Registration Frustration: Spot-Saving Rumors Demystified
Yaelle Frohlich
Issue date: 12/21/09 Section: News
During the recent Spring 2010 registration period, some parts of the Beren Campus were gripped with a familiar rumor: certain upper classmen had registered for courses they had no intention to take, or had even taken already, to save a spot for a friend with a later registration date. The plan? Once the later registration date arrived, the upper classman coordinate her dropping of the course with the lower classman's adding it. The result would be a crime against seniority registration rights.
A proportion of enraged students were under the impression that, as a result of the spot-saving, some seniors had been closed out of classes (specifically Speech Communication) required for graduation, and would hence be unable to graduate on time.
The issue of spot-saving was raised with faculty, staff and students at a Student Life Committee meeting on December 4. There, Office of the Registrar's Diana Benmergui read an email statement from Dean Ethel Orlian (who was busy with that day's registration) clarifying, from the Office of the Registrar's vantage point, what went on regarding spot-saving.
"It appears that many seniors believe that they were closed out of Speech 1010 courses because of seniors who registered for the course to hold spots for lower classmen," read part of Orlian's email. "We investigated this very carefully and, although even one such occurrence is one too many, there were only three such cases. We lost no time in investigating this situation and spoke with each of the three students involved. Although this is an unconscionable act, it did not cause seniors to be closed out of speech. In fact, every senior who needs Speech 1010 to graduate is in one of the sections of the course."
Orlian suggested that students take speech earlier in their undergraduate program, rather than waiting until their last semester on campus. "There are at least 30 empty spots in speech this fall 2009 semester that students could have taken," wrote Orlian. "However, for various reasons, a large number of seniors waited for their final semester to take the course."
A proportion of enraged students were under the impression that, as a result of the spot-saving, some seniors had been closed out of classes (specifically Speech Communication) required for graduation, and would hence be unable to graduate on time.
The issue of spot-saving was raised with faculty, staff and students at a Student Life Committee meeting on December 4. There, Office of the Registrar's Diana Benmergui read an email statement from Dean Ethel Orlian (who was busy with that day's registration) clarifying, from the Office of the Registrar's vantage point, what went on regarding spot-saving.
"It appears that many seniors believe that they were closed out of Speech 1010 courses because of seniors who registered for the course to hold spots for lower classmen," read part of Orlian's email. "We investigated this very carefully and, although even one such occurrence is one too many, there were only three such cases. We lost no time in investigating this situation and spoke with each of the three students involved. Although this is an unconscionable act, it did not cause seniors to be closed out of speech. In fact, every senior who needs Speech 1010 to graduate is in one of the sections of the course."
Orlian suggested that students take speech earlier in their undergraduate program, rather than waiting until their last semester on campus. "There are at least 30 empty spots in speech this fall 2009 semester that students could have taken," wrote Orlian. "However, for various reasons, a large number of seniors waited for their final semester to take the course."
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