After the initial period for course registration closes today, the Office of the Registrar will manage the late addition of classes entirely on Banner for the first time, following guidelines the office announced in a community-wide email Jan. 17.
The new system requires that students enter an instructor override code to add courses after shopping period. The late registration policy will be in effect between 5 p.m. today and 5 p.m. Feb. 19, which is also the deadline for students to change grading options.
The $15 late fee per added class, which has been enforced since 1970, will automatically be deducted from the student’s account, said University Registrar Robert Fitzgerald.
The new policy was devised mainly for convenience, allowing students to add courses online “rather than fill out a course change form and physically walk over to the Office of the Registrar in J. Walter Wilson,” according to the email.
In preparation for the change, the registrar’s office revised Banner to make it easier for professors to give out overrides, Fitzgerald said. The new system has also been “tested thoroughly” to ensure that students will not be charged for switching sections, he added.
The registrar’s office receives an average of about 500 course additions between the third and fourth weeks of the semester each term, Fitzgerald said. Though the new online format could allow students to add courses more easily later in the semester, Fitzgerald said he does not expect the number to increase due to the new policy. “The University isn’t doing this to make money,” he added.
Because students still need approval from faculty members to join classes after shopping period, the policy revision alters only the mechanism for adding courses, rather than the act of getting permission itself, Fitzgerald said. “It’s still the faculty being the gatekeeper to the course.”
Some students said they had little opinion on the policy change, adding that they have not found the need to add classes after shopping period in past semesters.
Grant Drzyzga ’14 said he would be unaffected by the change, but that the new policy would benefit students, because “coordination and movement is always better online.” Allowing students to add courses online may make some with a lighter course load more inclined to tack on an extra class after shopping period, he added.
Elizabeth Arriaga ’16 said the new policy is “efficient in terms of time,” and students would be “less reluctant to add a class after shopping period.”
Stephanie Song ’16 said though she has never found the need to add a class later in the semester and that the new policy would not make her more likely do so, an online format would make registrations more convenient. “If you’re switching in weeks three or four, you’re probably pretty desperate,” she said.
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