Emily Alford | staff Writer | ealford@mail.smcvt.edu
Now what? Class registration didn’t go the way you wanted it to. Is there anything else you can do?
“I would say the number one recommendation step to take would be the permission and petition form,” said Meg Andrews, associate registrar for scheduling and registration. “It’s kind of a catch-all form for any reason. You didn’t get a course, you’re missing a prerequisite, you’re not a declared major or minor.”
This petition form is available on the MySMC portal under the registrar page where students can fill it out before, during, or after registration. It is then directed to professors and departments for approval.
Professors who receive the form will sometimes add additional seats to the class. “Many will, many won’t,” said Vernita Weller, senior success advisor. “Typically, they usually only go as high as two.”
Andrews highlighted the additional information section of the petition stating, “I would say that it is really helpful when you can provide the context, and any extra information is definitely taken into consideration as well.”
The more information a student can provide, the more likely a professor will take the petition into consideration. However, this is also a chance for students to look at other classes being offered that semester.
“Making sure you have options is important. We [advisors] always encourage students to try new courses. Thinking about ‘I’ve never taken an art course’ or ‘maybe I’ll take an African drumming course,’” said Weller.
Weller also mentioned looking at courses that are offered during the summer semester. She said that broadening your outlook outside of your core classes and your major is important. “How does a course that you thought you would never take help you to grow as an individual?” said Weller.
St. Mike’s also allows students to take electives on a pass/fail basis. “That’s a tool that students can use to enable them to take classes that interest them, but that they may be afraid would drop their GPA,” said Jason Hirsch, professor of anthropology and sociology.
A student cannot take any class for the core or their major or minor on the pass/fail basis. However, for any elective, as long as they pass, they will get the credit for the class without any effect on their GPA.
Weller also mentioned direct studies that you can do one on one with a professor that a student can receive credit for.
“If you wanted to do something really unique to your major, but we don’t necessarily have a course in it, you can go to a professor and ask them to be your supervisor. You work it out together and you get credit for that,” said Weller.
There are also classes that students need as a prerequisite before they can move on in their major. Weller talked about how, when this happens, students need to shift a bit. It may be worthwhile to find a course that coincides with your major and counts as an elective to not waste time.
Andrews said sometimes more sections of a class open up depending on student need or demand. “There’s a number of different factors but if there’s this strong student demand, we can definitely look and see if there’s a way for us to add on.”
Some of these factors include the number of faculty who can teach it and their schedules as well as how many students need the class versus want it.
The importance of meeting with your advisor was also stressed by both Weller and Andrews. “You can really make sure that you’re looking at a number of different things. You’re looking at your core, and you’re looking at your major. It’s important to look at the whole picture,” said Weller.
“You might think, oh great I’m on the right track, but then decide, I’m really interested in Spanish, I really want to add that’, now the plan is going to shift a little bit. So that’s why each semester it’s really important to meet with your academic advisor to take a look through and make sure you’re getting everything you want done, done,” said Andrews.
Both the registrar and the student success advisor said that making a plan, meeting with your advisor, and being open to shifting that plan is important. Look through your options like summer courses, pushing a class back a semester, or filling out the permission and petition form located on the MySMC portal to try and get into a class you need. All of these steps can help make the class registration process a bit easier.
“It’s not the end of the world. We have an abundance of interesting things to study and learn here at St. Michael’s College, it’s a veritable buffet of interesting stuff, and sometimes not getting the classes you exactly wanted, actually just pushes you to dig a bit deeper into the catalog. You may end up finding some hidden gems,” said Hirsch.