Boston University students registered for classes throughout back-to-back weekends this month — in contrast to last semester’s class registration, which occurred during a singular weekend.
Incoming juniors and seniors registered April 18, freshmen and sophomores registered Sunday and non-degree students registered Tuesday. Students said this change to normal scheduling made registration easier than last Fall.
Joseph Bizup, an associate dean for undergraduate academic programs and policies in the College of Arts and Sciences, wrote in an email class registration occurred over one weekend last semester because of the extensive planning required to adjust the Spring 2021 course schedule due to the pandemic.
“I hope that we will never have to do registration in that way again,” he wrote. “Registration for Fall 2021 is as it would be in a typical year.”
Bizup added that to his knowledge, it was “business as usual” for CAS students during registration, and CAS Advising did not receive an unusual number of complaints from students regarding their registration process.
College of Communication Dean Mariette DiChristina said faculty members and administrators strive to make sure students are able to schedule their desired courses.
“When things are a little different, like they might be during a pandemic, or like they might be when people start returning after a pandemic,” she said, “we still do the best we can.”
DiChristina said as far as she is aware, there are currently no plans to change the student registration process.
“We care deeply about the students,” she said, “and making sure that you learn what you need to know so that you can really succeed.”
Assistant Dean of COM Undergraduate Affairs Bill Taylor said the typical staggered class registration helps COM faculty members decide if they need to make class adjustments, such as adding more seats to courses in high demand.
“Things went relatively smoothly,” Taylor said. “We’re pretty happy with where things stand with Fall registration.”
Taylor said he believes COM students had an easier time getting their classes compared to last semester, with few, if any, class registration complaints received.
“As of right now,” he said, “there’s nothing major that we have planned to change in terms of COM registration for future semesters.”
CAS sophomore Renee Torio said the return to a pre-pandemic class registration schedule for Fall 2021 was more beneficial than last semester’s timeline.
“It was helpful that the juniors and seniors registered a week before,” she said. “I kind of had time to adjust and think about changes instead of, previously, I had to change things on the spot, which was a little bit stressful.”
Torio said the staggered registrations allowed her to better prepare for the classes she would choose and make adjustments based on course availability.
“This semester was a lot better personally,” she said. “But I also was in the middle of the registration time instead of at the end.”
Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences junior Hannah Levine said while the staggered registration may have eased the process, she believes there were other factors, including desired courses and registration time.
“I had a much earlier time than other people did, like at 9:30 in the morning,” Levine said. “That could have been just another factor that influenced how much easier it was for me because I didn’t have to go at like 2:00 p.m.”
Questrom School of Business sophomore Kevin Liang said he registered for class without a hitch, because he received early time slots for both semesters. He added that expanding registration times was beneficial for students’ chances at receiving their desired classes.
“Your college career shouldn’t really be dependent on how fast you can click a button to register a class,” Liang said.
