By Nathan Vaughan
It’s the first class of the new semester. I’m sitting in a classroom in Robinson Hall with a ton of people I’ve never before met. All of a sudden, a professor I know isn’t mine comes in and starts talking. I’m obviously not the only one who’s confused – the few other people I know have the same “what’s going on” face. We are then told that our calculus class has been moved across campus to a classroom in West Village H. There was no notice on the door and no e-mails telling us of the change. So all of us trek across the campus, already late for the first class.
I had even decided to check my e-mail for room changes before I left, since this professor had changed rooms numerous times the previous semester.
I am still relatively new to Northeastern, but I’ve experienced room changes a few times, all of them with no notice and almost all of them with a long hike to the new location. From what I’ve heard from upperclassmen I’ve discussed this topic with, it doesn’t get any less frequent as your Northeastern career progresses.
Although there are usually blue sheets on the door, that doesn’t mean that we’ll be on time when we arrive at the correct location. And though the students walking in late usually aren’t reprimanded, walking in late to a new class, no matter the circumstances, rarely makes a good first impression. I feel this is a major problem.
I understand that there are various reasons for classroom changes and they are usually necessary. While I might not like to take the long walk across campus, I understand that the school must assign whichever room is available, especially since during some course periods nearly every classroom on campus is being used. However, I don’t think that the professor or the Registrar makes the decision to change a 10:30 a.m. class at 10 a.m.
All I want is a little notice so I can head in the right direction to my class the first time. At the very least an e-mail should be sent out the night before at a reasonable hour, before it can be assumed people have gone to bed (especially for those early morning classes). All the professor has to do is send out an e-mail through Blackboard. Or, if it is the Registrar’s Office changing the room, why not send out an e-mail to everyone registered in that class? It would take but a few minutes and save a lot of hassle and wasted energy.
This problem has been going on for a long time. As such, I don’t expect it to be fixed overnight. All I ask is that some consideration be made on this topic in the future. It would make students’ lives easier and make professors happier since they wouldn’t have to wait for stragglers on the first day and would have more time to teach the class.
-Nathan Vaughan is a freshmen biochemistry major.