Numbers are not yet available on how many students did not get into their first choice government classes this semester, but, due to changes in this year's offerings, first years and sophomores may turn out to be having an unusually unlucky semester.
Although add/drop period does not end until February 4, there are already many courses that students are finding inaccessible. This is particularly true for the government department, where at least eight classes are already full, and students remain on wait-lists, hoping to get in. Government is Bowdoin's most popular major, and about 20 percent of Bowdoin students have declared it as their major.
Most spring semesters, students can register to take large introductory courses in comparative government and international relations, which give preference to first years and sophomores. However, because of three new hires at the end of last spring, all of the government department's big introductory courses were offered in the fall of this academic year.
According to Allen Springer, chair of the government department, "This change meant that a lot of first years and sophomores accelerated in the fall, taking one or maybe even two courses. Now they are really interested in government, but the courses being offered in the spring are being filled by juniors and seniors."
Max Palmer '08 experienced this frustration during Phase I registration. Last semester, Palmer took American Government but this semester he did not get into his first or second choice government classes. Palmer said he wasn't too surprised.
"I had heard how hard it was to get [into these classes] as a first year," said Palmer. "It does bother me though that majors have an easier time getting into government classes but you can't declare your major until the spring of sophomore year. I know a lot of people who came here knowing they wanted to major in government, but even if you know your major, you don't get the benefit until you're an upperclassman."
Springer also takes exception to the "horrible and very bad practice" of not allowing students to declare their major until second semester of sophomore year.
"Students don't get preference in their major at an absolutely crucial time," he said. "Students should be allowed to declare their major first semester of their sophomore year, and these majors should be given preference over upperclassmen non-majors."
According to Springer, many first years and sophomores may not realize what their chances are of getting into a course. Springer cited his American Foreign Policy class as an example. "The reality is that only juniors and seniors can get in, first years who wrote down the course wound up wasting their top choice," he said.
Michael Boulette '07 hopes to spend all of his junior year abroad and has tried to take the government classes he will need before he leaves. Boulette criticized the current two-phase system followed by wait-lists and professors letting extra students into classes.
"It forces professors to exceed class sizes because the system doesn't treat students equitably," he said. "We need a more fluid system."
Boulette suggested that pre-requisites for upper-level government courses and required pre-approval could prevent unfair, after-the-fact favoritism and class size expansion.
Dana Borowitz '08, who hopes to double major in history and government, wrote down four government courses for her first choice classes but did not get into any of them.
"Sometimes I wonder how I'll be able to [double major], if I can't get into these government courses," said Borowitz. "The best solution is to hire more government professors."
Borowitz also noted that the class of 2008 is much bigger than previous classes, and that if Bowdoin's student population continues to grow, as class sizes remain small, the need for more faculty members will only increase.
Two years ago, the Curriculum Committee instituted class size caps, limiting the number of students in some government classes to 35.
Student Records keeps track of the number of students who do or do not get into their first choice classes. Last semester, many government classes had an overflow of well over 30 students. One of the most highly sought after courses, Campaigns and Elections, had an overflow of 83 students. The Office of Student Records has not yet compiled this semester's statistics.