Karen Gil, chairwoman of the Department of Psychology, said most of the department’s classes are at capacity. Gil said psychology is one of UNC’s most popular academic majors, making it especially difficult to get into classes.
“We have had to consolidate or cancel very few classes,” she said. “For the most part, our courses under the 100 level are full.”
With increasingly crunched schedules during the fall and spring, many students now look to summer school to fill requirements for their major. Summer school is offered in two five-week sessions. The first session begins May 17, and the second one starts June 23.
“Most undergraduates attend to get ahead on their degrees or because of smaller classes that are over a shorter period of time,” said Summer School Dean Jim Murphy.
He said there is a variation of about 8 percentage points in enrollment each year, with the recent trend being mostly upward.
Laura Sandoval, a junior transfer student and an English major, said she likely will attend summer school this year because she wants to graduate quickly.
While some scheduling problems are unavoidable, University Registrar David Lanier offered some advice for students to avoid trouble during the next scheduling period.
“The most successful students are prepared and organized during the early registration period and do their research before scheduling.”
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
STAFF WRITER
Now that she has only three semesters at UNC remaining, course requirements are beginning to catch up with Lauren Gardner.
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But when she went to make her schedule for the semester, she discovered a problem: The classes she needed to take for her Asian studies major weren’t available.
“Classes for my major simply aren’t being offered,” Gardner said. “I found that many of the nonsurvey, upper-level classes in my area were canceled.”
Gardner’s story isn’t uncommon. It is one that pervades conversations as UNC students shop for books or socialize in the Pit.
A shortage of required classes adds to other problems encountered during the first week of class, including rearranging class schedules and pleading with teachers to add a few extra seats to their courses.
UNC’s course scheduling system operates almost completely online and allows students to check course availability.
Sophomore Dustin Call didn’t declare his major in time and was forced to spend Wednesday sitting in on three classes, hoping to add his name to the course roster.
“I thought I had declared my major, but then I found out I couldn’t get into two of my required classes and had to fill the space with two random classes to meet the minimum of 12 (credit) hours,” said Call, a Greek and dramatic arts double major.
Each academic department has the discretion to add or cancel classes and seats as necessary.
Karen Gil, chairwoman of the Department of Psychology, said most of the department’s classes are at capacity. Gil said psychology is one of UNC’s most popular academic majors, making it especially difficult to get into classes.
“We have had to consolidate or cancel very few classes,” she said. “For the most part, our courses under the 100 level are full.”
With increasingly crunched schedules during the fall and spring, many students now look to summer school to fill requirements for their major. Summer school is offered in two five-week sessions. The first session begins May 17, and the second one starts June 23.
“Most undergraduates attend to get ahead on their degrees or because of smaller classes that are over a shorter period of time,” said Summer School Dean Jim Murphy.
He said there is a variation of about 8 percentage points in enrollment each year, with the recent trend being mostly upward.
Laura Sandoval, a junior transfer student and an English major, said she likely will attend summer school this year because she wants to graduate quickly.
While some scheduling problems are unavoidable, University Registrar David Lanier offered some advice for students to avoid trouble during the next scheduling period.
“The most successful students are prepared and organized during the early registration period and do their research before scheduling.”
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
