According to the Office of the Registrar, scheduling for spring ’08 went right as planned.When students go to schedule their classes each semester, for some it may be a stressful time. For others, it is fairly simple due to majors and also the course requirements that are open. Fourth and fifth-year students at West Chester University at this point have finished scheduling and the last day for first-year students to schedule was Nov. 13. There were no major problems for scheduling for next semester according to Registrar Joseph Santivasci.
“We have been keeping the graduation clearances up to date and it seems to be going well,” Santivasci said. If there ever is an issue with scheduling, Santivasci and the staff of Registrar are the first ones to find out so the problem can be solved. As far as students having problems with opening their accounts, Joseph said students need to meet with their advisors before their scheduling date so that there are no last minute problems. The egistrar cannot be responsible if for example a student has 118 credits and they cannot graduate.
“According to the PASSHE, it is required for students to graduate with 120 credits,” Santivasci said. If there are further problems, students should meet with their department chair.
Students should know that the best time to start planning for graduation is the end of their junior year. The registrar does a good job by posting it around the office. Students are given the chance to graduate on time if they start to think about their future as soon as possible.
Scheduling for the summer session 2008 starts when students have the opportunity to schedule for fall 2008. Priority scheduling starts Feb. 3, 2008. Regular schedule time for students begins on Feb. 17, 2008. At this time when students want to figure out classes for the next semester, they can also schedule for summer session. If students are then planning to take classes in the summer, they should start planning when the spring 2008 semester begins.
Santivasci had a lot of advice to give to students. His main point was that “the course catalog is very helpful and students should always read and know it.
Start planning your graduation at the end of your junior year, and get advice from your advisor, that is what they are there for. Summer classes are good for students that want to be sure they are at 120 credits.”
A good incentive for students to take summer classes used to be that there was free room and board. Unfortunately, that opportunity came to an end last year due to costs for the university. Santivasci believes that summer classes are still worth doing if you want to meet the requirements and graduate in four years.
Katelyn Frate, a fourth-year student at WCU, said, “My experience with scheduling was simple this semester. I am taking a 12 credit internship in the spring and only needed a three credit class to add on. It was easy for me to find. The other years here at WCU also ran smoothly for me. I have always been able to find my classes.”
Lindsay Keegan, another fourth-year student here at WCU, said “This semester was easy to schedule for the most part, but one of the classes I needed was taken, so I constantly had to keep checking to see if it would open. The registrar encourages students to keep checking if a class is not available and to always see an advisor to help.
Megan Careless is fourth-year student majoring in liberal studies with a minor in journalism. She can be reached at MC591446@wcupa.edu.