Students who have yet to register for spring classes may not be able to ask an upperclassman friend to \hold"" a spot in certain desired courses, because once dropped by that upperclassman, the available seat will disappear.
""In a lot of departments across the campus, as soon as a given class fills, the department sets the enrollment back in the [Integrated Student Information System],"" said International Studies Program Assistant Mary Possin. ""If a class has 20 students in it, as soon as it hits 20 you set the enrollment back to zero. Then when students drop, other students can't hop in.""
This system of ""setting back"" the enrollment numbers affects students with lower standing as they try to adjust their schedules toward a desired major. It also affects students who have only a few courses applicable to their major from which to choose.
Marilyn McIntyre, UW-Madison associate registrar, explained such enrollment practices are neither a new trend nor a blanket policy. ""There really is no change,"" she said. ""For instance, some departments put a limit on registration during SOAR, so that they can leave spaces for sophomores, juniors and seniors and so that freshmen don't take up all the spaces. The option has been available all along, and it is up to the department to decide how they want to do that.""
Each semester the International Studies program offers a list of courses through various departments that satisfy requirements for an International Studies major. IS 601, ""The Politics of Human Rights,"" is a topical course that is expected to be extremely popular. A student who wishes to take a dropped spot in the filled sections must first be on the waiting list.
""When it's a new experimental course, we want to make sure there aren't too many students in the class,"" Dean of International Studies Gilles Bousquet said.
The type of registration process depends on the goals of the different department or major. Course offerings are often influenced by budget cuts and faculty shortages within a department.
""We've had some significant budget cuts, and that has impacted our ability to offer certain courses,"" Bousquet said. ""Also, some faculty have gone to other universities, and so that is a big, big priority. We want to offer as many core courses as we can.""
For students who did not make it into IS 601 or another topical course this spring, the good news is successful experimental courses usually become permanent offerings. ""Holding"" courses will remain an option for manipulating the timetable in many departments.
""We're aware this goes on with students,"" McIntyre said. ""It is up to the department to decide whether holding spots is an issue.""
