Seniors Struggle to Get Crucial Classes
by Lydia M. Garlikov

Most students approach class registration hoping they'll get what they want, while others just hope they get what they need. For many seniors, that hasn't been so easy this time around.

Senior Ryan Fitzpatrick faced the same frustration that many of his fellow classmates did on one early October Saturday—during registration for spring classes.

"I ended up opening 5 or 6 different windows on different computers hoping that one of them would get logged on,” he said. “I sat there for a good 20 or 30 minutes, and you just have this sensation of classes flying off the directory."

Fitzpatrick had trouble getting the classes he needed to fulfill several general college requirements so he could graduate in May, but that was just the start of his registration nightmare. The next step came in a letter from the registrar. His tuition bill had gone to an old address, and because it was unpaid, his classes were dropped.

“ I jumped in the car from Asheville and went right to the cashier's office that afternoon,” Fitzpatrick recalled. “I went to the library the next morning and tried to get into classes, and that was even worse.”

Fitzpatrick's story is common in UNC-CH’s advising office, which these days is frequented by seniors doing what they can to get the classes they need to be able to walk across the stage without delay in May.

"A lot of departments have put restrictions on their courses once the semester began,” said Betsy Taylor, student services manager for academic advising, “which means that students had to go to the class and get permission from the instructor before the class could be added."

Although this process makes it tougher to get classes, Taylor and Fitzpatrick agree that persistence can be the key to success.

"If there's anything in your way, it’s always worth it to e-mail somebody, [or] show up to class,” says Fitzpatrick. “It doesn't cost you anything to go to one extra class, and a lot of times you'll find out that professors will respect your effort."

Advisors say this has been the toughest semester to get classes that they can remember. They stress how underclassmen need to see their advisors to make sure they have everything they need.