With registration comes the familiar feeling of absolute dread. Every JMU student knows the hassle of signing up for classes, oftentimes having the "perfect" schedule only to find out that all the classes have been taken once they go to register. With the amount of tuition students have to pay, there shouldn't be such a struggle to get into the major or GenEd classes that they need. JMU already has such an extensive GenEd program that often takes students two or more years to complete. This is compounded by JMU's competitive registration period.
Freshmen are especially disadvantaged when it comes to signing up for classes. Since JMU does registration by credit hour, freshmen often get into the worst classes because they haven't built up their credits yet. This is discouraging to freshmen who are entering their majors and sometimes leads them to not want to continue pursuing them. I've known several people who have taken intro classes for their major and been thoroughly disappointed because they hated the class or teacher, all due to the fact that they couldn't get into a course with a better professor.
With the number of students at JMU, it's not a surprise to see so many classes fill up so quickly. Although this can't be helped, JMU should try to take action in making registration slightly easier for students. Nobody should be forced to take a terrible class just because they couldn't get into the one they need.
Another issue with enrollment is that some classes have "reserved" seats. When I tried to enroll in a particular class that I need for my major, it said that I "don't meet the reserve capacity." In this case, I had to email the professor to get access to the class. MyMadison isn't infallible, but it shouldn't be deterring students from taking major classes.
One other quirk I hate about enrollment is that when you are registering for early enrollment, JMU caps the credit hours to 17. This doesn't make much sense to me, as I think the cap should at least be 18 credits. Most classes are 3 credits, so limiting those with early enrollment to 17 credit hours makes them not even able to take six courses or even have six built into their schedule, in case something happens and they need to swap classes.
While JMU has a wonderful assortment of classes, registration also sucks for anyone trying to branch out. For example, a student must gain admission into the art major if they wish to take any art class. This is the same for anyone wanting to take a basic keyboarding skills class. I wanted to take a criminal justice course, but that requires an application to the criminal justice minor. JMU should change this, as it deters students from branching out from their chosen major and trying new things.
There's also a plethora of classes that are only available during spring or fall semester, so registration can be especially stressful for students who need a class but can't get it until a certain semester. This is especially difficult for seniors who need these specific courses to graduate.
College is already beyond stressful and registration shouldn't have to add to that.
