Course registration for the spring 2023 semester began on Monday, November 14th for Goucher students. Picking classes, determining major and minor requirements, and creating schedules can be stressful for many, but some students are having more difficulties and frustration with registration than others.
Brighid Kowal, a senior heading into her final semester as an International Relations and French Transnational Studies double major, ran into some issues with her final registration process this year.
“I am almost done with both of my majors– I needed one more class in each,” she said, “The problem I had was one of my capstones being offered at the same time as the last 400-level course I needed for my other major.”
Trying to navigate course scheduling conflicts can be hard for students with a single major, but can prove to be even more difficult to solve for students like Kowal who have double majors, a minor, or multiple areas of interest.
“I had to contact a lot of people to solve the problem, and it was not easy,” Kowal continued, “I talked to both of my advisors and the provost and registrar, who were hard to get a hold of.”
After talking with staff members and advisors across multiple departments, Kowal was able to replace one of the classes she needed with an independent work-study that will give her the credits to finish her French major.
“If you are having problems with course registration, push really hard to get your problems solved,” Kowal said as advice to other students that may be struggling with the same issue, “the way I saw it, I was paying a lot to be at this school and had worked hard to make sure I could finish in four years. I was going to make sure that this did not stop me from graduating on time.”
The Quindecim reached out to the Office of the Registrar, but did not receive a response to request for comment.
Feature image by Jaida Rhea for The Quindecim.