Three minutes before the start of ANTH1242: "Bioethics and Culture," Salomon 202 was packed. Forty chairs had been set out and 40 syllabi had been printed - the class enrollment was capped. But far more than 40 had shown up, and many students, unable to find a seat, sat on the floor.
This sight is common during the chaos of shopping period - students crammed into aisles, sitting on windowsills and mobbing the professor after class. Though Banner limits the number of students who can register for most classes, many unregistered students show up anyway, hoping for a spot.
Though the professor made it clear that she was keeping the enrollment limit "firmly at 40," only a few people left during the class, said Maura Soucy '10, who was registered for the class but ended up without a syllabus or a chair.
Popular capped classes in a variety of departments face similarly high demands from students. Among the most infamously competitive classes for students to snag a spot in are VISA0100: "Studio Foundation," ENGL0180: "Introduction to Creative Nonfiction" and TSDA0220: "Persuasive Communication." The number at which Banner caps a class is often meaningless during shopping period, University Registrar Michael Pesta said. "We noticed last semester that when departments use an enrollment limit, students go when the classes are filled," he said. Many departments create waitlists for the students who are not registered but show up to the class anyway.
Capping classes and controlling enrollment is usually left to departments, but one class is so popular that the Registrar's Office had to take matters into its own hands. For at least eight years, according to Pesta, students interested in taking VISA0100, a prerequisite for all other visual arts courses, have had to enter a lottery system. Though many students are lucky enough to be selected, others are disappointed, sometimes more than once.
Pesta said he sees some students enter the VISA0100 lottery after two or three unsuccessful tries. But, he said, "Since they've tried repeatedly ... we give them first crack at it."
According to Daniel Stupar, adjunct lecturer in visual art and coordinator for the class, the department offers seven sections of VISA0100, each with maximum enrollment of 22. But the lottery only places 18 students in each section, he wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. That leaves a handful of spots for persistent students who show up to the class and get their names on the waitlist.
"After the first week we compile the waitlists and try to match students with open sections," Stupar wrote.
Leigh Tarentino, adjunct lecturer in visual art, also teaches a section of VISA0100. She said that as a faculty member she does not get involved with the lottery, but does take several students off the waitlist to fill her sections.
"The lottery seems a little stressful," she said. "I wish we had space for everyone who wants to take the course." The department is currently tracking the number of students who want to get in to the course, she added, so it can plan sections accordingly the next time VISA0100 is offered.
According to Stupar, the class is not difficult to get into if students are flexible. "Students who want (VISA0100) can usually find an opening in the evening on Fridays or the morning sections - what it comes down to now is whether or not they can fit it into their schedules," he wrote in the e-mail.
Angelika Garcia '10 entered the lottery last fall and didn't get in. But, wanting to take the introductory class so she could enroll in more advanced courses at the Rhode Island School of Design, she tried the lottery again for this semester - and was once more turned down. This time, though, she showed up to the section she wanted, and her professor gave her encouraging news.
"I have a good shot in this (section) or another at a different time," Garcia said, adding that she will keep attending the class in the hope of getting off the waitlist.
Pesta said another popular class is POLS0220: "City Politics," with Professor of Political Science James Morone. The class has an enrollment limit of 500 people, because, according to Pesta, the enrollment neared 600 the last time the class was offered, a number the professor "just couldn't handle," Pesta said.
Pesta said many writing courses in the English department as well as the introductory Spanish language sequence HISP0100-0200: "Basic Spanish," also often fill up quickly. ENGL0180 usually sees many more students show up than the 20 at which the class is capped.
TSDA0220 has an extensive selection process. The class has an online application, which must be submitted a semester or more in advance. Among the application's directives are, "Describe your experience in public speaking," "Characterize your strengths and weaknesses as a speaker," and elaborate on "What you can bring to the class." Barbara Tannenbaum, the TSDA0220 professor, said the class is composed entirely of seniors, with priority given to theater arts concentrators - meaning many students will miss their one opportunity to take the class.
Another problems with shopping period is that, as enrollment fluctuates for many classes, the Registrar's Office is flooded by requests from professors for larger classrooms.
"A room that appears too small in the end won't be, and if we move it, it won't be as good," Pesta said. "The problem is not the eventual enrollment of the class but the agitation of the first two to three weeks of classes."
