Have you ever wondered how scheduling for classes works and why it’s different from last year? We spoke to the front office to learn more about the process and to find out the reason behind why our schedules are made the way they are.
This year, registering for classes was on a Google Form instead of in person like last year. Why the change?
Pam Roper, Assistant Principal, explained, “The reason that we met with individual students last year was because it was the first year we had scheduled with infinite campus. And it was what was recommended to us and I really loved that because it gave us the opportunity to talk face to face to every student. We just didn’t have the time to get it all done.”
“Once we decided to go to the Google form, It allowed us to capture a lot of data, a lot of those requests at one time. So that made the process more streamlined,” said Mrs. Roper.
Even though students only see the final results, there is a lot that happens behind the scenes.
For example, Mrs. Rogers, the FHS Data Manager, explained that she has to build the SCC classes.
“My biggest part is making sure that our juniors and seniors that have decided to dual enroll get into the proper southwestern community college courses on their schedule,” said Mrs. Rogers. “Each one I have to build by hand in our system in order to put them on the schedules so it is very time-consuming and it’s hundreds of classes.”
One topic that was definitely brought up often was students’ class choices and why students don’t always get their first choice. When making schedules, administrators have to consider how many students requested a class and how many students can be in a single class. Even though they can’t always get everyone in the classes they want, they do try their hardest to make the schedules work for everyone.
Students have noticed how strict the office is about switching classes after they’ve been picked, however, it’s not because they don’t want to help.
“I think the big misunderstanding is that [students] think that there’s all of these seats available, and we’re just mean people that just tell them no,” Said Ms. Dowdle. “It’s really not that at all.”
This capacity issue is also why administrators believe it’s so important for students to choose classes that they truly want to be in.
So, what if a student decides that they don’t want a specific class anymore?
“When you get the first draft of your schedule, if there is a problem with that schedule, the sooner [you email] the better,” said Mrs. Roper.
Remember that there isn’t always a way to fix the problem. Sometimes it can get frustrating not getting the class you want, but the administrators are doing their best to balance your elective choices, core classes, and hundreds of other students’ schedules.
