As the course registration season rolls into RPI again, students are anxiously awaiting their chance to secure an ideal schedule for next semester. For those graduating in May, this process could be simple, as many only need a few classes to complete their degree requirements. For most, however, this week means sitting and waiting for that time ticket to open up—while watching all of the desired classes fill up and close. The courses that are offered only as one section or only one semester, or have a low enrollment cap, are quickly unavailable to students with fewer credits.
Recently, I decided to change majors, and although I had fulfilled many of the core requirements such as humanities and mathematics, there were still a lot of courses I needed that were specific to my new field. This change only occurred after my junior year, and I had previously taken a semester off, which put me behind in credit hours—meaning that I am in the group of people still waiting to register. In order to fulfill my remaining course requirements, I planned out which classes to take and when—a lot of my concentration classes are only offered in fall or spring—and I tried to take more courses this year while I still have financial aid. Some of these courses that I must take in a certain order are starting to fill up, though, and are the reason why I will be here an extra full year, rather than one semester.
In order to lift my spirits, my mother linked me to an article on MSN Encarta entitled, “College: The New Six-Year Degree.” The piece examined the reasons behind why more college students take a longer time span to complete the typical four-year degree. Although there are some cases of students slacking off and taking fewer credits per semester, the main reasons were consistent with the complications I have been facing. These reasons include financial hardship, unfilled requirements, and lack of offerings. While financial burdens are common and cause some students to take out sizeable loans or hold a job while juggling courses, the inadequate amount of course offerings is the more alarming reason.
This is the main problem students face when making schedules and trying to complete all degree requirements in a timely manner, which is especially difficult for students who must change majors. In order to take the advanced concentration courses, there are introductory-level requirements to be met, and these often have core classes as prerequisites. There is a hierarchy to the class system—this cannot be taken without that, and so on up the line. If some of these courses are, in turn, offered as only one small section each semester, only every other semester, or worse still, only every other year, students who enter the system in the middle of these cycles may face difficulties. I would be able to complete my requirements with only one extra semester, but there is one course offered only in the spring that I will not have the prerequisites for this upcoming spring, but would for the following fall.
In order to assist students who get off-track or realize they are better suited for a different path, there should be courses offered to accommodate more schedules. Since many programs have students who started in that degree, as well as others who transferred in, the additional numbers must be given some options in order to graduate as soon as possible. There currently aren’t enough specific courses being offered, and the limited ones that are available become full of students with higher credit hours—either there need to be more courses offered or more seats available in those currently available.
