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Class capping leaves students standing |
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Monday, 27 August 2007 |
by LAUREN LAWSON
News Reporter
Every Appalachian State University student has to take part in class registration and every student knows the frustrations of not being able to obtain the “perfect” schedule, whether that means no 8 a.m. classes, no Friday classes, or even just the right classes needed to graduate on time.
So how is it that some classes can have more than 50 students and others not let in any more than 20 or 25?
The
process in deciding and capping class sizes is a cooperative effort
within the university that is comprised of many different departments
and people.
“For the most part, class size is a departmental decision. The
department chair works with the faculty and the dean if necessary ...
the major consideration is that pedagogy is optimized by the class’
size,” Dr. Stanley R. Aeschleman said. Aeschleman is the provost and
executive vice chancellor for Academic Affairs.
“Lecture class sizes are generally higher and will be capped between 50
to 100 students while classes with lots of writing and involvement will
be kept smaller, capped at about 15 students,” Aeschleman said.
“Professors are generous with their time and energy and usually don’t
want to say no to students wanting to join their class,” Alexandra S.
Hellenbrand said. Hellenbrand is the chairperson of the department of
foreign language and literature.
Some professors were very generous when it came to letting students join in on classes when seats were already full.
When senior journalism major Amber M. Clawson arrived for her public
relations principles class in Walker Hall she found not only all the
seats taken but also people standing.
“The professor sent an e-mail out saying we had to show up the first day of class or risk losing our spot,” Clawson said.
“She told all the students who were not registered in the class to
stand and if anyone she called during roll was not present she would
offer their spot to someone standing,” she said.
At the end of the class all the students who showed up for the class were allowed in.
“She asked if anyone minded sitting on the floor. Some of the people
who had signed up for the class originally were upset about it,”
Clawson said. “She’s a great professor and I’m sure everyone wants her,
so that’s part of it.”
Therefore, students may wonder why a teacher will not let them join a class that is full on AppalNET, yet has empty chairs.
“There are multiple considerations [including] how to best achieve the
learning objectives, if there is special equipment needed like
computers or laboratory equipment, the size of the room, and the
professor’s teaching load,” Aeschleman said.
Appalachian is limited in the number of large lecture halls on campus.
So what can students do if they cannot get into a particular class they need?
Aeschleman said students should go to their advisor to see if there are
alternate course options and then speak to the instructor of the class
to explain their situation before going to the department chair and
appealing for an override into the class.
“Students saying they do not want to attend the 8 a.m. class or they
have to work during the class they need will not be well received as
reasons for overriding a student into a class,” he said.
Hellenbrand said that the foreign language department gets guidelines
from national organizations like the Modern Language Association and
the Association of the Department of Foreign Language (ADFL).
She said they suggest no more than 25 people in a class, especially foreign language classes.
“Unfortunately we do not have an unlimited budget or staff but we try
to cap the classes between 25 to 30 students. This year we tried to
bring enrollment down,” Hellenbrand said.
“I want everyone to be able to add a class they want if they can...I
just don’t think students should have to sit on the floor,” Clawson
said.
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