Each year, Penn State students race to the Office of the Registrar or log onto eLion to schedule their courses, only to find they can't schedule many of the courses they want.

While some classes seem to repeatedly fill up quickly each semester, others are controlled by their academic departments, which often leave students frustrated and discouraged with scheduling.

"I think the university has made a lot of progress in recent years trying to accommodate students with their schedules," James Wager, assistant provost for enrollment management and university registrar, said. "Sometimes, though, there aren't enough resources for all students to take some classes that are more popular."

Music 7 (Evolution of Jazz) is offered to non-music majors interested in learning more about jazz music and how it has evolved throughout the century.

Although the class usually fills up fast, music professor Max Yoder said students might still be able to schedule it. "I usually allow some students to enter the class if it's full, but it depends on the student's circumstance," Yoder said. "If a senior asked me to take the class who has been trying to get in for a while, I would usually let them in."

Courses controlled by their academic departments can prevent students from scheduling the desired course through eLion.

"Students should contact the course department if a course they are interested in is controlled, because some departments will let students take the controlled course if it is not full yet," College of Communications adviser Jamey Perry said. "If a student is interested in a particular course, I would tell them to be persistent because you never know if you can get into the course, even if it is full or controlled."

Students might face difficulty when scheduling courses that are held at off-campus locations because they are limited in size.

"If a course has some component where students must meet someplace other than the typical classroom, then that imposes limitations," Wager said.

Although there are a wide range of courses available for students to fulfill the Health and Physical Activity (GHA) requirement, including Kinesiology 77 (Yoga I) and Kinesiology 4 (Fly Fishing), many students said they have experienced difficulty scheduling courses that interest them.

"I was really interested in taking the fly-fishing class, but I could never get into the class because it was always full," David Notaro (senior-business) said. "I think that with a school the size of Penn State, it's just not feasible to take some classes you want to take."

Recently, the University Faculty Senate, along with Penn State President Graham Spanier, discussed eliminating the GHA requirement.

Some students believe there would be a better chance to schedule the health and physical activity classes they want if the requirement were eliminated.

"There are so many fitness classes I would want to take just because they seem interesting, but they are always full," Allyson Adams (junior-crime, law and justice) said. "I think if students weren't required to take those courses, the people who really want to take them could schedule them."

Horticulture 352 (Flower Arranging), which teaches different styles of flower arranging and allows students to take home the arrangements they create during class, interests some students who are not horticulture majors.

"Anyone can take the course, so it is not just limited to students majoring in horticulture," horticulture professor Edmund Holcomb said. "Only one of the 19 students in the entire class is actually majoring in horticulture."