Many students can relate to the stress that comes along with class registration.
It all begins when we make advising appointments months in advance to make sure we know which classes we need to register for in order to graduate on time.
After this step alone, I begin to get anxious because I know that, even with a specific plan laid out by my adviser, I am not guaranteed to get into the classes I need.
I think I realized how much of a hassle registration is when, semester after semester, I get the same reaction from my mother every time I tell her registration is upon us.
I always receive some combination of a sympathetic sigh and encouraging words.
Even from miles away, my mother can sense my distress.
When the dreaded day comes along, there’s little us students can do to calm ourselves down, and the uncertainty eats us alive.
Fast-forward a couple weeks after the initial registration dates, and so many of us are left wondering what’s to become of our schedules.
Some of us are on multiple waitlists, while some of us are forced to take electives or classes we aren’t interested in.
The question that constantly runs through my mind regarding this process is why is there so much uncertainty with our schedules and with our graduation dates?
More importantly, why is this the case when so many of us work hard and pay thousands of dollars a year to earn a degree within a certain timeframe?
The hard work so many of us put into our classes should not come with a punishment of a course load that does not satisfy our university requirements.
Instead of being rewarded for our work, we are potentially being held back from moving along in our majors.
I know people, myself included, who have lost precious hours of sleep and worked endlessly to get certain grades in prerequisite classes.
To do this and then not be able to move along in our major courses is extremely discouraging.
There are cases where graduation dates are compromised by factors such as failures or withdrawals.
However, if you are a successful student at Auburn, registering for classes should not feel like a punishment.
I fully understand that caps on class registration must exist for a professor’s sake.
Professors have a lot on their plates with creating lesson plans and grading exams and homework assignments in a timely fashion.
A class that is too big could be overwhelming, and the responsibility of adding sections can be split evenly among professors within their majors.
There need to be more sections offered in the courses that show a visible demand every semester.
For upperclassmen especially, there are many courses we are told we need to take a specific semester.
With one or two sections available and a whole major of students fighting for spots, it’s nearly impossible for all of these students to get into the required classes.
No upperclassman wants to walk into a class the first day begging for the teacher to let them transfer in so that they can graduate.
I struggle to see how it is fair to potentially compromise the hard work and money of so many and risk timely graduations to those who deserve it because there aren’t enough available course sections in some classes.
If there were more course sections, perhaps students wouldn’t have to settle for their schedules.
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