SLU’s Registration Crisis: Students Stuck in a Class Jam

Imagine it’s a chilly November morning at 6:59 a.m. You’re a first-year student, still groggy from a restless night but wide awake, staring anxiously at your screen. Your heart races because you know that your entire semester hinges on the next few minutes. The clock strikes 7, and you immediately hit refresh on APR2, holding your breath. The seconds tick by, and then comes the dreaded spinning wheel. You frantically scan the available courses, but it’s already too late. The class you were hoping for is full. Worse, every other course related to your major is packed too. You’re left with a selection of random electives that don’t fulfill your graduation requirements, don’t align with your academic goals, and won’t help you finish your degree. It’s 7:05 a.m., and your day is already ruined.

Thankfully, St. Lawrence University no longer has the chaotic, all-at-once registration system that once saw students from first-years to seniors competing for the same spots. What a relief it is that we’ve moved beyond that chaotic “Black Friday” experience! However, despite improvements in the registration process, many students, particularly upperclassmen, still face challenges. The current system overlooks the unique difficulties faced by seniors who need specific courses to graduate. The idea that a senior with just one semester left should have to compete for classes with a first-year is flawed. Moreover, the system fails to address a more fundamental issue: the chronic shortage of courses available to students, especially those in their later years of study.

The lack of available courses at SLU is a significant obstacle to academic progress, particularly for upperclassmen trying to fulfill specific major requirements. It is not uncommon for students to be unable to secure spots in core courses they need to graduate. The underlying issue is that there simply aren’t enough faculty members to offer the breadth and depth of courses required.

SLU’s over-reliance on adjunct professors creates a situation where there aren’t enough full- time professors to teach the higher-level courses required for major completion. While adjuncts are dedicated, they often juggle multiple teaching positions, limiting their ability to focus on any one class and impacting instructional quality. When a university depends heavily on part-time labor, it ultimately sacrifices the quality and consistency of education.

Full-time professors provide stability, dedicating more time to their courses and engaging in research that enhances the curriculum. Despite the clear benefits of hiring more full-time faculty, SLU has prioritized short-term financial savings by hiring adjuncts rather than investing in a robust full-time faculty base.

The results are evident: limited course availability, especially in essential and upper-level courses, leaves students scrambling to secure spots in classes crucial for graduation. Upperclassmen often find themselves trapped in a cycle of irrelevant electives because the classes they need are not offered frequently enough—or at all.

To address these issues, SLU must adopt a more strategic approach to tackle the core problem: the shortage of faculty and course offerings. There are two key strategies that could improve the situation: investing in full-time faculty and revising the registration system to better serve students’ needs.

First and foremost, SLU needs to commit to hiring more full-time professors. This investment would increase course availability and improve education quality. Full- time faculty can offer specialized courses tailored to upperclassmen and engage in scholarly research that enriches learning.

Hiring more full-time faculty would enhance the student experience, as they tend to be more invested in students’ success due to their stable working conditions. This change would lead to better instruction, more personalized attention, and a broader selection of courses.

Investing in full-time professors would also contribute to SLU’s long- term academic stability. Full-time faculty members are more likely to stay at the university for many years, providing consistency in course offerings and student advising. With a stable full-time faculty base, SLU would be better equipped to respond to evolving student needs, ensuring that upperclassmen can complete their degrees in a timely manner.

Allowing students to over-enroll during the add/drop period would give them more flexibility to secure spots in classes, even if they don’t get into their first-choice courses initially. If students could sign up for five or six courses, they could drop the ones they don’t need after the add/ drop period, when course availability becomes clearer. This would reduce the high-stress nature of registration and provide more chances to adjust schedules.

Another potential solution is introducing a pre-enrollment system for students within their major. This would allow juniors and seniors to secure spots in major-specific courses before registration opens to all students. Prioritizing upperclassmen in this way would improve their chances of getting the classes they need and ease competition for critical courses.

Additionally, offering more junior and senior-specific classes would help students in their final years complete their degree requirements efficiently. More courses tailored to upperclassmen’s academic needs would alleviate the scramble for seats in crowded electives.

All these solutions come down to one central issue: SLU’s financial priorities. The university spends significant amounts on capital projects, marketing campaigns, and expand- ing campus amenities, but resources dedicated to academic staff and course offerings have not kept pace with student demand. SLU must shift its priorities, investing more in academic infrastructure rather than in projects that don’t directly contribute to student learning.

To ensure long-term academic success, SLU must make a more substantial investment in its faculty. This would not only increase the number of courses available to students but also improve education quality and ensure that upperclassmen can fulfill their degree requirements without unnecessary delays. A well staffed and funded academic infrastructure would help SLU maintain its reputation as an institution committed to academic excellence.

SLU’s registration system is fundamentally flawed, rooted in a lack of full-time faculty and accompanying course shortages. Until the university makes a serious investment in hiring full-time professors, students will continue to struggle with overcrowded classes, limited course offerings, and a registration system that feels like a game of chance. The solution lies in prioritizing long-term investments in faculty and creating a registration system that better serves the needs of upperclassmen. By addressing these issues, SLU can improve its registration process, provide students with the courses they need, and offer a more stable academic experience. The time for change is now, and it begins with investing in the university’s most important resource: its faculty.