Many students spend hours calculating open time slots, only to see a big, fat C occupying what they wish is an empty square. While students panic about not getting into the classes they need or want, they forget that they have several years to complete the general and departmental requirements. English and Rhetoric academic advisor Bob Steltman says students are too intent on thinking they have to take certain classes at a certain time.

“It’s important to recognize that yes, the schedule is tight and sometimes students don’t feel like or don’t seem to be getting what they want when they want it. But I think there’s something besides this and that is that sometimes students make other choices and do other things that also complicate what they can and cannot get into.”

Steltman says a common mistake is that students forget about their elective hours. He says the reason that students don’t get into the classes they want traces back to the size of the University. The more classes and choices the University offers, the more faculty and instructors are needed to fill the spots. He says classes may not end up as big as needed because an instructor may need to teach another course.

“So sometimes one of our greatest strengths, our great diversity, and the great range of options that we offer, sometimes that makes it a little bit difficult to always guarantee that you’re going to have a class of a certain size at a particular time.”

But in an effort to ensure students have the opportunity to take the classes they need, advisors like Steltman try to play a role in the schedules and courses offered. He says he tries to act as a medium between students and the department.