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REST IN PIXELS: Class registration is a mess

Rory Jackson
Rory Jackson

Rory Jackson is a sophomore creative writing major and writes "Rest in Pixels" for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Rory at rgjackson@bsu.edu.

Rory Jackson

Well it’s that time of year again, when finals are slowly creeping up on you and all of your professors decide that now is a good time to have major papers and projects due. You're living off caffeine and five hours of sleep becomes surreal. 

You then get an email that gives you a time slot to register your classes for next year. You find the classes you want to take and some that you have to take. You then wait for your specific day to schedule your classes. Eventually that day comes around and you get online to register. 

You click on your first class and realize that is full. Kinda weird, right? Your class is already full before you have a chance to even register. You try your next class, same thing. And by the third or fourth time your mind goes to DEFCON 1.

I mean how is it possible for an English major to only able to take one English class in a semester? I thought the point of college was to learn and take classes based on your major throughout your four years. Not to wait until your senior year to cram in all your required classes, just so the college can show that you graduated on time. I mean how much are we really learning by this strategy?

I’m a transfer student, so this was my first semester at BSU, and I never had trouble scheduling at my previous college. 

So, when the time came to register, I was honestly shocked to find that a Division-l school would only have two classes for a fiction writing class. This discovery happened three days before my required day to register. It was as if I already had a losing hand.

I voiced my concerns in class the next day and there were four or five people that jumped in saying that was just how it is and we students just have to make do. We’re already paying thousands of dollars to go to college, the least Ball State can do is let us take the classes we need and want to take. 

Think of it like eating at a fancy restaurant. You order a filet mignon, but they serve you a McDonald’s cheeseburger. It’s not like the college can’t afford to offer more classes. 

There are some teachers that only teach two or three classes a semester. Nothing against teachers, but I’m sure Ball State can either hire more teachers or offer them more money to teach more classes.

What’s with all the Institutional Holds as well? They can take the most minutiae task that you apparently need to complete before you can register or withdraw from classes. 

What does a video about safe sex and alcohol have to do with being able to register for a class? It’s not like these issues weren’t mentioned every five minutes in high school. I’ve had four separate holds this semester at different times throughout the year as well. 

The least you can do is give me all the holds at once, so I can take them on early in the semester. But hey, sometimes it is best to wait until the week before registration to show you your holds.

I understand the holds, but at the same time they prevent you from doing anything until you complete them. It just seems like more unnecessary work.

Registering for classes shouldn’t be a stressful experience. Yes, there is some stress in choosing your classes. You have to make sure you have the right amount of credits to graduate, but at the same time you shouldn’t be losing sleep over it. 

If I could tell anything to transfer or incoming freshman it would be to have a Plan B, and C, and D in hand, because you aren’t going to get the classes you want. What’s the point of spending thousands dollars to take classes that make you regret going to class every day?

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