The Faculty of Arts and Science wants every student to know that the new ROSI start time for course enrolment this year is not random and certainly not subjective. “It’s an objective thing. It’s not arbitrary and it’s not picked out of a hat,” says George Altmeyer, the faculty registrar of Arts and Science.
For the past month, students were busy figuring out their course selections and many were wondering about their new start time for course enrollment. In fact, many students felt they were at a disadvantage because they had a later start time than the infamous 6 a.m., something that U of T students knew all too well. So, is the new system based on GPA, last names or something completely different?
“First, it is divided by the year. So all the fourth year students are on one day, then the third year students and so on,” explains Altmeyer. “And then it is divided by the number of credits each student has earned…if you have completed 13 credits, you got on before someone who has completed 9 credits.” He explains that the new start time system divides each year into smaller groups. For example, students who have completed 9 to 13.5 credits are considered as third year students and the enrolment date for third year students starts on July 21. The start time, which is allotted in two-hour intervals, is determined by how many credits each third-year student has actually completed or attempted. So someone in third year who has 13 credits will have a start time two hours earlier than someone who has 12 credits and so on.
For incoming high school students who have zero credits, Richard Chow, the associate registrar says their start times are based on admission stream. “They are not based on credits because they don’t have any. We base it on the category that they are admitted in, such as Sciences, Commerce, Computer Sciences and Humanities,” says Chow.
The order for these students begins with Humanities, followed by Commerce, Computer Sciences and then Sciences. “If you are admitted to Humanities, you really have a wide choice of program. Nothing is really guaranteed for you in terms of course requirements so you are selected to go first. If you come in as Commerce, you are guaranteed management and economics courses. And if you come in as Computer Science, you are guaranteed computer science and math courses. In Science, you are guaranteed your chemistry, biology, math and physics. So naturally if you are in Commerce, Computers or Sciences, you are already guaranteed the courses that you’ll need…so it is decided that Humanities should go first because nothing is guaranteed for them,” explains Chow.
Furthermore, Chow has statistics to prove that the new start time system is working. Last year, some students waited 6 to 8 hours to complete their course enrolment, but this year data shows that the average waiting time has dramatically decreased from last year. Most students were able to log on relatively quickly, if not instantly.
Rini Ghosh, President of ASSU and also a member of the committee, which included Chow, Altmeyer and college registrars that came up with the new time arrangement, is impressed with the results. “We first met some time in October and November of last year. At the first meeting, Richard came up with all the big universities in the U.S. and Canada and how their registration worked. That’s how we decided that the credit system is the fairest way to go,” says Ghosh.
“The amazing thing is that last year, we had four start times. This year, we have 24…so the system is getting better and more efficient,” says Altmeyer.
However, many students are still unable to enroll into the courses that they want because the courses are already full. And interestingly, there are flyers posted around campus advertising something called the ROSI BEATER. To use the service, students call the phone number listed on the poster with the courses that he or she wants to enroll in. These courses are then entered into a program that simulates mouse clicks and keystrokes. The program checks ROSI for course availability every three minutes and will automatically enroll the student into the course once it detects an open spot. ROSI BEATER was not available for comment.
