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Student Registration Comments

randomuser
edited January 2009 in General
If any one wants to look at something funny, a summary of our comments when SIMS asks you whether or not you got all the classes you want:

http://www.sfu.ca/irp/courses/CourseFullTurnaway/documents/crs.avail.survey.1071.appendix2.pdf

I like how this proves that registration dates are a mystery:

International Student: International students should have priority because they pay more.
Local Student: Why do international students get to register before people who live here?

Meathead Athlete: Why does my reg date suck and I register after all my other varsity friends, its not fair.
Non Athlete: How is it fair that all the athletes get to register before us with worse grades?
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Comments

  • NukeChem
    edited December 2008
    The interesting thing is that it seems that the arts and engineering are particularly badly affected by course availability. It's also an open secret that Criminology is basically a clusterfuck when it comes to course availability.

    EDIT - You can declare your major independently of goSFU, at least as far as I know. See the advisor for your chosen faculty to find out how to do it.
  • randomuser
    edited December 2008
    I think some of the sciences where labs are concerned, and certain courses they want students to take in order, are better organized for such reasons.

    While some faculties don't really care and just make it a free for all, and don't necessarily offer things when needed, since there is so much open choice and no fixed structure.

    A lot of these comments seem contradictory, and students don't know the tricks to get around them (talking to advisors for waivers, talking to professors / advisors for entrance into full classes, waiting for the first week for inevitable drops), but one that sticks out is why some faculties have wait lists and why some don't.
  • primexx
    edited December 2008
    the only thing that should matter to registration dates is your grades, every other factor is irrelevant and unfair to everyone else.
  • anonymous1
    edited December 2008
    I think the amount of credits someone has is important too. If someone has only a few courses left before they graduate, but have poor grades, they could potentially not get into classes they need - assuming they're classes that fill up.
  • schmoey
    edited December 2008
    I agree. I think a combination of those two factors would be nice.
  • JayDub
    edited December 2008
    Weird... this is basically what we have now...
  • primexx
    edited December 2008
    JayDub;43988 said:
    Weird... this is basically what we have now...
    it's exactly what we have now.

    i should have been more clear but i included that [length of study] when i said "grades", I wrote CGPA earlier but edited it to reflect the broader measure.
  • Student0667
    edited January 2009
    Ok, this is what I expected. I guess there are registration order/ sequence even amongst Meathead Athletes. This would ensure that the athletic retards who got into SFU only because they are athletes won't get to register around the same time as athletic genius (if such thing exist).

    However, I totally disagree that Athletes should get priority registration. What makes them so special? This is a university and we are all up here to learn, not to get hurt. Also, this is quite unfair to students who too are athletes but their sport is not a varsity sport. Ex: JayDub is into Rowling and need to practice, but he doesn't get priority registration.

    As for international students, I am really sorry for their predictiment. But SFU is a public university and it is funded mostly by tax payer money. Therefore, if International Students ended up taking most of the space in courses and Local Students are stuck with Women Studies and Philosophy (offense intended), there are going to be lynch mobs.

    We should just start launching DOS attack against the SFU server the moment registration starts. That should make this a little fairer.
  • JayDub
    edited January 2009
    I love Rowling. :p
  • Kevin M.Kevin M.
    edited January 2009
    Hey great find Random User, interesting comments for sure
  • primexx
    edited January 2009
    Student0667;44319 said:
    We should just start launching DOS attack against the SFU server the moment registration starts. That should make this a little fairer.
    that'll also fuck up everyone who actually earned their early enrollment dates.
  • Student0667
    edited January 2009
    primexx;44338 said:
    that'll also fuck up everyone who actually earned their early enrollment dates.
    There is this thing call vicious cycle. Scholarship students get to register first, they all register in their program's give aways (courses taught by the best prof and easiest courses), then they get great GPA again, therefore they get to register first again.

    This is also the reason why I think having students with bad GPA register last is a bad idea. They register last, they are stuck with stupid courses taught by retarded professors, their GPA take a major pounding, they register last again next semester.
  • mrbubbles
    edited January 2009
    Student0667;44347 said:
    There is this thing call vicious cycle. Scholarship students get to register first, they all register in their program's give aways (courses taught by the best prof and easiest courses), then they get great GPA again, therefore they get to register first again.

    This is also the reason why I think having students with bad GPA register last is a bad idea. They register last, they are stuck with stupid courses taught by retarded professors, their GPA take a major pounding, they register last again next semester.
    Coincidentally, there's no easy solution to this. Randomizing this is unfair, so is going by surnames. Giving poor performing students first priority is also a disincentive to the students who perform well.

    Then again, students with bad GPA needs to do better and make the effort to overcome adversity to climb up the ladder. Kinda like the disadvantage poor trying to get rich. Such is life.
  • primexx
    edited January 2009
    Student0667;44347 said:
    There is this thing call vicious cycle. Scholarship students get to register first, they all register in their program's give aways (courses taught by the best prof and easiest courses), then they get great GPA again, therefore they get to register first again.

    This is also the reason why I think having students with bad GPA register last is a bad idea. They register last, they are stuck with stupid courses taught by retarded professors, their GPA take a major pounding, they register last again next semester.
    that's why all first years register at the same time (more or less), and the mandatory courses don't give you much wiggle room either.

    Also you're not really suggesting that academic environment (which is extremely limited in scope compared to other environmental factors) can account for 3-4 lettergrade differences are you?
  • Student0667
    edited January 2009
    primexx;44353 said:
    that's why all first years register at the same time (more or less), and the mandatory courses don't give you much wiggle room either.
    However, first years students on scholarships also get priority registration after their first semester. Therefore, if high school kids sucked the right dicks in high school, they are pretty much set for the rest of their post-secondary career.
    Also you're not really suggesting that academic environment (which is extremely limited in scope compared to other environmental factors) can account for 3-4 lettergrade differences are you?
    Taking all your courses with bad professors because all the courses with good professors are full certainly won't help boost your GPA. Seriously though, if you recall, in course evaluations, there is this one session that ask you why you choose this course. People who picked "No other course available" should be shown some mercy.
  • randomuser
    edited January 2009
    The only thing I don't believe in is the mere fact someone is on a scholarship entitles them to an earlier reg date. Conicidentally, they often have higher GPA's than a lot of the student populus. I don't believe that varsity meat heads deserve it either, although the excuse they have has some merit-- they need courses that work around their sports.

    However, someone in their third semester whos on the open scholarship should not be able to register before someone in their 6th semester with an ok GPA.

    That said, I'm not even sure thats the case, since noone knows how the dates are calculated in depth.

    Scholarships should have nothing to do with registration, but GPA and amount of creduts accumulated should.

    If you go to go.sfu, I think the 'Grade Points' number has something to do with registration in some manner in the system, although I'm sure the number is calculated in some form by GPA and total amount of credits taken, or is it fully?
  • siuying
    edited January 2009
    personally.. i really dislike the SFU enrollment system.. and like some said.. being on scholarship or on the varsity shouldn't matter or give those the priority.. i was talking about this to my friend from queens and she said it's all randomized by year.. so 1st years get to register first.. but they all have to log in and pick their registration dates and that's the date you register with.. it would be nice if SFU had something similar to this.. atleast if you get a krappy reg date.. you really can't blame anything else..
  • primexx
    edited January 2009
    Student0667;44356 said:
    However, first years students on scholarships also get priority registration after their first semester. Therefore, if high school kids sucked the right dicks in high school, they are pretty much set for the rest of their post-secondary career.
    If they just drop the # of credits requirement for the open scholarship for students who didn't get the entrance one, this disparity would be gone. the way it's set up right now, yea second semester kind of sucks.
    Student0667;44356 said:
    Taking all your courses with bad professors because all the courses with good professors are full certainly won't help boost your GPA. Seriously though, if you recall, in course evaluations, there is this one session that ask you why you choose this course. People who picked "No other course available" should be shown some mercy.
    even if you register on the first day you don't get into all the courses you want. wouldn't fixing the course scheduling make more sense?
    randomuser;44362 said:
    The only thing I don't believe in is the mere fact someone is on a scholarship entitles them to an earlier reg date. Conicidentally, they often have higher GPA's than a lot of the student populus. I don't believe that varsity meat heads deserve it either, although the excuse they have has some merit-- they need courses that work around their sports.

    However, someone in their third semester whos on the open scholarship should not be able to register before someone in their 6th semester with an ok GPA.

    That said, I'm not even sure thats the case, since noone knows how the dates are calculated in depth.

    Scholarships should have nothing to do with registration, but GPA and amount of creduts accumulated should.

    If you go to go.sfu, I think the 'Grade Points' number has something to do with registration in some manner in the system, although I'm sure the number is calculated in some form by GPA and total amount of credits taken, or is it fully?
    it's based on grade point with the two exceptions.

    considering university is supposed to be an institution of learning, i really don't see how you think that people who do well academically shouldn't get priority dates while people who do well in something totally irrelevant should. everyone have schedules to work around, do you give priority to people who have jobs too?

    in terms of grade point vs. gpa, it pretty much comes down to what you want to reward: achievement or sticking through. if it's the former, then it makes very much sense that someone with less credits but better grades should register before someone who's been there longer but with worse grades. if instead you want to reward people for just being there, then basing it on the number of credits would be the way to go, the grade point is sort of the middle-ground between the two.
  • Student0667
    edited January 2009
    siuying;44367 said:
    personally.. i really dislike the SFU enrollment system..
    Don't we all. We can all get back at SFU by badmouthing SFU while we are still here and not donating a single penny to SFU after we graduated.
    primexx;44370 said:
    If they just drop the # of credits requirement for the open scholarship for students who didn't get the entrance one, this disparity would be gone. the way it's set up right now, yea second semester kind of sucks.
    Now where is the fun in that? You can't have some assholes getting scholarships because they took and Aced 2 give-aways in a semester.
    even if you register on the first day you don't get into all the courses you want. wouldn't fixing the course scheduling make more sense?
    Scheduling conflict sucks, but hey, there are a lot more CHOICE. The keyword here is CHOICE. Registering early gives you a lot more CHOICES than registering later.
  • randomuser
    edited January 2009
    primexx;44370 said:


    it's based on grade point with the two exceptions.

    considering university is supposed to be an institution of learning, i really don't see how you think that people who do well academically shouldn't get priority dates while people who do well in something totally irrelevant should. everyone have schedules to work around, do you give priority to people who have jobs too?

    in terms of grade point vs. gpa, it pretty much comes down to what you want to reward: achievement or sticking through. if it's the former, then it makes very much sense that someone with less credits but better grades should register before someone who's been there longer but with worse grades. if instead you want to reward people for just being there, then basing it on the number of credits would be the way to go, the grade point is sort of the middle-ground between the two.
    You didn't catch what I was saying by only reading part of my post. I said GPA should be a factor, just not the fact someone is on a scholarship. People on scholarships should not be entitlted to priority reg dates, however, as I said, their grade points should be the only factor, which still helps them, but doesn't put them ahead of people unfairly.

    You know what, if I lived at home and wasnt working 40 hours a week to pay my tuition and rent I'd have higher grades than I do. It really is like a circle, don't have to pay all of the tuition so you don't have to work as much or take out as much loans, reducing your stress.
  • primexx
    edited January 2009
    randomuser;44374 said:
    You didn't catch what I was saying by only reading part of my post. I said GPA should be a factor, just not the fact someone is on a scholarship. People on scholarships should not be entitlted to priority reg dates, however, as I said, their grade points should be the only factor, which still helps them, but doesn't put them ahead of people unfairly.

    You know what, if I lived at home and wasnt working 40 hours a week to pay my tuition and rent I'd have higher grades than I do. It really is like a circle, don't have to pay all of the tuition so you don't have to work as much or take out as much loans, reducing your stress.
    I understood what you said, but if there's to be any priority registration, why would you favour the criteria that's totally irrelevant over one that's actually based on grades?
  • randomuser
    edited January 2009
    I'm confused now, are you agreeing with what I said or disagreeing with me?

    I'm saying the fact someone is on a scholarship is irrelevant and should not give them any kind of priority, and the only one that should matter is the grades + credts -- grade points. I don't think grade points are irrelevant, I think the fact that someone is on a scholarship is. I'm referring to the title of being on the scholarship as opposed to the grades one has.

    The only time this presents a problem is when someone with less grade points (and or credits) is on a scholarship and gets to register before someone with more grade points (and or credits).
  • primexx
    edited January 2009
    randomuser;44439 said:
    I'm confused now, are you agreeing with what I said or disagreeing with me?

    I'm saying the fact someone is on a scholarship is irrelevant and should not give them any kind of priority, and the only one that should matter is the grades + credts -- grade points. I don't think grade points are irrelevant, I think the fact that someone is on a scholarship is. I'm referring to the title of being on the scholarship as opposed to the grades one has.

    The only time this presents a problem is when someone with less grade points (and or credits) is on a scholarship and gets to register before someone with more grade points (and or credits).
    arguably the fact that you're on a scholarship is infinitely more relevant than the fact that you have other obligations outside school, since the former is based on your GPA while the latter is not. the question was simply why you'd prefer the latter as a justification for priority enrolment over the former. that's the part I don't understand.

    this is, of course, in the context that there are priority registrations, you've been very clear about not wanting them at all.
  • randomuser
    edited January 2009
    Again, I'm confused as to what you're referring to.

    I only made one mention to outside of school obligations a few posts ago, in which I said those who are given scholarships are given an edge by not having to pay their tuition, I didn't say that was unfair, I was making a statement of my beliefs of how the system can be cyclical. People without scholarships may have to work more, having less time to study. I didn't claim either has a right to priority, it'd be ludicrous for me to suggest people who have outside of school obligations should get priority, how would we even determine that fairly?

    Example: I personally have a private scholarship which is not school administered and I am not given any kind of priority registering, but I'm expected by the organization sponsoring me to fulfill several requirements: Credit Load, Min GPA, Graduation Time etc... This is also requires me to put forth a certain amount of hours in the work force, which has relegated me to taking a lot of DE when I can't get the classes I want. (Although I'm in my last year and registration hasnt been as much as an issue this semester).

    What I've been saying is the following: Simply having a scholarship should not give you priority registration, HOWEVER, to have a scholarship generally you need a high GPA, I think any priority should be based on GPA, credits, grade points (however you want to classify it, although grade points is a combination of credits and GPA being more valid).

    Someone should earn their priority in the que by their grade points alone, how is it fair someone in third semester gets to register before someone in their sixth, simply because they happen to be on a scholarship that semester when the other person has more grade points? I'm curious as to whether you agree or disagree with this last statement.

    To sum up my beliefs again, the title of a scholarship should not give someone priority, their grade points should, and to the benefit of scholarship students, their grade points put them ahead of a large amount of people anyway.
  • primexx
    edited January 2009
    you've made it quite clear that you don't think either scholarships or other obligations should give you priority registration, we can debate the merits of scholarships entitling you to earlier reg date if you want, but that's not the part i've been asking about.

    The part I don't understand is quoted here:
    The only thing I don't believe in is the mere fact someone is on a scholarship entitles them to an earlier reg date. Conicidentally, they often have higher GPA's than a lot of the student populus. I don't believe that varsity meat heads deserve it either, although the excuse they have has some merit-- they need courses that work around their sports.
    My question was why do you accept the latter (working around schedules) more than the former (scholarships) when the latter is totally irrelevant while the former is not?

    I don't know how better to frame the question.
  • randomuser
    edited January 2009
    I don't accept either, I just see *some* logic for varsity meat heads, but I don't think it justifies it. I mean what logic in itself is there for people who are on scholarships to get first pick? It isn't necessary to their school careers. With the jocks they may need to schedule around their shit (I personally believe though if they want to be in sports they should work around it) In my opinion it should all be based on merit, grade points.

    If someone on a scholarship happens to register before me because they have more grade points power to them, but the way it works right now is flawed.
  • gleeba
    edited January 2009
    I hate registration.

    My friend has got a scholarship and so gets to reigister before me. I understand and accept this. But he registered a FULL MONTH before me. My registration date was the last one... Dec 5 at 6:30PM. EVERY FLIPPIN COURSE I WANTED TO TAKE WAS FULL!

    One class I wanted had 3 seats left but I didn't meet reserve capacity. It was a Surrey class and I am registered at SFU Surrey. Therefore, I should automatically meet the damn requirement. The class got filled up an hour later. One class I only got into because I was luckily up at 3am searching for classes and a spot opened. 75% of the classes I'm registered for at the moment are random evening classes at Harbour Center because nothing else was open.

    As forementioned, I hate registration.
  • randomuser
    edited January 2009
    Hey, but you both have 0 Grade Points ;P

    Application time is kind of a arbitrary merit.

    Protip: (people drop out of classes first week, ALL the time...theres been semesters where i plan on taking a class even though its full and i cant get in)
  • gleeba
    edited January 2009
    Very true, but the classes I want already have a wait of about 20 people. Oh well, theres always the summer I guess...
  • triMOON
    edited January 2009
    Fuck those varsity jocks, all SFU sports teams suck anyways.

    Just work hard every semester (including summer) and your GPA will go up. Earliest reg date I got was on the 3rd day. Used to be 1 month after it started, then 4 weeks, then 3, and so on. You know, just be patient.

    Thank god I'm out of there this April.

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