This May Be Cross Posting, But...

eulessismore · February 26, 2009

Since the group favoring the petition to overturn the stadium election have been quoted as saying something to the effect that "maybe elections could be made part of the registration process" (and rebutted by UNTFlyer due to said elections being run by the SGA rather than the school), I thought I should mention something that happened to a coworker:

He signed up for a course at UT-Dallas this semester. No teacher showed up for the first class meeting. When it didn't appear the teacher would show for the second meeting; those in attendance selected my coworker to inquire at the Departmental offices. The chair looked at the class schedule and realized the teacher listed for the course was not really on the payroll for the semester (it was an adjunct, who, ironically, is full time faculty at UNT, and had been moonlighting at UTD). The 3rd class wasn't held because there had been an ice storm and there were fears of refreezing causing traffic hazards for evening class students. They did get a teacher, but now they're staying another 20-30 minutes late each class; trying to catch up I guess. A memorable quote from the eventual teacher was "I've taught this class before, but never in English". At some point before an actual class was held with an instructor present, the deadline for getting any refund, or withdrawing with a "w" was past.

I offered this information in OldGuyStudents "recourse for a crappy class" topic, but thought it was important to emphasize how important it is for students to be on top of things during registration, especially when universities themselves may not be.

I mentioned on another topic about the subprime mortgage mess about the mess of paperwork one is supposed to be responsible for at closing; maybe we should think of class registration as something with the lasting importance of a closing, except that you may do it 8 or more times, and still be struggling to get it right no matter how experienced at work, education, or bureaucracy that you think you might be. I promise you kids, you should concentrate all your thoughts on the classes for which you are registering, how they fit your degree plan, and the reputation of those teaching them. And if the teacher is missing, you need to get with the administration early on, since deadlines for refunds, late registration, and withdrawal with a "w" come up very early in the semester!

Edited February 26, 2009 by eulessismore

meangreendork · February 26, 2009

Since the group favoring the petition to overturn the stadium election have been quoted as saying something to the effect that "maybe elections could be made part of the registration process" (and rebutted by UNTFlyer due to said elections being run by the SGA rather than the school), I thought I should mention something that happened to a coworker:
He signed up for a course at UT-Dallas this semester. No teacher showed up for the first class meeting. When it didn't appear the teacher would show for the second meeting; those in attendance selected my coworker to inquire at the Departmental offices. The chair looked at the class schedule and realized the teacher listed for the course was not really on the payroll for the semester (it was an adjunct, who, ironically, is full time faculty at UNT, and had been moonlighting at UTD). The 3rd class wasn't held because there had been an ice storm and there were fears of refreezing causing traffic hazards for evening class students. They did get a teacher, but now they're staying another 20-30 minutes late each class; trying to catch up I guess. A memorable quote from the eventual teacher was "I've taught this class before, but never in English". At some point before an actual class was held with an instructor present, the deadline for getting any refund, or withdrawing with a "w" was past.
I offered this information in OldGuyStudents "recourse for a crappy class" topic, but thought it was important to emphasize how important it is for students to be on top of things during registration, especially when universities themselves may not be.
I mentioned on another topic about the subprime mortgage mess about the mess of paperwork one is supposed to be responsible for at closing; maybe we should think of class registration as something with the lasting importance of a closing, except that you may do it 8 or more times, and still be struggling to get it right no matter how experienced at work, education, or bureaucracy that you think you might be. I promise you kids, you should concentrate all your thoughts on the classes for which you are registering, how they fit your degree plan, and the reputation of those teaching them. And if the teacher is missing, you need to get with the administration early on, since deadlines for refunds, late registration, and withdrawal with a "w" come up very early in the semester!

Lord. But kudos for your post, it's going to help someone, I'm certain of it.

And yes, let's do the registration stuff separately.

Edited February 26, 2009 by meangreendork

eulessismore · February 26, 2009

Lord. But kudos for your post, it's going to help someone, I'm certain of it.
And yes, let's do the registration stuff separately.

Thanks. By the way, the price he mentioned to me for that 3 hour course was about $1800, tuition and fees; at UNT, it would have been about $900. Either way, it's no small amount of money, not to mention everything else involved.