Just completed the first UVA orientation with my kid.
Bottom Line: TERRIBLE re classes. Only got 1 that he wanted and NO CALC, NO SPANISH, NO WRITING, NO PRE BIZ.
Guides said should get the writing class in Aug per the last name schedule.
My kid wants to major in a science or math or commerce. Skill set there.
Not at all interested in things like Chinese Poetry of the 18th Century, etc. (Apologies for those who like that)
How is such a kid supposed to advance if no calc class???
How do you complete the language requirements if not available?
Is there any hope for this situation or should we just plan on transferring?
Does this ever get better at UVA and if so how? What should we do?
It is unfortunate that it was not possible to immediately register for standard first year classes. They should be the easy classes for registration. It is possible you got stuck with a late registration time that day. The U. saves seats in each class for students at each orientation event.
The important thing to keep in mind that there is a tremendous amount of movement around course registrations between now and the first day that classes start. Get on waiting lists. Many students are able to register for classes they want in late August. I assume the U. still has a “swap” system that allows you to give up your least favorite class if you get a class you want.
What irritated many people in the past was that the U. had a serious shortage of seats in Spanish classes, but refused to let students take Spanish classes over the summer at other colleges. If the U. can’t meet the demand, they should allow people to meet the requirement in another way.
Thanks for the reply.
Not sure about a “swap” system. Was not mentioned.
They still seem to have a shortage of seats in Spanish, and they still do not allow credit for Spanish taken at other colleges unless it is done before matriculation. Sigh…
http://its.virginia.edu/sis/student/#swap
The above describes swap.
There are a number of first year students who complain each year that they cannot immediately register for courses that sound really interesting to them or that have the most popular professors. They need to be patient, because they will have a much easier time registering for those classes in later years when they get preference.
However, there is a huge difference between having difficulty registering for interesting elective or higher level classes vs. having difficulty registering for standard first year classes that provide a needed foundation for higher level classes. Those standard first year classes should have plenty of seats - particularly since upper class students typically don’t take those classes, and therefore preference in registration should not matter.
It irritates me that the U. has not responded to many years of clear demonstrated demand for additional Spanish classes. The U. has the option of hiring full-time Instructors with multi-year contracts but without tenure to fill teaching needs. Those instructors are cheaper over time vs. adding brand new professor positions. Instructors can be chosen purely based upon their teaching ability, instead of their research skills.
Several years ago, the U. talked about switching to additional hybrid classes. The intent was to reduce the need for large lecture classes, and to make better use of class time with professors. Students would watch the lectures online outside of the classroom and then use class time with profs to discuss the material in a more inter-active manner. I don’t think there has been enough movement in that direction. That would make many more classrooms available for additional course sections. Hybrid classes are widely used by many other colleges.
@dismayed is your Son on waiting lists for any classes? It was the experience of my S18 that there can be alot of movement and spots do open up. He has been as high as 60 or 70 on a waiting list and has gotten into a class as it got closer to the start of the semester. Some movement has also happened within the first few days of classes atarting. Has he talked to his advisor? I feel terrible for you and your Son. To have gotten so few of his choices must be frustrating. I will say my Son was able to get all of his Comm School pre-requisites in over the four semesters without difficulty…but some of them need to be in order. I would add that it may be helpful for your Son to meet again with his advisor…especially before class registration next semester. It also may be helpful to meet with somebody in the Comm School in the Fall if he plans on applying his Second Year I also think talking with upperclassmen about registration can be helpful. But…he really shouldn’t give up on the wait list. And maybe being flexible on class times…i.e. early morning or Fridays. Good Luck!
Don’t panic.
Really, just don’t. First years don’t get into Spanish at UVA; it’s unheard of, and yes, that’s a bad thing. But he has four (?) years to fulfill the language requirement. He’ll be fine. I’m also presuming he still has area requirements, etc. to fulfill, which hopefully (!) the classes he was able to register for will help take care of.
I am somewhat surprised about the writing class. I tested out of the FWR but remember being told that it was broken up by last name, as you describe, so I assumed those were guaranteed slots. I would email your son’s association dean about that (he should have gotten a slip of paper with his/her name and contact info; they’re assigned based on housing area).
As to the question of if this will improve, it will, at the same rate it improves for everyone. Fourth-years register earlier than third-years register earlier than second-years register earlier than first years.
UVA doesn’t award language credit from other schools, period. You can count language credits from other schools as elective credit, but that’s all. UVA, like most colleges, doesn’t require that you take foreign language classes, only that you demonstrate proficiency in one. You have the option of learning on your own or elsewhere and then testing out. I don’t think you’re required to take the placement test in your first year, so it would have been possible for him to learn Spanish at a community college or somewhere else over the summer and then test out.
It was four years ago, but my son was able to register before his first semester, in July, for the third semester of Spanish (I think it was SPAN 2010). However, at that time, first years found out that they could not get into 1000 level Spanish classes. At that time, there were many more sections offered in the 2000 level Spanish than 1000 level. A number of students had taken a different language in high school and wanted to start studying Spanish in college, and had difficulty doing it.
When there is a clear and continuous demand over many years for additional core classes in an important subject such as Spanish, the U. should meet the demand. After all, the U. has $2.3 billion in a “Strategic Initiatives Fund” for important new projects (which is in addition to the endowment). How about using a small part of it to add some additional Spanish instructors???
Is there a possibility of testing out of a language requirement later than the summer before you start classes??? The post above infers that there is a possibility.
UVa should have a goal of having enough sections so that every first year student can get into almost any 1000 level class they want and most of the 2000 level core classes they want. It is particularly important because a student cannot declare a major in many departments until they complete a number of core classes in that major. They can’t get an advisor who knows anything about their major until they are able to declare a major. Catch 22.
In many cases, a student cannot take a 3000 level class in a department until they complete the 1000 or 2000 level class.
For instance, 4 years ago, two of the majors my son was considering as a first year were Political Science and Economics. He was not able to register for ANY class in either of those departments as a first year. A student’s first year should give them a chance to explore potential majors. (It was not a case of seats being available in 8 am classes or with unpopular profs - there were NO seats available.)
If the U. would follow through on its own promises on moving towards hybrid classes, it would make it easier to add additional sections of classes, because fewer classrooms would be occupied by 300 to 500 person lectures.
Ideally, yes, first-years should be able to get into any 1000-level class. The problem, in practice, is that not all 1000-level classes are large lecture classes, so you would wind up with a situation where a huge number of both small and large classes were being planned for, requiring professors’, TAs’, and students’ schedules to be up-in-the-air until the last minute, when unfilled classes and sections would be dropped/combined. The reverse of overbooking. A scheduling nightmare would result for all concerned.
The major-advisor problem is (at least theoretically) addressed by the availability of COLAs. There are a lot of them, spots are held for every orientation session, and many professors/grad students teach more than one, so I would imagine students have a fairly good shot of getting into one of their top few choices.
Politics classes are hard to get into even for upperclassmen, most definitely; there just aren’t enough of them. The hybrid class things was, if I remember correctly, a big part of the Dragas/Sullivan kerfuffle a few years back. That topic is radioactive for now.
Good thoughts Evan. Yes, I heard a politics major a couple years ago say there was a shortage of even 4000 level classes for 4th year Politics majors.
Admissions to Batten have become much more compeitive in the last couple years - people are realizing it is a more pleasant environment with smaller classes, accessible profs, classes teaching practical skills, and lots of free food for students that is leftover from events.
We still know little about Dragas’s motivations. However in the days leading up to their coup, they were sending emails back and forth about the Massive Online Classes that were in vogue. Those turned out to be disasters for both the students and the colleges.
The hybrid classes are very different, and I believe would be happily accepted by most students. You would only be taking the class with the same number of UVa students as you otherwise would. You still have class time with your profs but you don’t have to sit in large lecture halls just taking notes. Instead, the lectures are online, but the class time is used for back and forth discussion and questions.