The online system for course registration has been always an issue at Chonnam National University, especially at the beginning of this semester many students experienced confusion and difficulties. When registering for classes they became frustrated because they could not register for compulsory classes. The problem has vexed students every semester until now. The University Administration changed some guidelines for course registration this semester, prohibiting multiple logins with the same ID number, using Macro programs or clicking excessively during course registration.
However, the Administration’s prohibition measures to eradicate students’ expedient registration, such as multiple logins or using Macro programs, have made life for students more uncomfortable. The new guidelines brought about other problems because the University says the students tried to resort to such expedients when registering for classes, however some of them strenuously deny using such methods. As a result, the new measures relating to the online registration system did not alleviate students’ registration difficulties. Many CNUians doubt the effectiveness of the temporary technological changes. It is time to reform the course registration system. Is there no way to solve the problems?
CNU’s course registration system is based on the courses provided independently by each college, for the coming semester, taking account of its professors’ schedules and the number of lecture rooms belonging to the college. Before setting a course time frame, the administrative staff in each department of every college at CNU arranged its professor’s schedules and class rooms not to overlap each other. This was they could assign the semester courses spaces available only in their colleges. This process limits what the University can do in order to improve the course registration conditions.
The administrative process to settle course offerings causes problems for students during course registration every semester. No college at CNU has enough class rooms or professors to meet the demand of students. Therefore the college administration cannot help restricting the number of students in each class, limiting course openings. Besides, the University knew the demand for classes through the preregistration, however the results were reflected in the course openings which were predetermined.
Take for example “Theory of Business”, one of the most popular classes at CNU and also a major-specific class at the School of Business Administration. Some students majoring in Business Administration could not register for the class. Kim Hyun-kyoung (Sophomore, School of Business Administration) said, “Theory of Business is a major class for freshmen at the School of Business Administration. I had to take the class last year, but I could not. This semester, I need to take a mandatory class, which is a prerequisite for learning Theory of Business.” Other students who had different majors also suffered from the same problem. For students that were specialized in both major and minor subjects, the situation becomes worse. Lee Seon-a (Junior, Dept. of History) said, “My minor subject is Economics. I have never finished my course registration during the designated period, so I had to change my course schedule by dropping and adding courses during the period for course amendments. In that period, I visited my major and minor department offices.” CNUians who miss classes which they want to take must take other classes even if they do not want to take the classes reluctantly.
This annoying situation is not just for students. Joo Chul-gku (Staff, School of Business Administration) said, “Every course enrollment time, lots of students visit our office day and night. Not only students who miss the classes, but also assistants and professors suffering from the so called ‘Course Registration War’.” Some professors pointed out that the problems mentioned above could be solved through the central course management of the University Administration instead of at the individual management departments of each college. If the University’s central course management system was introduced, every college could share information about extra class rooms and arrange them for courses in order to meet the needs of the students. For example, Korea University has a central control system for registration, and manages all lecture rooms and professors’ schedules in one university office. Lee Do-dam (Junior, Dept of Korean Education at Korea University) said, “I have never suffered during course registrations.” Most universities provide on-line course enrollment systems in order to alleviate students’ hassles. Any on-line system of registration for classes has both merits and faults.
CNU has made an effort to solve some of the problems related to course enrollment. It has implemented a course reservation system to monitor which classes are popular with students. Then it can expand the number of classes. It has also recently increased the number of part-time instructors responsible for popular classes in order to offer more lectures. More importantly, the University needs more professors and should make better use of extra spaces on campus. It is ridiculous that a student’s course schedule for a whole semester can be determined in just a fraction of a second. University students, CNUians, have a right to take the classes that they want and should be learning. We want to register and study our optional and mandatory classes without experiencing registration difficulties in the future.
By Lee Ji-song, Student Editor
[News Focus]
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