After many weeks of anticipation, hype and waiting – it is finally upon us. We’ve been anxiously and eagerly looking forward to this moment, as it will significantly alter our collegiate experience for the next semester.

Unfortunately, many of us are unsure about the key individuals who determine the level of success we may achieve. While I could have easily been talking about Cougar basketball, I am actually talking about a semi-annual ritual which has become as static and ineffective as it has ever been: class registration.

Our college professors are the individuals who play the largest external role in our educational journey. They are the ones who deliver the material to us in a manner both comprehensible and digestible. Yet during class registration period, these professors mean little to us other than last names next to the classes we are required to take.

This is why I would like to see WSU do its part in assisting students with the class registration process by providing critical information, which would help students make wiser and more effective decisions in deciding which class to take.

One way WSU could help the students is by requiring each professor to upload copies of the course syllabus onto a Web site database prior to class registration. This would be great for the students, who would be able to understand the expectations and requirements before taking a step in the classroom. This is especially useful for courses such as general education 110, because every professor has their own standards and method for teaching similar content. It would allow the students to explore classes in greater detail, which would increase student enrollment in classes they actually care about.

It would be great for professors as well, because students will be enrolled in a class where they know what is expected, decreasing the amount of roster shuffling. Universities such as Harvard and Princeton already employ a system similar to this. If WSU harbors any intention to join the upper echelon of universities, this would be an important step in that direction.

Another way WSU could be of service to students would be to open end-of-the-semester course evaluation data to the student body. Obviously, this would be great for the students. We would be able to know what our peers thought of a particular class and professor before we actually take the class.

Some Web sites claim to provide such information, but most of the students who bother to critique the professor have strong opinions about them. You usually never see someone leave average marks across the board. The sample sizes from such sites are limited and biased, but information from the university could be extensive and objective.

This is also great for the professors and administration, because students may actually make an effort in completing these evaluation sheets. In its current state, I am aware of many students who rush through these evaluations because it means an early exit from class, or they believe their opinion doesn’t matter. But if these anonymous assessments were placed online for others to view, a far stronger effort to be comprehensive and beneficial would likely take place.

WSU has made great strides in recent years to improve itself in serving its students with better facilities, advising emphasis and qualified professors. But it’s time students become more knowledgeable of the most important individuals in their academic journey – the professors and their expectations.

We appear to be wrapped in a season of change. Let’s improve and innovate a class registration system for the betterment of everyone.