By Shivani Mangar
Classes are in jeopardy of being cancelled due to late enrollment. As the fall semester nears its end, York college students are expected to seek advisement from their respected departments before registering for classes for the next term. However, some students have been putting registration on the back burner and it has been causing quite a controversy among the student body. Teachers in every department have been warning students that while low enrollment is a major reason why a department must cancel classes, late enrollment is as equally responsible. With teachers making this known to students every semester, it raises the question as to what is preventing students from making an effort to enroll on time being that this issue affects everyone. According to one student, enrolling for classes for the upcoming spring semester has been anything but a simple task. “I’m currently waiting for my block to be removed. I also need department permission to register for certain courses,” he states. Unlike most CUNY schools, York College forces students to go for advisement with the threat of being unable to register for their classes. While this does encourage shy or otherwise lazy students to seek the help they may not know they need, this system is rapidly backfiring.
This barrier placed in front of students adds additional stress onto an already stressful situation. For most students to enter a new semester, proper financial debts must be paid, work schedules must be changed, and other personal arrangements must be made. But students must also anxiously wait to find out whether or not that class they desperately need to move forward in their academic careers will even be available. When asked how he feels about classes being cancelled due to low enrollment, the student previously interviewed had nothing positive to say. “It’s very problematic because if it’s a major class that I need, it will set me back and I won’t graduate on time,” he said. Not only does this issue hinder students academically, but it is also contributing to a division among students. One student who registered for his classes only three weeks after registration began, was very straightforward about his feelings towards students who wait too long to register for classes. “I feel that it is quite ignorant for a person to enroll late for a class that I want to be a part of as well because if you want to be in that class why not take the initiative to get in ASAP,” he said. This is a common view among many other students who took the necessary steps to enroll early and alongside them, this student is also unfairly waiting to see if he will have a seat in his classes this coming spring semester.
This issue of classes being cancelled due to low enrollment is something that needs to be changed in order for students, teachers, and York College as an academic institute, to succeed. The best way to give students a more fair chance at enrolling for their classes in a timely manner is to remove the obstacles the school has put in their way. By eliminating the system of “blocking” students from enrolling, educating students on the requirements for enrolling, and reminding students of how and when to register, the more likely it is that students will be able to not only secure their seat in the class that they need, but also increase the chances of the classes being taught at all. This issue that is dividing students and hindering them from achieving their academic goals has been too great to continuously be swept under the rug.
