By Brian Wheeler
According to the Registration Office Web site, to audit a class means to register for a class without receiving credit.
To some students, auditing classes is simply a waste of tuition money and sparse time, while to others it is an opportunity to enjoy a class without the pressures of tests, grades and homework.
The university charges the same tuition amount for audit classes as it does for classes that are taken for credit, however. The Registration Office Web site states: ?[Audited classes] will not appear on your official record ? and do not fulfill the minimum registration requirement for graduate degree-seeking students.? Furthermore, the BYU Undergraduate Catalog states, ?Verification of a class taken for audit is not possible.?
Maryn Cleghorn, a senior majoring in early childhood education, chose to audit an aerobics class as a motivation for exercise.
?I didn?t want to have the pressure of attendance but I wanted to be able to go and enjoy the class for exercise,? Cleghorn said.
One unforeseen component that auditing students present is limited seating space for students who wish to add the same class for credit. Many students add the class they intend to audit on AIM at the same time they register for the rest of their classes. As a result, the class will appear on AIM as though it is full of credit-seeking students. This subsequently forces lower-classmen and those who register late to attempt to ?crash? the class or add it with an add/drop card.
Since students are unable to audit classes via AIM or by telephone, all audit requests must be processed in person with an add/drop card. This method of auditing classes suggests professors must personally attest to every audit student in their respective classes.
Philosophy professor Codell Carter said he likes the concept of auditing but he does not believe students auditing his classes affect the class. Carter said he typically does not see students on a regular basis after they audit a class.
?First, credit takes priority over audit,? Carter said, ?I?ll let [a student] audit if the class isn?t full. [Auditing] doesn?t really impact my class because in my experience students [who audit] don?t stick with it. In theory it?s a wonderful idea.?
The BYU Undergraduate Catalog states students interested in auditing a class must do so within the first 10 days of a semester or six days of a term.
