Classes Going Online in April - New Procedure

[jorjasmic]

Do we know how to switch sessions before a class has started with this new system?

I assume emailing the registrar may take too long and a class can get filled up before they have a chance to move you.

[anthonynohtna]

As someone who checks for new classes everyday & uses IFTTT, I find that the new twitter system is very difficult to follow. When people retweet it shares the same space as a class posting, it seems very clunky and messy and I find myself wishing for the old system.

I enjoyed knowing a day ahead what classes to look out for and if I needed to be "on call" to sign up for a new class the following day I could make sure I took a break from work to do so.

If it wasn't for IFTTT I would have a hard time knowing when classes go up, but even then IFTTT is a surprise when I get the email and usually more than half the slots are already gone.

[dillong]

I really don't mind the Twitter alerts (it is frustrating, but whatever), but what I do mind is that there are twenty-seven sold out 101 classes listed on the registration page and only TWO 401s.

I have my own opinions as to why that is, but I think it is totally unfair to have such an unbalanced ratio.

[kevhines]

dillong - what is listed on that page is not exactly what we have offered. It's just the classes that have sold out that we haven't cleared from view (we leave a few up, because when we left it blank people assumed we had no more classes coming up and showing recently offered classes led to fewer questions from people new to the UCB).

We currently have about 14 401 classes that are in session, or about to start.
We have about 35 101 classes (not counting intensives).
That seems like a pretty decent ratio considering we have a lot more people interested in our 101 classes than our 401 classes.
We hear from a lot of people frustrated they can't get into a 101 class because they sell out so fast. Maybe even more then he hear about any other level.

Now I assume based on your post you are more interested in taking 401 classes and are frustrated they sell out so fast. There is no conspiracy there. All our classes sell out very fast. We try to balance those as best we can based on teacher availability. I think there are some things to balance we can do a little better (I think 1 or 2 more 401's would be nice) - but I don't think it's as far off as you'd suggest.

[anthonynohtna]

The Delaney class just went up I had no idea until it was sold out. I think it was really helpful when you know a class is going to be put up. (The ITFFF notification was too late to inform me) And for someone whose used up their Advanced Study slots already these electives are crucial to studying at UCB

[joeyprice]

The Delaney class actually went online over a week ago. I believe a spot or two opened up when someone dropped.

[anthonynohtna]

[kevhines]

We are not going back to the old way of posting classes. It's not happening. We might change our method, but we won't go back to that method.

It led to people being frustrated because classes were not posted at a variety of times. It led to the website crashing because of so many people rushing online at one time. And it led to long delays to get new classes up slowing down attempts to meet demand.

I am not saying this is the best way to post our classes, but it's the best way currently. If we come up with a better way, we'll do that too.

I apologize to people who don't use twitter. But if you want to take UCB classes I recommend it. Also follow me @kevhines and read about what I am thinking about on the subway.

[muuhardi]

to avoid clutter with #ucb hashtag, or twitter in general. just subscribed to the text alerts, its the same thing.

[renalea]

A 15-60 minute grace period between the announcement and the posting would make a huge difference. And yes, I followed advice set up every type of Twitter and text alert that I could. It would give working students a fighting chance to get into a class. People need to be able to get their ducks in order, and have a little time to go about their day between UCB site refreshes. Otherwise, the school risks winding up with the kind of homogeneous student body it claims to want to avoid. (Ask: what type of person has the leisure and money to sit around hitting refresh every five minutes all day?)

While I'm presently between gigs and able to be by my phone, the nature of unemployment means that I can't afford classes.

The predicament is:

Have job = have money to takes classes, but can't register for them because I can't be checking my phone every five minutes
No job = all the time in the world to constantly check the site, but no money to pay for them.

The one time since the new system was implemented that I was able to get into a class, while working, I had to take one at an inconvenient time. I was exhausted in the class, exhausted at work, and unable to give my best to either. I knew that that would be the situation going into it, but I signed up anyway because the conveniently scheduled classes all sold out before I could get to them, and I was scared I'd never get to take a UCB class again.

Even 15 minutes between the announcement and the posting would do a world of good to even the playing field for a broader range of students.