Fordham Students Report Struggles With Class Registration
Connectivity issues and Banner’s user interface are some of the disruptions students faced during the registration period
Students grow frustrated at the difficult registration process for new classes.
July 27, 2022
After three months, the class registration process for the fall 2022 semester has come to a close. Throughout the process, students reported varying experiences when registering.
The registration schedule for the 2022-23 academic year began on March 28, with undergraduates pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts having priority for registration. Most Fordham students registered for classes throughout April 2022, with students who have earned more credits registering earlier in the month. Class registration concluded in June, with incoming first-years registering on June 15 if they are an international student, a STEM major or in a special cohort and on June 22 if they are a general liberal arts student.
When registering, some students expressed dissatisfaction with the registration process and explained the additional steps they took to try and ensure a calmer experience. Haley Karinja, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’25, spoke about her decision to venture off-campus with her roommates to nearby cafes during the registration period to avoid Wi-Fi and connectivity issues. She added that despite taking this initiative, she still encountered difficulties with class registration.
“My roommates and I decided to try to go to Starbucks to find better Wi-Fi, but even there we all had very different experiences,” she said. “One of my roommates got everything perfectly within five minutes, (but) mine just did not work at all.”
Karinja also mentioned that she intended to enroll in a Spanish course to fulfill the language requirement during her first two semesters at Fordham but was unable to get into a single class.
“I kind of feel like I’m behind where I was a year ago now,” she added. “And if it wasn’t for registration issues, I probably would have been doing Spanish this whole year.”
For many students, leaving campus to register for classes was not an option. Since registration took place on weekday mornings, some students were unable to go off-campus due to a conflicting class schedule or commitment and needed to rely on campus Wi-Fi during the registration period.
Students who were able to register earlier than others because they had earned a higher number of credits reported smoother experiences.
Isabella Reyes, FCLC ’25, was prohibited from going off-campus because she was in a COVID-19 isolation suite in McMahon Hall during her allotted registration period. Reyes said she attempted to register the moment the portal opened but was unable to secure any classes for herself until over two hours later due to server failure.
“To be honest, it shouldn’t even matter where I am because even if I am on campus, it’s weird to have to wait hours to simply register for one class,” she said.
Students who were able to register earlier than others because they had earned a higher number of credits reported smoother experiences. Ananya Sistla, Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center ’25, spoke about the differences between her fall 2022 and her spring 2022 registration experiences, the former of which she was able to register at the same time as the class of 2024.
“I was actually able to take my time to explore the registration platform, add my plans and register,” Sistla said when talking about registering for the fall 2022 semester.
She noted that last semester she was confused by the process of using plans to aid with class registration and received mixed answers from IT and upperclassmen about the registration process as a whole. Sistla also added that a seamless registration experience should not be contingent on having enough credits accrued to register early, especially since students may be enrolling in classes that are required for core curriculum and major fulfillments.
Moksha Miyani, FCLC ’25, believes that registration would benefit from a restructuring, to streamline the process for current and future students.
“Considering that the freshman class of 2025 is the biggest Fordham’s ever had, it would be a big help if they knew (how) to split us up, as well as if the website were able to work faster,” Miyani said. “I think Fordham shouldn’t force students to compete with everyone from their class for a slot in a class they need.”
Unlike returning students, incoming first-years reported generally pleasant experiences registering for classes during their registration period in June.
“I didn’t experience much inconvenience; the process was very straightforward,” Mia Simmons, FCLC ’26, said. She noted that the assistant deans and professors were helpful in answering questions and concerns first-year students had, which made the experience less stressful.
Aditya Goswamy, FCLC ’26 and an international student from India, echoed similar sentiments regarding the registration experience and noted that the site functioned smoothly and that professors were supportive during the process. With the time zone difference, however, the core curriculum and registration webinars hosted by the FCLC Dean’s Office were inconvenient for his schedule.
“Due to the time zone difference, it became difficult,” he said. “(They were at) 4:30 AM Indian Standard Time.”
In regards to administrative assistance, both Goswamy and Simmons believed that counselors and professors were spread thin with the number of students they had to deal with.
In regards to administrative assistance, both Goswamy and Simmons believed that counselors and professors were spread thin with the number of students they had to deal with. For future registration periods, they proposed connecting students with upperclassmen or allocating more advisers for a smaller number of students. Goswamy also added that registration would occur much more efficiently if all the information students needed could be located in one place.
As a result of the mixed experiences, the Office of Information Technology (IT) sent an email asking students to be vocal about their registration experience and hosted an in-person session in Dealy Hall at Fordham’s Rose Hill campus as well as a session over Zoom on April 7.
According to Elizabeth Cornell-Goldwitz, director of IT communications, students have proposed numerous solutions to help combat the issues commonly presented during registration. These solutions included better course search and catalog functionality, an ability to overlay the course selection interface with a calendar, tighter integration with DegreeWorks to help students figure out which courses will help meet their graduation requirements, and suggestions to refine the Plan Ahead feature.
Cornell-Goldwitz believes that IT Services’ main challenge is handling the number of people who try to register at one time.
“Down the road, the Office of Information Technology is planning to introduce better course search and build out the information a student sees when registering for a class,” Cornell-Goldwitz said.
Cornell-Goldwitz believes that IT Services’ main challenge is handling the number of people who try to register at one time.
“One of our main goals for next semester is to streamline the technology that drives the registration process,” she said. “Technology should not stress out students when they are registering for classes. It should work consistently for all students.”
IT Services hopes to continue making “more improvements in 2022” by Fordham’s spring 2023 registration period. We want to solve and “work-out many of the issues students experienced this semester,” says Cornell-Goldwitz.
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