Course Offerings Provide More Than Days and Times

On the day that the printed course offering packets are released, in the weeks leading up to pre-registration for each new semester, there is always a frenzy of interest (although I think fewer and fewer students use the paper version of the course offerings).  The towering piles of booklets, looming like sentries by the doors of the Solution Center, are quickly depleted, snatched up by passing students.

I suspect that when students get hold of a copy of the course offerings, they immediately flip to the subjects that pertain to their own degree requirements and disregard the rest.  I confess that’s what I do when I get a copy.   A few days later, after the initial rush, I usually find course offering packets that students leave in the Solution Center, creased, crumpled, and abandoned, having served their purpose.  It always makes me sad to see these cast offs because I know that these course offering packets have so much more to offer.  Students just need to take the time to get to know them.

Consider this my plea on behalf of dumped course offering packets everywhere.  Please, take them back.  Give them a second chance.  In the first several pages of the course offering booklet, there’s a lot of useful information that you might have overlooked.  Remember, you can download copies of these important sections of the course offering booklets from the Registrar section of the Saint Rose website.  Among the good things you’ll find are:

• Tuition and Fees – Well, you might not consider this section a good thing, but there is a list of tuition costs (including per credit and overload figures) and common fees that might appear on students’ accounts.  For example, students are sometimes surprised to discover that there is a fee for taking an incomplete grade in a course.  One of the places that fees such as the Incomplete Grade Fee are published is in the front of the course offering booklet.
• Refund Policy – Not all course withdrawals result in a tuition refund, but those withdrawals that do generate a tuition refund are calculated on a credit hour basis according to a diminishing percentage schedule.  The dates of this schedule are published in the course offering booklet.
• Writing Intensive, Diversity & Lib Ed Requirements – These handy charts tell you which classes will satisfy these various degree requirements.
• Web Registration FAQ’s – In my experience, the questions listed in this section truly are frequently asked.  Trust me, this stuff is relevant.  Read over this section and  you’ll have a much better understanding on the online registration process.  It may help you to anticipate potential complications (see FAQ entitled, “Are there any courses that I will be unable to register for on the web?”) and address them before it’s time for you to register.

Take a second look at the course offering booklets and you won’t be disappointed. In fact, it’s really a good idea to keep a copy at hand throughout the semester.  With an academic calendar and exam schedule also printed in the booklet, the course offerings have enough substance for a semester-long relationship, not just a pre-registration fling.  Let me know if you still use a paper copy of the course offering booklet!