The return back to in-person classes has posed challenges regarding classroom assignments. Some of these problems include missing classroom assignments for course sections and overcrowded rooms with more students than seats. Many students have had professors revert to using Zoom to conduct their course and combat insufficient classrooms. The registrar has credited new workflow issues with Workday and an overwhelming amount of student enrollment requests as the main reasons why there have been issues.
Emily Ng, a Civil Engineering major, expressed the issues she faced with her class CE 423: Civil Engineering Senior Design which runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays. (Correction: Ng is an Engineering Management major.) Ng explained that the class was not assigned a room on Tuesdays, forcing the professor to conduct the course on an outdoor campus lawn for the first week, and are now being conducted via Zoom. “This is a super important class that needs to be in person so we can work on our senior design projects in our groups,” explained Ng. As for Thursday classes, students in CE 423 have been assigned to Gateway North 103, which posed a new challenge because the room does not have desks. “It is a giant lecture hall with no desks or tables to work on […] We had to use the tiny round tables that are in the GN lobby,” said Ng.
For CE 423, the registrar expressed that there were no other available classrooms during the class. Other classes, like CS 432: Computer Science Senior Design, have faced similar issues. Lasya Josyula, a Computer Science major enrolled in CS 432 said, “The professor said he’s been trying to get the registrar to help us with our issue, but with no luck yet.” While these issues persisted throughout the first few weeks of classes, some issues were resolved, as in the case of CHE 342: Heat and Mass Transfer. Matthew Brantl, a Chemical Engineering major, explained that while many students sat on the floor during the first week of class for CHE 342, the problem was resolved after additional tables were added to the room.
In an email to The Stute, University Registrar Anna-Lize Harris explained the issues regarding classroom assignments. When asked about the main reason for overcrowded classrooms and missing room assignments, Harris emphasized, “In August and September, there were more than 1,700 requests for enrollment in closed classes. We were adjusting class capacities at a moment’s notice.” Harris also cited technical difficulties, explaining that there is a lag between when students request to enroll in classes and when the request is approved, and some students began to attend classes before the request was approved.
Furthermore, the registrar also faced logistical issues due to “an increase in the number of sections scheduled at the same time, many with capacities that increased.” Harris also emphasized that Stevens also has “only eight classrooms on campus that can seat 60 or more students.” In order to accommodate all students, rooms normally reserved for event spaces, like DeBaun Theater and the Corcoran Room in Gateway North, are being used for courses with large enrollments. There has also been some confusion due to classroom changes; “Some students were not aware of classroom changes because of the way information is displayed in Workday Student,” said Harris.
While there are many students who have been concerned about classroom situations, only a few class sections were missing room assignments. Harris explained, “Only 17 of the 2,300 sections still needed room assignments when the semester started. Those 17 classes without assignments came about because we temporarily lacked classrooms that could handle the enrolled capacity in those time slots.”
As for an estimate for when all classroom-related issues will be resolved, Harris noted that “Adjustments have been ongoing as class enrollments change. The end of the add/drop period was Monday, September 13. We are reviewing and honoring any requests submitted on or before the deadline.” To corroborate that every class has been accommodated, the registrar is planning a final assessment once all enrollments have been finalized.
During the Student Government Association Senate meeting on September 12, discussed these issues. The Vice President of Academic Affairs, Yiding Yang, mentioned that classroom placements will be addressed earlier next semester after a meeting with Vice Provost David Zeng. Additionally, Harris expressed, “We realize the challenges that this presented to both students and instructors for the fall semester and are very apologetic that this disruption occurred. With new processes in Workday Student for this fall semester, we are all adjusting to new workflows. We are actively working on the spring semester schedule and expect that we will not have a repeat of the challenges from the start of this semester.”
To report any classroom issues, file a report through MyStevens.
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