments to understand what classes students were having the most trouble getting into," Relihan said. "It helps gauge student demand better and meet those needs."
Waitlists can only do so much, Relihan said, so students must remain flexible.
"Remember you're here for your courses," Relihan said. "You might have to reschedule some other things. Don't assume that because you're on a waitlist you're going to get a seat in the class. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't."
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