Enrollment for spring quarter has started for most UCLA students this week, but an increasing number of students are finding themselves boxed out of classes they need.
Many departments restrict first-pass enrollment to students within that major, and only open those classes to all students during second pass.
But for many classes, second pass is too late, and so students are left unable to enroll in the classes they need.
These policies are helpful for students in those majors who need to take those classes to graduate, but they are leaving entire swathes of students out in the cold.
It’s about time UCLA changed its enrollment restrictions to accommodate these students.
The standard enrollment process is structured so seniors get to enroll first and freshmen get to enroll last. This is good. Seniors have a limited time remaining to finish their majors, while freshmen typically have more opportunities to get those classes.
But both enrollment restrictions by major and priority enrollment have put a wrench in this system.
Enrollment restrictions on many impacted courses have increased for spring quarter, so many students in minor programs and interdisciplinary majors are left out.
These students need to complete their majors and minors just as much as anyone, but they are often kept out of the classes they need by these restrictions.
These problems mostly pop up in the humanities because the sciences tend to use enforced requisites to curb non-major enrollment.
Enrollment restrictions in the humanities need to be restructured. Preference should be given to all students whose majors and minors include the restricted courses in their requirements. That way, the courses would truly and fairly be reserved for the students who need them most.
The priority pass ““ which comes before both first-pass and second-pass enrollment appointments ““ presents another major problem in enrollment.
Currently, Regents Scholars, Alumni Scholars, Academic Advancement Program students, Honors Program students, students with disabilities, UCLA athletes and students enrolled in General Education clusters all get priority enrollment.
Instead of providing priority enrollment to students in such programs, priority should only be given to those who actually have a special need to schedule their classes around their activities, such as UCLA athletes and students with long-term disabilities. These students need priority enrollment to build their schedules around time constraints not faced by other students.
Other than those students, no one should get priority enrollment. It doesn’t make sense for freshmen in GE clusters to take priority over seniors who need a class to graduate.
These problems also indicate a deeper issue: If students are having trouble enrolling in classes, there probably aren’t enough classes being offered. If UCLA wants its students to get out in four years, it should really help facilitate this process.
But if the university isn’t going to offer enough classes for its students, it should at least ensure that the right students can get in.
By cutting back on who gets priority enrollment and opening enrollment to all students who legitimately need those classes to graduate with their majors and minors, classes will be filled by necessity, not privilege.