It was 8:29 a.m. on February 18^th in the computer room of the Chonnam National University Library (the red library). Most of the students were waiting for the portal site of CNU to be opened, and at last at 8:30 a.m. all tried to access to the portal site to register for courses, but the computers did not answer any of them. All of a sudden, a student who seemed to be really lucky shouted, “I got it”, and not even three minutes later t, other students who registered for courses they wanted were smiling. On the other hand, other students’ disappointment was apparent because their registration for courses was not so successful for this semester. 

Whenever a new semester begins, registering for courses becomes the biggest topic of conversation on campus.  Even if the period of course registration is a day per each grade, most of the classes are closed in less than a minute. A lot of students are tired of this system, complaining that there are not enough vacancies in classes and the server is too slow. They added that it is absurd to pay so much in tuition and then be unable to take the classes they want. No matter how much time they spend in trying to set their timetable for the semester, they feel like their plan is spoiled because of an inconvenient and unreasonable course registration system. Students who can’t register for the courses they want have to plead with a teaching assistant and a professor to open a seat in class for them, or wait for the day of course change registration.

To these problems, Ahn Pyung-sub, staff in charge of course registration management said that a lot of students try to access the portal at the same time, and some popular classes where students get good grades are easily overwhelmed by a rush of hits. That’s why the server becomes too slow and goes down. He added, “We are also devoting all our energy to make the course registration program work without a hitch every semester. However, there have not been enough ways to make the program more efficient.  The best solution is still allowing students to register on a ’first-come-first-served basis’.” He added that the university continuously monitors the board to know what students need and provides more opportunities to take popular classes. He also advises CNUains to use the booking system before registration for classes and set their timetable with flexibility.

Still the reality is that students can’t take the classes they want and moreover they get stressed about registering for courses even before the semester begins. Fundamental measures are necessary to deal with this discordant turmoil since there are still complaints among students. Even if the program has been better than it was, these repeated grievances will make everyone exhausted. It is time that students and the administration work together to create a better and more reasonable course registration system.

 

By Park Sue-hye, Guest Reporter