Almost as soon as pre-enrollment
ends, you might start receiving e-mails from students who want
to enroll in your section. They'll want to add your section for
various reasons:
* they mistakenly think your section is full
* they are interested in your section because it is offered at
an attractive time
* they are particularly interested in your theme
* they want any section of the course, and they are spamming instructors
* they've heard wonderful things about you
All (well, many) of these reasons can be compelling, and
the temptation may be to simply allow an extra student or two into
your section.
Whatever you do, please do not promise to start waiting lists or
to sign course action forms to over-enroll your section.
Here's why:
Our goal is to get students into classes as soon as possible, and
to defend the course cap so that no one teaches 20-24 students
per section (bad for you, bad for the students, bad for your fellow
instructors).
Both these goals are best met if we only use ISIS. Because course
action forms are invisible to ISIS and take 3-4 days to process,
using ISIS and course action forms together leads to confusion
and overenrollments.
Don't sign course action forms:
Students sometimes attend fully enrolled classes in the hope that
either they can course action into the class or that someone will
drop. If someone does drop the class, long before a course action
form can be processed for the student who has waited for the space,
the spot is liable to be taken by another student via ISIS.
Don't overenroll your course:
Even if you don't mind the extra student, don't mind being (further)
overworked, don't mind a crowded classroom, please do not overenroll
your class. Having even one section of ENWR overenrolled makes
it harder for other instructors to defend the enrollment caps in
their sections.
Don't start waiting lists until classes begin:
Students who are on waiting lists tend not to enroll in and attend
other sections. If a space doesn't open up in your section during
the add/drop period, the student will be left without a section.
At best, she'll have to scramble to catch up in another section
at the last minute. Far better for students to be egisteredfor
a section of ENWR before the semester starts than to be waiting
for a spot that might or might not materialize in your section.
Once classes start, take these steps if you want to begin a waiting
list of particularly worthy students:
* First, let the Writing Program Staff know so that we can put
a "permission of instructor" restriction on your section.
(This will keep any fresh spot from being gobbled up by random
students via ISIS, thereby leaving your waiting list students
in the cold.)
* Tell students on your waiting list that they should register
for and attend a section that fits their schedule.
* If a space opens in your section, contact the students on your
waiting list until you find a taker. (Often, students will become
attached to the section in which they're enrolled, and they will
no longer want to switch into your section.)
* If / when you find a taker, send the lucky soul to see us in
Bryan Hall 322B, and we'll take care of the registration details.
|
