Boston University junior Jennifer Singer watched her computer monitor in horror last weekend as two classes she wanted filled up before her scheduled registration time. So, when a friend with a later registration date asked Singer to ‘hold’ a class for her, Singer said she had no problem doing the favor.
‘She’s my good friend, and I didn’t want her to get screwed over like I did,’ she said.
Holding, or asking friends with earlier registration times to register for a class and drop it so it becomes available later, has become a common practice for many BU students.
‘Others do it to you, so it is almost essential to do it as well,’ Singer, a College of Arts and Sciences junior, said. ‘It is a case of every man for himself.’
The university has no formal policy on holding tactics, so every school ultimately decides how to handle the matter for itself. Some schools, such as the School of Education, have no policy on holding classes.
‘I try to ignore it when I hear students talking about it, because there is no form of punishment, and I don’t want to have to punish students for wanting to take classes,’ SED Student Services Coordinator Jacqueline Boyle said.
The College of Communication, on the other hand, maintains a firmer policy and will remove students from a class if it is discovered that they are holding sections for other students, Assistant Dean Micha Sabovik said in an email.
In the School of Management, Undergraduate Programs Director Norman Blanchard said he sends a weekly email to her students warning them about the punishments for holding.
‘[I]t is a violation of SMG’s Academic Conduct Code for a student who has already passed a course ‘-‘- or is currently taking a course ‘-‘- to register again for any component of that course in a future semester,’ the email states. ‘If you are caught doing this, the ramifications include being brought before the SMG Academic Conduct Committee and/or registering LAST in subsequent semesters.’
Blanchard said he reviews enrollments in SMG classes for violations, and usually uncovers a couple of cases each semester.’
SMG junior Matt Kamel said he knows the school’s policy on holding classes and has tried to abide by the rules, even if it means settling with a less-than-perfect schedule.
‘I don’t want to chance jeopardizing anything,’ he said. ‘I have been disappointed with how registration has turned out sometimes, but that’s just the way it is.’
Student Union President Matt Seidel said in an email that holding classes demonstrates the downfalls in BU’s advising and registration processes.’ ‘
‘I personally think that students holding classes to help educate and assist students during registration is a great idea, because many feel more comfortable asking advice on these kinds of issues from peers anyway,’ Seidel, a CAS junior, said. ‘Until the administration improves its advising system and its network between faculty and students, holding classes regarding registration is almost necessary and beneficial.’
While individual schools decide the fates of students holding classes for each other, the university is not set up for an every-man-for-himself system.
‘Students should register only for those classes that they intend to take,’ BU spokesman Colin Riley said. ‘The system works fairly that way and provides ample opportunity for students to fill out their schedules according to their needs and wishes.’
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