With more than 7,000 classes to choose from at Ohio University, scheduling college courses can be a dizzying experience.
Before wasting any time or tuition money, the Class of 2016 should take into account some tips before scheduling for Fall Semester classes.
“(Freshmen) should really think about what they like to study because if they take classes that are interesting they will find them to be the easiest,” said Jenny Klein, director of Bobcat Student Orientation and an Allen Student
Help Center academic advisor. “If you take classes that you enjoy, they will be easier than those that you will force yourself to study.”
Students, under- and upperclassmen alike, should be familiar with and look over the course catalog before scheduling for classes.
“There are lots of great classes to take here that freshmen may not have known about,” Klein said. “Students should have an open mind since there are a lot of subjects here that don’t exist in high school.”
Klein said that at orientation freshmen students should be given their DARS — Degree Audit Reporting System — which analyzes degree requirements for a major, minor or certificate according to the catalog year during which
students enter the program.
“Some majors provide check sheets that lay out requirements, which is great,” Klein said. “But it is just as easy to follow the DARS or the catalog.”
Klein stressed that all first year students will leave orientation with a complete schedule
“We make sure there are a lot of great classes so everyone leaves orientation with a complete schedule,” she said. “We open classes as orientation goes on and if we have a shortage of a class we will open more. Freshmen
shouldn’t worry about getting closed out of anything; that is an old relic of the past.”
Chris Welsh, a sophomore studying marketing and finance, said at first scheduling can be difficult and a little overwhelming, but all in all “everything works out.”
“There is a lot to take in to understand all of the little rules but my advisor made sure that I took everything I needed to and made sure nothing overlapped so it worked out fine,” Welsh said.
Although OU recently switched from quarters to semesters, Klein said freshmen don’t have anything to worry
about.
“They will not have any transition issues since they are the first class on semesters,” she said. “I don’t think scheduling is anything to get stressed about or worked up over. Schedules can be adjusted and advising is so good and thorough I don’t think our incoming students need to worry at all.”
bc822010@ohiou.edu
