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Picture this: It’s the day of class registration and you’re minutes away from making your selections. Frantically refreshing the page to ensure that your desired schedule hangs in the balance of one particular class, you realize that the course is no longer open. Frustration ensues as you scramble to design your less-than-ideal schedule.
Believe it or not, many undergrads have experienced this situation during their time at Bentley. During the days leading up to registration, students compare registration times with friends and classmates, often to get a sense of where they place relative to their peers. This eventually leads students to ask the question, “Why is this person registering so much earlier than I am?”
Before complaining to your friends that it’s not fair, stop and take a moment to understand exactly how the registration process works.
Students are broken up into their respective class codes based on a simple formula. The total registration credits is equal to the amount of total credits you have earned previously – which includes any transfer credits you came in with – plus the current credits you are taking this semester. Depending on this number, you will be sorted into one of four class code groupings: current and rising seniors, current and rising juniors, and so forth. In reality, students aren’t divided so much by the direct number of received credits, but by the class codes. So it is entirely possible for students with a lower amount of credits to register ahead of one with a bit more credits.
These groupings are then further broken down by alphabetical last names. For registration during the fall semester, students with last names beginning with A-E had priority, followed by students F-L, M-Q, and R-Z. These categories adhere to a roulette style format each semester. So for next semester, students with the last name starting with F-L will register first, followed by M-Q, R-Z, and finally A-E.
After that, it’s basically a random algorithm that determines your pick-time. On the day of registration, you are given a two-hour window to add or drop classes. Every ten minutes, the Registrar’s Office opens this window for 35 students to register, up until the end of registration for that particular class code grouping. At the end of registration, if you would like to make changes to the existing courses you have signed up for, there is a window of opportunity between 9 p.m. and midnight where you can make adjustments to your schedule.
One cause for concern among students is the belief that students who have studied abroad this past semester get the upper hand in terms of selecting courses for the fall semester. Dan Sheehan, who oversees the registration process at Bentley, states that students who took part in education abroad during the time of registration are pulled from the general pool of students who are eligible to register. These students are given a block of registration time at the beginning of their respective class code grouping.
The reason for this lies in the fact that students abroad are in so many different time zones across the world. Some may not even have access to the internet. If these students are unable to register at their given time, prior to their registration date, they are advised to send in their preferences for course selection. Members of the Registrar’s Office will then go in at the assigned time slot, and sign up for only the courses requested, and nothing more.
Is the registration process perfect? No. The Registrar openly admits that the system has its flaws. In fact, Sheehan would be glad to listen to any ideas for improvement. It’s obviously difficult for the Registrar’s Office to please every student, given the resources and Bentley’s philosophy of keeping class sizes relatively low.
But before you decide to shout and scream profanity through the halls just because you didn’t get your ideal schedule for next semester, stop and think about what you have just read. You might have to take a dreaded 8:30 class next semester, or perhaps even a Friday afternoon course. But realize that you will eventually have your opportunity to register earlier next semester. Good luck with that.
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