For freshmen at university the registration period – when they have to sign up for all the courses they need in order to graduate – is never easy. There is so much to plan, courses to research and professors to seek advice from. And on registration day, one must be sure that there are enough seats in the classes one wants to join.
"The registration period is stressful especially for majors where some mandatory classes are full so students can't sign up for them and end up having to wait a full year before being able to register again," said Bashar Saffarini, a fourth year civil engineering student at the American University of Sharjah (AUS).
Saffarini says he was fortunate in always being able to register for the classes he wanted. "However, I know students who don't get into classes because the capacity closes before they are able to register," he said.
Ali Namroud, a mechanical engineering senior at AUS, is one of them. "I have to take a class in order to graduate, but I'm still on the waiting list. We are interested in some courses but never find a place because there's no capacity," he said.
Registrar officers say there is no need for students to panic, because eventually they will all be able to get into the classes they want, and ensure they graduate on time.
Methods of registration
Universities either follow a traditional system whereby students register through the registrar or Student Services Office, or a new online system in which students log in with their user name and password to register for courses.
"The online system makes registering for classes a very quick and easy process," said Ahmad Essam, a masters student in engineering management at the University of Wollongong in Dubai. "We normally only seek an adviser if we need help deciding what classes to take and to schedule the class times."
The system automatically informs a student about who is teaching the course, how many seats are available and the prerequisites required. Upon registering for classes, the system automatically detects whether a student is eligible for a course based on his history student recorded in the system's database.
Many times students must pay a registration fee, averaging about Dh300, for the service. If students miss the registration date, they have to pay a late registration fee.
System drawbacks
Although the system is efficient, students complain about the resulting stress when hundreds of students rush to find computers or try registering for classes simultaneously, causing the system to slow down.
"The system may stop working if too many students try to register at the same time," Saffarini said. "But the system has improved a lot over the years and it's easier to find capacity in classes now."
Neglecting advisers
The registration process starts with an advising period when students visit their academic advisers and receive guidance on which courses to take.
Lynda Ataya, AUS registrar, said that students can register for their courses online only after obtaining clearance from their advisers. "Students make appointments; each adviser has only 20 students to advise over a period of two weeks, which gives them plenty of time for consultation," she said.
This step, students say, is often neglected by both students and advisers. "Advising never really made a difference to me because my adviser wasn't helpful; he doesn't even know the courses and keeps referring me to other people," said one student who wished to remain anonymous.
Namroud said: "Advising doesn't really add much to what we already know. Many students are admitted every year and there are not enough classes to match that. They have to consider students' issues and not only cost."
Ruth Moir, head of campus at Heriot Watt University in Dubai, said that students first meet with an academic adviser to run through their course structure and then attend an online registration event. "Registration is part of an induction programme where we offer help and support to our new students to help them settle in.
Students also receive access to our online systems for the library, email etc," she said.
Ataya said that class size is determined after students register for the courses. "It is students who control the number of seats in a classroom. The number of seats is electronically set to 20 students on average per class, but this number changes if more students want the course. English courses, on the other hand, can take around 30 students," she said.
Professors also control the changing of the classes, after the students discuss with them the necessity of the courses offered.
She said students shouldn't worry about missing the classes they want to take because they will eventually have the chance to take them. "Students will get the course, even though they might not get their dream schedule," said Ataya.
How to prepare for registration day
- Plan ahead of time. It would be best to consult your adviser or an academic counsellor regarding your career path and the courses you want to major in;
- Make sure you have reviewed all the classes being offered and understood what is being offered;
- Get to know more about the instructors who are offering the course and their academic background and demands;
- Try to find out from students who have taken the course what to expect from the course and the professor;
- Make sure you have prepared a schedule of the classes you want to take and that you have a back-up plan in case you don't get the class you want;
- Visit the Registrar's Office to find out if there is any block in your registration process; be sure to make that visit before registration day;
- Make sure the classes you have chosen do not clash in timing;
- Have you taken the necessary prerequisites for the course you are trying to register for? If you haven't you need to know that beforehand so that you don't waste your time trying to sign up for it;
- If you are registering at university, find a computer at a lab or the library some time before registration hour or you might end up not getting one;
- Don't panic… enter your user name and password and good luck in your academic journey!
