Course registration for the spring 2010 semester was more stressful than usual for some students.

Each semester, students register for classes based on the number of hours they have earned. Students with the highest number of hours are allowed to register first, while first semester freshmen must register last.

In the past, each course typically has had a range of two to five different class options with different professors and starting times, allowing students to coordinate class schedules with part-time jobs, internships and other activities.

Some students consider the system fair; however, this semester some students claimed that there seemed to be a significant decrease in the number of courses offered in each particular course section.

Bess Havens, a sophomore majoring in health promotion, said she was unable to register for any classes that will count toward her major this semester.

“It was very frustrating registering for classes this semester. Classes that I am required to take for my major seemed to have only one or two choices and filled up very quickly,” Havens said. “Nearly all of the classes I needed were closed by the time I was able to register.”

The health promotion major is not the only major seemingly lacking in course options.

Rachel Maher, a senior historic preservation major, also claimed to have problems registering for classes.

“I’m a senior in my last semester, so I was able to register for classes on the first day,” Maher said. “I thought I would have no problems registering, but that wasn’t the case. There were a lot of conflicting times with classes I have to take before graduation.”

Maher said she has noticed that there seem to be more people in her classes compared to previous semesters. She said that professors sometimes grant students an override if a course is full; last semester she said there was an override of 22 students in one of her classes.

Associate Vice President for Enrollment Planning Donald Burkard says there are actually more classes this semester. In an e-mail, Burkard wrote that in the spring 2009 semester there were 1,660 courses offered; there are 1,674 courses offered for the spring 2010 semester.

Burkard said that when students have problems registering for classes, it is often because the student does not pre-register on time, especially juniors and seniors.

Burkard said it is also hard to accommodate adult students and students with full-time jobs. Burkard said most courses are scheduled between the typical business hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and when there are demands for courses or course times that cannot be filled by professors, it is sometimes difficult to find qualified adjuncts to fill the demands.

“I am aware of student demand; it’s a very complicated issue,” said Burkard.

Burkard said each department does its own course scheduling based on student enrollment and course demands, and it is sometimes hard for departments to balance faculty workload issues with student enrollments.

“It’s always a struggle to know how it’s all going to work,” Burkard said.