Web Course Selector aids class scheduling

Fall registration has begun, and an old student resource is returning in a new form.

The Course Selector should be back in full force and on the World Wide Web by today, said Nathan Cline, Undergraduate Student Government Academic Assembly member. The assembly last produced this publication in the spring of 1995, said assembly member Jayatri Das.

The guide highlights certain general education courses, providing readers with the teacher's description of the course and with student opinions, Das said. Student government members worked all year to poll students after they completed their courses and compile the results, said assembly member David Kayal.

The guide will link from the assembly home page at www.clubs.psu.edu/usg/acadassembly/courseguide/ and may also link from the University system, Das said.

"A lot of times students pick classes based on word of mouth and what they hear from their best friend may not be accurate," Das said. "Hopefully this will give students a broader spectrum of what the general student population thinks of the class."

There are hundreds of available general education courses, and Kayal said he sat through some horrible and some excellent ones. The guide provides a forum for students to benefit from others' experiences, he added.

Informed input and recommendations help students make sense of the thousands of University courses, said Wes Lipschultz, academic adviser and instructor in the College of Engineering.

College advisers can also help guide students through registration, Lipschultz said.

Incoming students receive packets concerning graduation requirements, he said. But often times students need help shifting through such a massive University, Lipschultz said. Every college has advisers who can talk to students about their general and major requirements, and help them with financial aid and other problems, he said.

"To try to make sense of your own situation sometimes is difficult because you have to go piecemeal from place to place," he said. "Part of what I help students do is to try to navigate the system."

Students may register for Fall Semester courses automatically by calling 863-9000, through their advisers or at the University Registrar's office in Shields Building.