The all-familiar optimization process may be popular amongst first-years, but a by-class system better serves upperclassmen and aligns with other Bates policies. During my first year, I reveled in the ability to register for seminar courses along with any specific courses required for majors. However, the appeal of the process waned for my friends and I as we decided on majors; a scroll through degree-audit leaving us carefully curating the next semesters to graduate on time.
It was a brief yet meaningful conversation with Emma Burke ‘26 that led me to address issues in Bates policy. As Burke said, “it [optimization] benefits first-years in search of challenging courses, but as a biology major worrying about requirements I feel like I’m tripping over myself trying to compete with first-years for these courses.”
In her opinion, “students who need a class for a given major need to be prioritized.” While optimization does allow for professors to put in preferences, Burke noted that she is still struggling to complete all of her requirements without cramming everything into her senior year. She noted this as particularly stressful for students applying to medical or physician assistant schools.
The registrar’s office stated optimization was an “attempt to get as many students into as many courses as possible,” The Student reported in a previous article.
“I think what the system was trying to solve by moving towards optimization, was bias and accessibility, which was viewed at the time as egalitarian,” registrar Megan McHenry told The Student this past January.
The housing selection process makes the matter more confusing. Why does a by-grade selection process seem equitable for housing, yet not with course selection. Having a unified policy, when it comes to both course registration and room selection, is important because in its current state, the two processes answer a significant question in different ways: Is randomization egalitarian? If so, does the absence of randomness result in something inherently unfair?
In an article published earlier this January, The Student conversed with, Classical and Medieval Studies Professor Mark Tizzoni who offers a unique solution to the registration problem:“I think it would be ideal if it were a system where seniors and juniors can register before sophomores and first-years.”
Exploration is an implicit part of a liberal arts education. If first-year students were incentivized to pivot from popular courses and spend their time with other subjects, could their Bates experience be more in-line with the cultivation of curiosity Bates looks to exemplify?
We’ve all heard the classic liberal arts tale of a student enrolling in a class they never thought they’d find interestersting. Fast forward three years and they’re binding a thesis on the stone steps of Coram in the field of that very class. This truly is one of the many benefits of a liberal arts education and a by-class system supports it.
I think that optimization holds the idea that no registration system will ever privilege every student. I think that Bates knows this, hence the constant revision of the course selection process every few years, and in turn is working diligently to find a solution. Each iteration of the course selection process inevitably will have faults – I have listed my gripes with optimization above – yet I argue that we move to a by-class system for both practical and moral reasons.
If Bates truly wants us to embrace the spirit of exploration, it’s time to optimize less chaos for seniors and more curiosity for first-years.
