Starting summer semester 2018, Weber State University’s registrar is rolling out new software that will automatically populate available classes in accordance with students’ work schedules.
Casey Bullock, WSU Registrar, said the software, called Registration Schedule Builder, allows students to see every course schedule option that’s available to them.
Bullock said the goal of this new program is to provide students the opportunity to register for as many classes per semester as their schedules will allow, something he said is currently a challenge.
“I’ve asked some students how they schedule, and they’ve told me they just hope for the best,” Bullock said. He also said some students have told him they use spreadsheets, sticky notes and other various combinations of reminders to develop their schedules effectively.
Madi Clegg, a WSU student, said the current registration software leaves much to be desired.
“I feel like I take so long to figure out when my classes are and what days they are offered, and it’s not something I look forward to,” Clegg said.
Kaitlyn Nielsen, another WSU student, said she sometimes struggles with the current software.
“This semester was hard for me because it was sort of difficult to figure out which night classes would work for me and which wouldn’t,” Nielsen said.
Bullock said students can filter by campus, CRN, instructor, title and even designations such as QL and Diversity. This will populate a comprehensive list of every course at each time that fits the criteria set by the student.
Regarding the Registration Schedule Builder, Clegg said, “I would love to use something where I can feel more organized. That sounds incredible.”
Nielsen also said she would find the new software useful.
“My work schedule is crazy, so it would really help me if I could use that to figure out what classes I should be looking to take,” Nielsen said.
Bullock used a specific example of searching for physical education classes, which populated several options, versus specifying courses that teach Zumba, which had three.
The Registration Schedule Builder will also have a feature allowing students to pull pre-made semester plans from Cattracks so that students can automatically gauge which of their required courses they will be able to take in a given semester.
Bullock demonstrated the software’s ability to filter by morning or evening classes, as well as waitlisted or available courses.
Students will also have the ability to block out certain periods of each day, whether for work, internships or other obligations, and the Registration Schedule Builder will adapt to the student’s needs by displaying only the courses that are taught outside of those blocks.
Bullock said many students wrestle with the dilemma of sacrificing certain required courses for other equally important ones due to course availability.
“There are so many different options, and I don’t think students realize how many options there actually are,” Bullock said. “Sometimes, students are missing out on classes that they could potentially fit in, but they didn’t know the different schedule options.”
