Lucy Stone and Jessica Ferrera, Staff Writers
Click here for instructions on using the waitlist function
Armstrong unveiled a new waitlist option for students registering for fall 2016 classes this semester. With this new feature, students can choose to be added to the waiting list of a class that has reached full capacity.
Up until now, students who wanted to sign up for an already-filled class were tasked with routinely checking the class online to see new openings came up. There was no way for students to be notified when someone dropped the class and a seat became available.
Upcoming senior and Liberal Studies major, Kayla Hunter, had some thoughts regarding the new waitlist option. She said, “I honestly had no idea this was being implemented but I think it’s a great idea. I wish it was an option the first few years I was here.”
Although waitlisting for classes is new to Armstrong, 13 other colleges already have it as an option within the University System of Georgia including Georgia State, Georgia Southern, and Georgia Tech.
There was also no guarantee as to who would be able to get into the class once there was an opening. This created more anxiety for students who had to constantly check and see whether they could get into the class they wanted.
Nichole Booker, special projects coordinator in the registrar department at Armstrong, said:
“There were several factors that were involved for adopting waitlisting, but the main objective was to give the students a tool that allows them to get the best schedule possible for that individual student.”
“Students now have an automatic notification system that a seat has become available in a class versus checking the schedule hoping to get an actual seat,” Booker said.
When students register for classes now, they follow the same procedure as before, but with a few extra steps. Students must enter the CRN directly to the worksheet and select waitlist from the dropdown menu.
However, students cannot sign up directly for the wait list when searching for classes. Once added to the waitlist, the first student in line for the seat will receive an email notification that there is an opening. Then they have 24 hours to respond and register for that class or their spot is given to the next student in line.
Students who are currently registering for classes are discovering the new option and learning how it works.
Bryce Seuntjens, a Political Science major, said, “It’ll tell you how many are waitlisted already and then you have to click a drop down and select ‘wait list’ and submit changes.”
As an upcoming senior, she explains that “this is the first time I can think of that I’ve had trouble getting into a class really. But the waitlist feature helps a lot so I don’t have to constantly check if someone dropped or not.”
Seuntjens is currently third in line on the waitlist for a sociology class she wants to take.
For Armstrong professors who teach classes that are fairly popular, it has been difficult to control the amount of students who sign up. Students have also missed opportunities to sign up for a class due to later registration dates than their peers and classes being at full capacity.
With this new system, students are given a better chance to register for a class they had been hoping to take.
Dr. Karen Hollinger, Professor of English, said, “There really is no way of knowing how it will go. This is the first time it is being used, but it seems like a good idea. It should be fairer for students.”
Professors have recognized that this will benefit students in the university. But the new system will leave an impact on the school and its faculty as well. Professors will now know an exact number of students who are wanting to take their classes. This could improve the hiring process of faculty and inform the school as to whether if they are short of staff in a specific area.
A step-by-step PDF document on how to complete this entire process can be found in the Registrar FAQs section online called “Waitlist Instructions,” but we have provided the link to that document here:
