<p>there aren't enough classes for spring 2012 for everyone to get into! as a business major freshman i'm required to take psychology, there were only four sections offered and every single one has 0 seats left so i can't take it. also, they don't even offer a waitlist for this class. Next, I need physical science and there were only TWO sections offered and they both also have 0 seats left so i can't take that. Not to mention most of the info1010 classes intersect with every and all 10:00 classes. tulane SUCKS at scheduling classes.</p>
<p>Before you go off the deep end, talk to the prof that has the psychology section that is at the best time for you. Same for physical science. Often they will let you in. If that doesn’t work talk to your advisor. Might be a good idea to do that anyway.</p>
<p>Chymuck, you sound very frustrated. But you are in good company. I have heard same complaint from D and her sophmore friends. It does help to go to the first day of class though. Many profs will let you in the class. The problem with that is the anxiety of arriving for the semester with schedule uncertainty. If a student has a plan to take pre-reqs and gets shut out it topples the whole plan. The lab science classes are a different story, it is a requirement to take one lab science course and many non-science majors want to take Great Ideas but there are never enough seats. I wonder if the overenrolled classes are taking a toll. Perhaps juniors and seniors don’t experience as much frustration and confusion when they try to register and that is something to look forward to. One tip, you probably already know, is that you can search for all OPEN classes on Gibson. I did so on Tuesday and there were a few hundred listed.</p>
<p>I also suspect part of the problem here is the large freshman class size two years in a row. The target for the two years combined was about 2950-2975, the reality was 3320 or so. It is almost impossible to react to that in such a short time by hiring quality professors, which is not as simple as just creating a new position. One needs office space, research facilities in some cases, etc. So then you get grad students teaching the courses, which is something Tulane has had to do more than it likes (there was a time not long ago Tulane prided itself on all courses being taught by profs, very unusual for a school of its size and research standing), and the results have been mixed if you go by some of the postings here last year. Interestingly there have not been those kind of complaints this year, at least on here.</p>
<p>Anyway, it really is frustrating of course, but more success at resolving it will be had by taking the steps I and onceburnt outlined. I have yet to hear of a Tulane student that could not graduate on time because of course scheduling issues. No doubt there have been a few cases where someone had to take something they hadn’t planned, although fortuitously those seem to have turned into interesting paths of discovery of new subjects for those students, at least in the cases talked about on here.</p>
<p>Part of the problem may be that certain students quickly sign up for more courses than they can, or want to actually take, see what they like, and drop the others. I must admit S2 did drop two courses and has a very full load the semester.</p>
<p>My S has a similar problem. Tulane gives priority to registering based upon the number of credits you currently have. Therefore, if you came in with AP credits, you will be able to register before other freshmen. Athletes also are able to register early. He is a business major and needs to take Math and CDMA and both courses are closed. Hopefully others will drop some classes, but it is a very frustrating process, especially with the high cost of tuition. Up until yesterday, he was not able to register for Macroeconomics, however they opened 3 more sections. It does create a lot of unnecessary stress for the students, as they are worried about taking a full course load; plus they are not able to register for the desired classes, or the preferred professors.</p>
<p>If you noticed, you cannot wait list for some Math classes. The registrar said to e-mail or call the Math Department and if there is enough demand, they will possibly add more sections.</p>
<p>D has the same problem. Of the 16 credits-worth of classes she has just attempted to join for next semester, she has managed to enroll in only 7 credits! (She’s a sophmore public health major).
As she’s completed her core classes, this is very disappointing! Given the tuition we’re paying, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect that she can take a full course load of relevant classes. </p>
<p>FC -while I like your advice that she just turn on the first day of class for those in which she doesn’t have a place, I really can’t take the risk that she be turned away, and end up with a 7-credit semester. Any other ideas?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Actually that wasn’t my advice, that was onceburnt. Although that is a common strategy and usually works. I would have to say at this point, since this is possibly a fairly widespread phenomenon, that I would simultaneously work through all channels of the professor, the department head, the advisor, and the Dean of Students office (not sure if that last one is the correct jurisdiction or not).</p>
<p>Clearly this overload of students is creating significant issues! At least I have to think that is where the problem is stemming from. I have never heard of this much trouble before. There is always a little, and it usually all works out within a week of classes starting, but this feels like more.</p>
<p>My S is having the same problem. He has only been able to register for 4 hours.</p>
<p>Like Old87Green’s daughter, I am a sophomore double majoring in Public Health and Neuroscience. Fortunately, I was able to get just about everything I wanted (waitlisted in one course). However, many of my friends, also sophomores, who registered a day after me, had major difficulty. The waitlists this year are crazy; some of the classes I took now have waitlists in the 20s and 30s. People started off wanting certain classes and Professors and ended up just scrambling to try to get enough credits to keep them on track. One Public Health class has a waiting list in the 30s and no days or times have even designated for the course, which means nobody knows if it will even fit in their schedule (including me). I thought it was just a problem in the sciences but, after reading this, I see it’s throughout all the departments. I know many students over register and plan on dropping classes prior to class even starting so that should help a little. Other than that, without adding more sections or making the class sizes larger (which nobody wants), students are going to continue to have issues and stress with trying to meet their requirements.</p>
<p>I really do think this sounds much worse this coming semester than usual. Hard to say, CC doesn’t represent a broad picture. But I know gabby and if she is saying this seems pervasive, then it is. Someone (a student) needs to talk to the administration and see what their awareness level is and what they are doing to address the issue. Getting on CC is great to communicate among ourselves, but in a case like this someone needs to take action on the ground.</p>
<p>I’ll be honest, I’m a sophomore (but junior by credits) and I had my advisor bump me up so I could register for 21 credits and later drop whichever 2 classes I decide I don’t want. So basically, this is part of the issue with there not being enough class slots. On the other hand, most people can’t register for more than 19 hours so I don’t think people over-registering is the main problem.</p>
<p>I got every class I really wanted/needed, although the “easy electives” like Art of Listening and Russian Art & Architecture of course filled up before I could register. If you really need to get into a class for your major, email the professor. If you explain your situation they will most likely get in. My friend is a sophomore neuroscience major and she emailed Dr. Wee to get into Brain & Behavior, the first required neuroscience class for majors.</p>
<p>I really think that Tulane does need to add more sections/adjust class sizes. The past two incoming class years have been huge and it seems that not much has been done to accommodate.</p>
<p>I have been following this forum for three years as I have a son thats a junior, and never seen so many complaints on this, so I decided to email my newly admitted sons counselor. The email ended up getting to James MacLaren, one of the deans. This is part of his response:
“Each year we try to project course needs and availability. This year those estimates turned out to be off. We are aware of this and are making the appropriate adjustments as I write this email. While this has caused some frustrations I am confident that this will be resolved soon.”</p>
<p>That’s great follow-up helpfulmommy. So it is the Dean of Students office that ultimately is responsible. That’s good, because Dean MacLaren is excellent at taking care of things.</p>
<p>just for laughs. The sociology course “gender & society” they only made ONE section of. if you look on the schedule of classes it says there are 45 seats, 0 of them open, and 83 on the waitlist. EIGHTY THREE. thats enough for two more sections… terrible, terrible, planning on the registrars part. if your bored go to [Tulane</a> University - Class Schedule](<a href=“http://classschedule.tulane.edu/flex/ClassSchedule.html]Tulane”>http://classschedule.tulane.edu/flex/ClassSchedule.html) and type in ‘soci’ for sociology… basically all of them have huge waitlists.</p>
<p>i will say though, that i emailed the psyc professors and since then one of the professors contacted the registrar and had 50 more seats opened, so now i can take psyc!!! :)</p>
<p>I hate to say I told you so, but… LOL. Seriously, I have to say that 90% of the things that have come up as issues on this site over the years have been resolved once the administration or the prof was talked to. I feel confident this shortage of slots in various courses will be resolved as well, although I am also sure it won’t be 100%.</p>
<p>Anyway, glad it worked out for you chaymck.</p>
<p>Just an update from another freshman parent: My S had trouble getting the teachers and sections he wanted and had to rework what he had originally hoped for, and in the end was waitlisted for one class that had about 45 people waitlisted in each of the two sections. I just popped onto Gibson to look at his schedule and he was off the waitlist. Further checking revealed that Tulane doubled the class size in each of the two sections to accommodate the number of students trying to take the class. The point is, while he/we were pretty unhappy about his original situation, we were able to find acceptable alternatives and it looks like Tulane is indeed working on trying to help students get the classes they want and/or need.</p>
<p>My S was able to nail down 3 classes on his original wish list last night. However, the two biggies are still to be worked out. He now has 13 hours registered just as he originally wanted. Seats in classes are opening ever so slowly. It is best to stay on top of the Gibson class schedule everyday. My S is a second semester freshman. He is pretty much at the bottom of the pecking order this semester. He feels much better now after having secured 13 hours.</p>