July 15, 2002

Officials: Course Selection Could Be Limited at Boise State

Course selection could be limited for students who haven’t yet registered for fall classes, Boise State University officials said today.

Faced with a loss of 22 faculty due to state-mandated budget cuts, the university is unable to offer the number of class sections it has in the past. At the same time, applications for the fall semester are ahead of last year’s record pace.

“We are operating with $5 million less than last year. We can’t sustain a reduction of that size and still maintain the level of services we have offered in the past,” said Provost Daryl Jones.

Most students already have registered and built the class schedules they want. But those who haven’t registered will find several course sections already closed, especially in core subjects, said Mark Wheeler, dean of enrollment services.

Students register based on when they were admitted. More than 13,000 students have already registered, but at least 3,000 students who have been admitted since May are scheduled to register during the remainder of the summer.

Wheeler said students should continue to monitor Broncoweb.boisestate.edu, the university’s computerized registration system, for possible openings. Students regularly drop and add classes, and more seats will be open after final fee payments become due Aug. 22.

Wheeler also said students should be open-minded about the courses they need and when they can attend. For instance, it may be difficult to find courses in the morning hours, but afternoon, evening or weekend courses or courses at one of Boise State’s off-campus centers may be alternatives students want to consider, Wheeler said.

The university has taken several steps to ease the shortage of class sections. A campaign to encourage students to take core courses during the summer resulted in a 15 percent increase in credit hours taught. Class sizes were also adjusted as much as possible without compromising quality. And registration of nondegree-seeking students was moved to later in the summer, giving priority to degree-seeking students.

“We realize many students won’t be able to access the classes they want. We are trying to manage class availability the best we can, but fewer resources combined with increasing enrollment make it challenging,” Wheeler said.

Contact:
Mark Wheeler
Dean of Enrollment Services
426-2628