The registration process for fall 2010 will be significantly different from past years due in part to the upcoming switch to a 3-2 teaching schedule. Changes have also been made to address concerns that the current registration system is disadvantageous to incoming students.

Unlike past years, there will be no electronic waitlist and returning students are not allowed to pre-register for more than 16 credits until first-years have pre-registered in September with the help of their pre-major advisers.

Some of the changes to registration process were made to address the decrease in classes offered and increase in class size.  According to Registrar Ron Urban, the switch to a 3-2 teaching schedule will result in a 17 percent decrease in the amount of classes offered.

“We are going to be down about 17 percent in terms of the number of classes available,” said Urban. “To make up the difference, class sizes are going to increase somewhat but we don’t know how or where that increase is going to occur.”

When pre-registration for current students starts this Friday, April 16, students will not be able to add more than 16 credits to their tentative schedules. Urban stated that this change is due to  students historically registering for more classes than they actually end up taking.

“In the past, some students have loaded up on 20-23 credits and then dropped something once they had gone and ‘done their shopping,’ so to speak,” said Urban. “Well that’s fine for them, but what that does is remove a slot for others who are trying to register for a class. So with the difficulties [the class of 2013] experienced trying to get courses this past year, we are limiting pre-registration for continuing students to 16 credits.”

Returning students will have a chance to add and change classes once all incoming students have registered, a change that has led many students to make adjustments to their plans for next year.

“I was planning on registering for 20 [credits] so that I’d get into the classes I’d want to for sure, but I won’t be able to now” said sophomore Adam Bronstein. “But I would say [the 16 credit limit] is probably a necessary evil. If we are losing classes, then something is going to have to happen in order for there to be room for freshmen.”

In addition to capping the number of credits students can pre-register for, the electronic waitlist system has been deactivated for the current pre-registration period. In the past, the electronic waitlists slowed down the registration process because of the lengthy period of time each student is given to register for a class after being offered a seat. In addition, professors have had difficulties overriding electronic waitlists in order to let students enroll who need a class to fulfill graduation requirements.

This year, professors will keep manual waitlists for each of their classes and students will have to contact professors in order to add their names.

“It’s not going to be a good situation for anybody,” said Urban. “But given the difficulty and the grumbling we have experienced with electronic waitlists, we thought until these bugs are completely solved, we are going to do it the old-fashioned way.”

Another big change being made to the enrollment process is that first-year students will now pre-register for classes after arriving on campus and discussing their desired schedules with their pre-major advisers. In previous years, incoming first-years were able to pre-register for classes during the summer before having met with advisers to approve schedules and learn about the registration process.

Urban also explained that the switch to a 3-2 teaching schedule means that students are going to have to plan ahead when pre-registering.

“It means that everyone is going to have to plan more carefully because certain classes won’t be taught as they were in the fall every year. It might be every other year,” Urban said. “So if there is a critical course in your major that you have to take, you have to plan carefully.”

The effects of the 3-2 switch and the resulting registration changes are difficult to predict.

“I don’t know what the magnitude of these changes will be. I’m kind of waiting with bated breath myself,” Urban said. “[The switch to 3-2] is causing me to lose sleep because I don’t know what exactly the impact is going to be in terms of the registration experience. But we are going to make it work and I will ask everyone’s patience on all fronts.”

Urban believes the switch to a 3-2 teaching schedule will ultimately be beneficial for both students and faculty.

“Faculty can spend more time preparing lectures, preparing their presentations, spending more time with students and just providing a better quality effort all around,” Urban said.

He also added that operating on a 3-2 teaching schedule will make the college more appealing to prospective professors.

“In the long term it will be beneficial because Whitman will be much more attractive as a job prospect for top-notch faculty members,” Urban said.

Many students remain skeptical of this change, however.

“We don’t need better faculty; the professors here are already great,” said first-year Will Martin. “And the lack of classes is unfortunate, especially considering that we are paying even more tuition next year.”

Junior Bailey Arango also expressed doubt about the changes but believes the faculty has a strong track record.

“It seems like there will be a smaller selection of classes and larger class size. I don’t think it’s a move in the right direction, but at the same time the Whitman faculty have gotten things right in my time here. So there is a chance that this could be for the best.”