| OCR Text |
Show Fewer Headaches Registration Is Different By SUZANNE BOYNTON Chronicle Staff Writer Registration day is over for another an-other quarter. Although not an everyday occurence, registration is a routine when it does happen. Since the advent of the computer last winter quarter, the routine has been a little different each time, and this time it was a little more different. The most noticable thing about this quarter's registration was that, despite the crowded lobby in OSH, most lines were shorter than they have been in years. Even the general gen-eral education and other hard-to-get classes had shorter lines leading to them. No Late Fee Another change is that this quarter quar-ter there will be no fee for changing chang-ing registration during the first three days of classes for those who participated in advance registration. registra-tion. Last quarter there was a $5 fee for adding classes anytime. Students registering late or changing classes still found some long lines. Some students, after waiting a long time in a line, were told that tiie class they wanted had just closed. Some found mistakes in their schedules. One student found him self registered for Arabic Thesis (index no. 1623) instead of Introduction Intro-duction to Architecture Thesis (index (in-dex no. 1626). A registrar's office spokesman explained this type of mistake usually occurs when the student puts the wrong index number num-ber on his enrollment request, although al-though the card punch operator or even the computer itself could be at fault. In computing schedules, senior's cards are processed first, junior's next and underclassmen's last. Of 15,400 students (including night students), 13,400 participated in advance ad-vance registration. These students (Continued on Page 2) Registration Improves (Continued from Page 1) were given 96 per cent of the 100,-000 100,-000 courses they requested. Two per cent of the requests could not be filled because of conflicts within students' schedules. Two per cent of requested classes were full. In spite of the usual frustrations which will always accompany registration reg-istration for some, the computer seems to be improving the situation for most students and for the administration. ad-ministration. For example, there was room for 400 students in the two scheduled sections of Physics 5. There were 900 requests for the class. Two new sections were opened, accomodating nearly all those wanting the class. Without the computer, it was not possible to do such instant rescheduling. Less Manpower Needed In addition, the computer cuts necessary manpower in the registrar's reg-istrar's office by half, and eliminates elimin-ates a good deal of clerical work in the academic departments which previously controlled class cards. Now all class requests will be handled hand-led by the registrar's office. Besides Be-sides relieving the academic departments, de-partments, this will give the registrar regis-trar a way of keeping track of the relative success of the registration system and a valid basis for improvements im-provements thereto. The computer was used for the first advance registration winter quarter, 1967. It was used again in Spring, 1967. That quarter there were 6,000 class change requests. It was not used in Autumn, 1967, because of the large number of freshmen and transfer students fall quarter brings. That quarter there wore 13,000 class change requests. This spring there will be a counselling counsel-ling period, and registration material mater-ial for next fall quarter will be sent to all new and continuing students stu-dents in August. Total advance registration will make it very difficult for those who register late. But computer registration regis-tration promises, in the long run, fewer registration problems for everyone. |
