Class scheduling is a stressful time for all students, but some have found the rigors of their college’s scheduling process creates even more of a burden.
Students in the College of Engineering have said changes and limitations on the classes available to them have led to taking extra semesters, or changing their majors entirely. Construction management sophomore Eston Luke said he was forced to enroll in the introductory class of a four-class sequence for the third time this semester as a result of bad advice from a professor and changes to the curriculum. He said a number of his classmates have faced the same problem.
“They kind of screwed over everyone who started in the spring,” Luke said. “If they didn’t take the next class [in the sequence], they have to go back and take the intro class.”
Warren Waggenspack, assistant dean for academic programs for the College of Engineering, said the work-heavy nature of engineering programs means students must remain aware of their progress in their major’s flowchart. An engineering student intending to graduate in four years should expect to take about 17 credit hours per semester, Waggenspack said.
“Engineering is a challenging curriculum,” Waggenspack said. “Some students will have to be more realistic about the amount of credit hours or work hours they can take.”
Waggenspack said engineering students must see an appointed adviser to discuss their degree progress before they can schedule their classes through the myLSU online portal.
Different departments within the College of Engineering spread the duties of student advisory differently, Waggenspack said. In some departments, the students are distributed throughout all teaching faculty, while others appoint specialized advisers.
Some students have expressed concern that the engineering college’s advisory system results in them feeling out of touch with what they need to do to graduate.
“I feel like I might as well not be telling him anything,” said electrical engineering junior Quinlan Rawles.