Hillsdale freshmen chose their own fall semester schedule instead of being assigned one by the registrar’s office, according Associate Registrar Lacey McConnell. 

The registrar’s office said the change was important because both faculty and students felt more comfortable and less stressed at the beginning of the semester. 

“For freshmen, they’re stressed about getting what they need,” McConnell said. “For instructors, the roster changes, they’re being hunted down to get an add card signed, to get off of a wait list. We just kept saying there’s got to be a better way.”

Twenty years ago, when each incoming class was smaller, it was fairly easy to build schedules for incoming freshmen and then revise them as necessary, said McConnell. 

As the school grew, however, managing all of these schedules became too chaotic, according to McConnell. 

Instead of letting freshmen pick classes randomly, the registrar’s office started by writing curriculum guides and emphasising the role of academic counselors before making the system official. 

“It ultimately came down to our registrar getting permission from the provost office to do this, but our office said, ‘hey, you know, we’ve got to make a change,’” McConnell said.

Other than some expected bugs, such as needing to add class sections at the last minute, McConnell said letting freshmen pick their classes over the summer before coming to campus worked well. Students were less stressed coming to campus knowing that they wouldn’t need to do any last-minute rearranging, McConnell said. 

“In retrospect, it was way easier being able to register for my own classes,” freshman Will Davis said. “The hardest part was that I didn’t know anything about any of the professors, but I really liked being able to set up my schedule so that I could have more time off on certain days.” 

Christy Maier, director of student affairs, said she thinks most students were happy with the courses they picked.

“They have felt a sense of ownership in their schedules,” Maier said in an email. 

Freshman Jordan Nelson said knowing he had to spend so much time taking core classes made picking his own schedule fairly easy. 

“This spring, I’m definitely more confident now that I know more about the professors and have advice from other students on who to take,” Nelson said. 

Spring course registration opens on Nov. 11 for seniors, Nov. 13 for juniors, Nov. 18 for sophomores, and Nov. 20 for freshmen.