<p>nysmile, did you even read what I wrote? I’m not talking about a hypothetical, I’m talking about what is already happening. Not to mention, you ignore the obvious incentive that exists to not cap admit numbers to keep class sizes reasonable–more students = more tuition. Again, I’m not speaking for the whole SUNY system, but this is the choice that’s been made at at least the SUNY I go to in the face of budget cuts. You’re wrong.</p>
<p>Number of sections available has EVERYTHING to do with funding. If 800 students need a particular course this semester to move forward with their course requirements on time but the money doesn’t exist to pay enough instructors to teach enough sections to accomodate more than 600, what do you think happens to the other 200 people? If the student demand exists to offer two sections of a required course but the budget is only there for one, what do you think happens? If you multiply this issue out over an entire university, don’t you realize this means more conflicts, a more difficult time scheduling, and more people getting shut out of classes they need to take to keep on track?</p>
<p>You’re being ridiculously trivializing and insulting. Yes, people have to take care of their own obligations to register on time. Yes, sometimes you can get a professor to let more people in or wait for someone to drop. It’s not enough, and I’m not talking about scenarios like your son’s where boohoo, you have to take a different section. What if there isn’t another section? What if there aren’t enough chairs or computers or lab benches? This problem exists already. Why are you so hell bent on insisting people must be screwing up in order to have problems like this?</p>
<p>I go to Stony Brook, which is an excellent school with some major resource problems right now. I’ve received an excellent education. It would have been better if there were enough slots in chem lab for everyone who needed them, enough slots in intro bio for everyone who needed them (without having to SIMULCAST a lecture in the two biggest lecture halls on campus rather than paying more instructors), enough upper division bio, psych, and English courses so that some of them had available spots past the first few hours of registration. </p>
<p>I’m pretty experienced at wheedling my way into full classes and stalking the system for that one person to drop. I register when my enrollment appointment starts, even when I have class or work or it’s at 6am. And like I said before, I know dozens of people who, without screwing up, found themselves trapped and unable to graduate on time because not enough courses or sections were offered.</p>