Spring Break
Editorial - Your Future: TBA
By: Editorial Board
Issue date: 7/27/07 Section: Ed-Op
Originally published: 7/28/07 at 12:40 AM EST
Last update: 7/28/07 at 12:39 AM EST
Originally published: 7/28/07 at 12:40 AM EST
Last update: 7/28/07 at 12:39 AM EST
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We're almost halfway through this term, which means it's likely some of you have given thought to planning your schedules for fall term.
This can be a frustrating task. The classes you need could potentially not be offered. Required classes may be scheduled at conflicting times. Sometimes classes are listed, but without a day, time or professor. And if you're very unlucky, some classes that you really wanted to take are canceled due to low enrollment about a week before the term, when you've already bought the textbooks and supplies.
While some of these issues are present at all universities, there are things Drexel University can do to make the process more student-friendly.
One of our biggest qualms with the course offerings at Drexel is their quantity over summer term. Our University administrators need to realize that while the co-op program adds many benefits to our educational careers, it also introduces niches and unique needs for students here. The University has a large number of students on the fall-winter co-op cycle, meaning all those students will be taking classes during summer term. We are told that not as many faculty members are on campus over the summer. Students on the fall-winter cycle are often at a disadvantage because the professor teaching a difficult, core course for their major is on leave. We understand that the professors need a vacation, but the students are sacrificing theirs to be in classes and are paying the same amount in tuition as their peers on the opposite co-op cycle.
There are fewer courses and fewer sections offered during the summer. At times, it seems that all the classes that are offered are at the same time on the same days. All of this lowers students' flexibility and options which may force students to take extra classes during other terms or leave Drexel for a more flexible program.
Frustration is not limited to summer term. Many times after registration for a course has opened, the professor is listed as TBA. At other universities, not only are the professors known during registration, but students also have access to the syllabus when they are deciding whether or not to register for the class. If was implemented at Drexel, it would also reduce the number of students dropping out of a class, since they will know what the course covers and be able to decide whether they can manage the material or not.
This can be a frustrating task. The classes you need could potentially not be offered. Required classes may be scheduled at conflicting times. Sometimes classes are listed, but without a day, time or professor. And if you're very unlucky, some classes that you really wanted to take are canceled due to low enrollment about a week before the term, when you've already bought the textbooks and supplies.
While some of these issues are present at all universities, there are things Drexel University can do to make the process more student-friendly.
One of our biggest qualms with the course offerings at Drexel is their quantity over summer term. Our University administrators need to realize that while the co-op program adds many benefits to our educational careers, it also introduces niches and unique needs for students here. The University has a large number of students on the fall-winter co-op cycle, meaning all those students will be taking classes during summer term. We are told that not as many faculty members are on campus over the summer. Students on the fall-winter cycle are often at a disadvantage because the professor teaching a difficult, core course for their major is on leave. We understand that the professors need a vacation, but the students are sacrificing theirs to be in classes and are paying the same amount in tuition as their peers on the opposite co-op cycle.
There are fewer courses and fewer sections offered during the summer. At times, it seems that all the classes that are offered are at the same time on the same days. All of this lowers students' flexibility and options which may force students to take extra classes during other terms or leave Drexel for a more flexible program.
Frustration is not limited to summer term. Many times after registration for a course has opened, the professor is listed as TBA. At other universities, not only are the professors known during registration, but students also have access to the syllabus when they are deciding whether or not to register for the class. If was implemented at Drexel, it would also reduce the number of students dropping out of a class, since they will know what the course covers and be able to decide whether they can manage the material or not.
