Set registration priority by class, not credits
Spring 2006 registration is about two weeks away, meaning registration policies can still be changed to make registration more fair to students who went to less prestigious high schools. This fall, how soon an undergraduate can register should be determined by how many semesters he has been an undergraduate, not how many credit hours he has.
The current system, which gives descending registration priority to students with 90, 60 and 30 credit hours, gives students from high schools that did not have strong Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate programs — typically schools with less money — a disadvantage. The fact that some freshmen can register before some sophomores, and so on, is unfair — older students with fewer pre-Rice credit hours are losing spots in the classes they want to take to younger students.
We are all Rice students, no matter where we went to high school, and we should be viewed as equals when we register. Basing the registration order solely on seniority would provide a fairer system.
Students who plan to graduate in fewer than eight semesters could still be allowed to claim accelerated status, so the change from a credit-hour-based system to a seniority-based system would not affect their ability to register as a member of their intended graduation class.
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