Did not know about this:
Should not be a surprise that departments which have to compete with industry to hire faculty are more expensive to run, and may be unable to increase capacity to match student demand. CS is an obvious example; engineering and sometimes business are also subject to these issues. But hiring biology and humanities faculty is less difficult.
However if CPSLO does not have enough class capacity for its majors, then it needs to reduce the number of students it admits to the affected majors.
Agreed, ucb. Just something for people to know going into SLO (among others).
I didn’t know “crashing” a class was even a thing…
I still don’t understand what “crashing” is.
^Crashing is when you are waitlisted for a class and show up on the first day anyhow hoping to get admitted due to some students dropping or not showing up. My son just graduated from SLO (majoring in chemistry). He had to crash only one class in 4 years (and got in).
Universities trying to retain CS professors has been a problem since at least the 80s, maybe earlier. Several of my CS professors took jobs at startups within a year after I graduated in 1983.
Just an fyi = the procedure for registration changed as of Summer 2015. Since then, undergraduate registration for class dates are based on your Actual Academic Progress Level. As your academic progress increases, your enrollment for classes becomes earlier. Also registration will occur in two rounds and students will have two registration appointments with both based on your actual academic progress level.
Some kids will accept classes at any time, any day, with any professor. They are familiar with their major flow chart and will be flexible. Others kids only want classes on specific days/times or specific professors. The latter will have difficulty getting classes.
Crashing classes has been around for years at CP, it is not a new phenomenon because of tech salaries. Depending on your major, getting classes there has been a challenge for as long as the school has been around. I know several kids that transferred in last year because it was just too much to deal with and graduation was going to be delayed considerably. One student left after only being able to get into 10 credits for a couple quarters in a row…nothing else helped his major. Of course, there are some majors that have no issues, but there are some that have always had issues. Good to be aware.
Re: #7
Sounds like they are part way to the system used as some UCs with the two phase system. But, for example, UCB prioritizes enrollment by more than just class standing. In some cases, students with lower class standing or level are given priority for important lower level prerequisites for popular majors. Those with declared majors get priority over others for required courses in their majors. They also limit the number of students in the majors to what the department’s can offer class space for.
Cal Poly intentionally accepts more students than they can handle. The inability to get required courses is the biggest problem, but housing and town/gown strains are also issues. High tech salaries may contribute to staffing woes, but the cost of living in SLO is also a deterrent to younger professors.