LSA student government leaders hope the arrival of new Provost Teresa Sullivan this Thursday will help push forward changes to the University’s credit bracket registration system they have been developing over the past year.
The Office of the Provost, which oversees the Office of the Registrar, manages the registration process.
Under the current system, Students are placed in groups, or brackets, based on the number of credits they have accumulated. Each bracket consists of 15 credits and registration appointments are randomly assigned to each student within a bracket.
Student representatives have been working to promote a new policy that would focus on narrowing the number of credits in each bracket
“We will continue our work with the new Provost, who may bring a new perspective and fresh ideas to the table,” LSA-SG Vice President Justin Benson said.
Benson said LSA-SG leaders hope to meet with Sullivan in the fall.
While many students successfully enroll in courses of interest each term, the University’s registration policy and random assignment of appointments leaves much to be desired.
For years, the large amount of credits within each bracket has caused campus-wide distress. Under the current policy, for example, a student with 12 credits may register before a person with 15 credits.
Without the cooperation of University Registrar Paul Robinson in making this an academic priority, the installation of a new system is not likely, Benson said. The office has previously defended the current system, arguing that large brackets leave space for concentrators and students completing prerequisites.
Students who believe the University should change their policy say the brackets should be smaller to make the registration process more equal.
In the past few months, LSA-SG has increased their work with both the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs and the Academic Affairs Advisory Committee to push for a new system that would make the registration process more evenhanded.
Other Big Ten schools have reduced this worry by dividing brackets into much smaller increments, Benson said.