A senior’s final semester should be filled with joy and great memories. Well, those memories haven’t been so pleasant for many seniors at Florida A&M University.
“I might not graduate if I can’t get into this class,” said graduating FAMU senior Tyrrell Coston while waiting to get advised. Luckily, Coston was able to enroll in his last class.
This came with the help of another student who overheard him talking with his adviser. This student was in the same situation. He had Coston’s class and vice-versa, they were able to swap classes on the spot.
A better system is needed for graduating seniors. There have been issues with getting into classes, classes not being offered, or trouble finding courses as a transient student. These issues have caused students to wonder if they will in fact graduate on time. The feeling of having your graduation date postponed due to university troubles is somber.
I’ve also had first-hand experience of this, this semester. I went from being hyped to hitting rock bottom in a matter of two days. I needed just one more class to finish my degree.
But this course was closed because it was at capacity. I knew that I was a special circumstance student because I was so close to graduation.
I contacted my adviser and head of the department to figure something out.
After two days of communication, the conclusion was that there was nothing that could be done. This would cause me to come back next semester for that one class.
I instantly panicked, I wanted to give it all up. I felt betrayed that my university would put me in that situation and there was no solution.
As the semester started, I felt down because I knew I should be graduating this semester. The day before add/drop period ended I looked on iRattler to see if someone dropped the class. As I looked hopelessly, there were two open seats. I enrolled immediately, and by the time I refreshed the page the class was full again.
Although it seemed like miracles happened, it all boils down to communication between the university and its students.
Seniors should be able to get into classes first since they need them the most. If classes aren’t going to be offered, that needs to be communicated so that these courses can be taken at another university.
At this moment seniors just want to feel supported and helped if they need it. “Excellence with caring” is FAMIU’s motto, it seems as if the faculty doesn’t care at all right now.