Registration Issues
Every new semester, there are always students who experience issues with course registration. This one was no different. There were students having problems with the online web app who lost their chosen courses due to sudden server crashes. The same students were then unable to reach helplines because they had to dial multiple times instead of being put on hold. This led them to have to pay late registration fees.
Some other fellows were unable to find courses that fit their schedules, so they had to take night classes.
Another group of students had issues with their humanities course’s subjects and teachers being switched around without notice, both last semester and this one. I spoke about this with Sylvie Tardif, Dean of Academic Systems-Registrar, and was told that this happens often and is due to internal changes within the specific departments, such as teachers having to change their schedules because of personal reasons. She added that if such a problem arises, the student can change their course through the preference course change. I was also informed that the preference course change module is going to change next semester to make the process easier for students. However, the students will also have to pay $20-30 in order to be able to use the preference course change module. This is an incentive for students to refrain from doing a preference course change unless they absolutely need to.
I spoke to a student whose course was changed without notice, and they posed the following question: “what about those students who had their courses change by the system? Do they also have to pay? Shouldn’t they reserve the right to get the courses that they asked for?” Unfortunately, last semester when I had encountered a similar issue, Rita Tomasetta from the registrar’s office told me Vanier College reserves the right to change your courses as long as you get the courses you need to get your DEC.
Although there are lots of registration struggles at the beginning of every semester and there are many restraints which make it difficult to switch courses, the students should not give up so easily. One of the most helpful areas on campus is academic advising. They do an excellent job at guiding the students who have similar problems to those mentioned above. If as a student, you don’t get results from academic advising, the next place to visit is the registrar’s office.
Written By: Ziggy Stardust
