BYU has often stated how students are encouraged to graduate quickly to allow more people the privilege of attending BYU. I think most BYU students would support that philosophy if they could. However, it is impossible for students to graduate quickly if the classes they need are already full.
One of the most common scheduling complaints among students is, 'I need to take X and Y classes, but they are both full.' Students therefore end up taking classes they don't really need to fill up their schedule.
As if this problem by itself isn't bad enough, it creates a cycle in which the problem is perpetuated. For example, a student takes a filler class or two one semester. The next semester, he has enough credits to register earlier, so he gets into the classes he needs.
However, other students with less credits attempting to register for that same class will be unable to, as it will be full. These other students will then take filler classes, only to have the cycle repeated the next semester. Thus, a course which normally should be taken at the junior level will be full after the seniors sign up for the class which they should have taken a semester earlier.
To break this cycle, either more sections need to be added to these classes or requirements changed to make it feasible for students to be able to register for the classes they need.
Andrea Landaker
El Sobrante, Calif.
Wesley Landaker
Bishop, Calif.