By Ethan Hamilton/reporter
Every semester, students gather around their laptops to schedule their classes for the upcoming semester. However, it isn’t as simple as just choosing classes to match a time slot.
Students lean on classmates, faculty and the internet to help them assess which classes to take for the following semester.
NE student Manthan Upadhyaya uses the degree audit tab on WebAdvisor to help him figure out what classes he needs to pursue his associate degree. The degree audit tab shows which classes are required to complete a student’s degree, and they can model their schedule accordingly to make sure they complete all of their required courses.
Upadhyaya said the most important factor that helped him was the experiences of other students. So, when he heard about ratemyprofessors.com, it gave him that chance.
“It’s important for me to consider the opinions of those who previously have taken that professor because it speaks to the point of view of a student,” Upadhyaya said.
Another resource available to students are the counselors on all TCC campuses and early college high schools.
Molly Miller, a counselor at Collegiate Academy, helps early college high school students organize their schedule for the semester. She helps freshman transition into college classes by organizing their classes and offering them advice on which ones to take.
“As students start completing more and more classes, they often come to me looking for help finding what courses they should take to prepare them for their major at a four-year university,” Miller said. “I like to sit down with that student and go through a list of classes that are related to their major and determine how I can fit them into their schedule.”
A short excerpt pertaining to what each course has to offer could be added to help the class selection process, Miller said.
“What they are doing now is great,” South student Laila Gardner said. “Besides whatever questions I have about a certain professor or course, I can ask my friends, my counselor or ratemyprofessors.com.”
