Required course availability has become an issue for some CSUN students. Students may have to change their education plans if classes fill up, are only offered at times that don’t work for them or aren’t offered that semester.
Robin Muller, chair of CSUN’s Philosophy Department, explained that the major allows students flexibility in fulfilling their requirements.
“Our major is actually designed to be really flexible so that we don’t find our students in a position of not getting the classes that they need,” Muller said. “There are a lot of sets of options rather than specific courses that students need to take, but we make sure that at least one course from each required section is offered every semester.
Muller said the department prioritizes balancing student demand, class capacity and faculty schedules in their course planning.
Class scheduling can also restrict which classes students can take. According to CSUN’s Academic Process repository, students cannot enroll in two or more classes with overlapping times, even by one minute. Students who qualify for exempt courses must submit a Time Conflict Enrollment Petition.
Laura Guzman, a senior civil engineering major who transferred courses from a community college, said several of those courses did not transfer to CSUN, requiring her to rearrange some of her classes. However, it has not affected her graduation timeline.
According to a study published in The Journal of Higher Education in 2015, numerous courses that fulfilled graduation or transfer requirements had seats available when registration opened but were enrolled in the weeks leading up to the semester. Registration behavior may also influence student course-taking patterns, enrollment and retention.
Sid Hansen, associate chair of CSUN’s Philosophy Department, said philosophy students should meet with them one-on-one before registering each semester to ensure they stay on track to meet their graduation requirements.
CSUN’s Office of International Research found that students who took at least one summer course during their time at CSUN were more likely to graduate on time than students in a matched group who did not take summer courses.
Julia Doctorian, a senior film major, said she has used course waitlists when building her schedule.
“If there was a class that had a waitlist with maybe two seats and I was on the waitlist, I would join the one with a less amount of waitlist that way, I could have a better chance of getting in,” Doctorian said.
Doctorian also said students could benefit from earlier course-planning information.
“Maybe one thing we can do is start earlier in terms of telling students about what to do and especially new students, especially freshmen and transfer students, how to access the Degree Progress Reports,” Doctorian said. “I guess workshops or marketing, how to access your DPR and seeing what classes you need a lot earlier.”
Stacy Ramirez, a freshman sociology major, experienced a scheduling conflict while taking COMS 151, Public Speaking, leading her to drop it and take it at another available time.
CSUN’s Registration Planner allows students to build different schedules, check for time conflicts and identify available sections before registering.
CSUN also offers early registration through Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) for eligible students who may receive accommodations based on their individual needs and disability-related functional limitations.
Rodrido del Rio, a junior music education major, said required music courses taken in sequence can limit when students can complete them.
“There is a harmony class that we have to take that is only offered in the fall, and then in the spring it is Harmony II,” Del Rio said. “Same thing with musicianship. Musicianship I is only in the fall; Musicianship II is in the spring.”
Students from varying majors can face different challenges when taking classes to meet their requirements. Those challenges can shape how they plan each semester and progress toward graduation.
