Fairfield University student athletes are registering for spring classes under a new priority registration system. Under the new model, athletes are allowed to register in descending order by class year.
“On the priority registration day, the various cohorts (senior, junior, sophomore, first-year) are broken into 15-minute intervals in which they are granted access to the registration system, starting with the senior class (those with few remaining requirements and most in need of flexibility for offerings),” says Mark Ligas, the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Excellence.
This early registration process has been taking place at Fairfield for a number of years and is thought to aid students significantly in their educational journeys.
Dr. Ligas cited the various commitments student athletes have (NCAA/MACC Conference games, practices and traveling, among others) in his explanation of the process. “For athletes in particular, balancing factors…must be accounted for in their scheduling to ensure they remain on track to graduate.”
For their part, the athletes on campus are grateful for the opportunity to register early. Sophomore Keyarah Gregory, a guard on the women’s basketball team, shared that she felt very relieved regarding her position in the registration line-up: “I feel at ease knowing that as a student-athlete I have access to more direct resources and have priority registration.”
She says that her advising session was quick and “went great,” mainly because of her pre-preparedness. She and her advisor, Nazli Alan, went over the schedule she had already made in Workday, with the help of Director of Student-Athlete Success, Erin Ryder. “…she was a major part of my preparation for my meeting with my advisor,” says Gregory.
Sasha Atencio, a sophomore on the women’s rowing team, shares the same sentiment. “I feel adequately prepared because I met with both my advisor and my accounting professor. Hearing feedback from two people helped me gain a better sense of [which] classes I have to take now, and [which classes] can wait.”
Atencio says she too feels at ease because of priority registration, and also claims that her advisor “just pointed to” which classes she should take in the spring, making the meeting quick and efficient.
Non-athletes on campus are sharing their thoughts as well. First-year Michael Bitalvo says that he feels “pretty good” about registration and that most of that security comes with being a nursing major. They are pre-registered for most of their classes, but that doesn’t necessarily eliminate the stress that comes with this time of year. Bitalvo cites his meeting with his advisor as a valuable combatant to that stress. “Meeting with my advisor in person to look at classes [that] I need aside from my pre-registered courses made me feel much more confident and reassured in choosing my classes for next semester,” he said.
He thought that his advising session was an adequate amount of time (30 minutes) to “communicate [with his advisor] and form a well thought out plan for registering for classes.” He also believes that athletes getting priority registration is extremely beneficial. “I feel that it’s necessary for them to be able to pick classes that will align with their already busy schedules.”
However, some seniors who are not athletes feel frustrated and concerned about priority registration. “I’m concerned for registration because I still have a few major-specific classes that I need to graduate which juniors are eligible to register for,” said senior Julia Paul. Not all students feel that way though. Senior Tomas Micu said, “I think it’s fair since athletes generally have to balance their work life more than the average student.”
