Computer May Aid Registration . . .
(Continued front page 1)
cents per student.
Washington State has improved their
program during the past five years so
as to not only provide balanced sections,
good utilization of classroom space, free
time requests, but also to satisfy 70 per
cent of all section (time and professor)
requests. The cost has been reduced to
thirty cents per student.
But Washington State was not without
its problems. Clyde Simpson, Washington
State registrar says “after four years of
computer registration I can detect an
undercurrent of anti-computer section
ing.” Students feel they have the right
to get into those lines and fight.
The resistance, besides being in the
minds of the students, shows up in the
percentage of courses added or dropped
after the computer registration.
What does the computer do? Before
registration ever begins it finds a place
in its memory for every course, lab. and
discussion session offered. After marking
the course and perhaps the section they
desire, the student returns the job to
computers which must begin taking re
quests and matching them with its mem
ory of available space.
The machine will backtrack to find
non-conflicting sections until every pos
sible solution is tried if necessary. Free
time requests are honored and as a final
touch, lunch hour conflicts are checked.
The computer program can do what
students have been fighting to do in a
matter of one or two seconds. In that
amount of time it has made up to 5,000
decisions for the student. For the entire
student body this amounts to nearly fifty
million course decisions.
It helps solve the problems of 113 fresh
men waiting four hours to get into a 9:30
English composition class of 35 spaces
while the 4:30 class remains absolutely
empty. The computer could satisfy 31 per
cent of these people and the others would
find themselves in sections throughout
the day.
When Purdue adopted class section
ing, they found only eight per cent of
their sections closed at the end of regis
tration compared to a previous 30 per
cent.
Here, at the University, the two people
registration are Carlson and Lliiiora
most directly concerned with computer
Consantce, registrar and past member
of the Computer Registration Advisory
Committee.
Constance admits “as far as scheduling
students into classes is concerned, there
is nothing that can do it as fast—with
certain reservations about desirability
as the computer. And that really is the
basic target we are shooting for now.'
In part Constance sees the problem of
registration to now exist in the depart
ments. In his own words, “That’s where
the lines are. This is partly no fault of
the departments. Partly the kids who are
scheduled, say, to sign up for a PE ac
tivity at 11:30, if they haven’t any place
else they have to go at 10:30, they are
going to line up over there—wait an
hour. This looks like an inefficient line,
but actually it is just the students’ pref
erence. The situation in the departments
is not nearly as bad as it looks some
times.”
Many students would argue that this is
the problem and quietly add that a three
hour wait is necessary for many PE
courses.
Ironically the registrar states that
“whenever we make comparisons be
tween methods of registration, it will not
be basically on the costs, it will be on
efficiency.”
There is, however, truth in this state
ment. Poorly planned computer section
ing programs can cause as many prob
lems as they solve.
Constance has been concerned with
the fact that students have not been
given the opportunity to choose sections
under most programs, resulting in a
large number of adds and drops which ,in
effect, could negate the advantages
gained.
Programs are now being written which
do give the student that opportunity.
Even the add-drop problem has been
adapted to the computer.
The objection which cannot be over
come is the increased costs incurred as
the registration process is drawn out.
Computers can only handle data econom
ically in large runs. Getting students to
make firm choices is the problem to
which Constance does not see a solution.
Your Grade Transcript?
Someday someone is going to ask to see yours.
How impressive it is could depend on how well you read.
And how fast.
Since all of ns at Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics
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But if you’re serious about wanting an education—
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Just think w hat it would mean, for example, if you
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1 low much more time w'ould you have for other
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Rending Dynamics is not a trick or reading short-cut,
hut a carefully developed professionally taught, State-ap
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The course has been taken by United States Sena
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Possibly b\ someone you know .
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And yet, as generally accepted and based on years
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is hard to believe.
llow can vou be taught to read faster now, when
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s oil do?
The answer is rcall\ quite simple. Vou read at your
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absorb whole sentences and paragraphs the way you’d see
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What can you reasonably expect from Reading
Dynamics if you decide to enroll?
If you apply yourself as well as the average student
attending all eight evening sessions and following the as
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You’ll also learn how to preview a book. How to
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What's more you will become a lifetiute member of
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time you wish, absolutely free.
But why not see for yourself, at no obligation?
I.et us show you exactly what Reading Dynamics is
all about by attending one of our weekly presentations and
letting us give you a free mini-lesson.
Worth checking into? Then plan to attend the free
Evelyn W ood Reading Dynamics demonstration listed below
Thurs. 7:30 p.m. • Fri. 7:30 p.m.
Sat. 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
CENTRAL LANE YMCA-2055 PATTERSON STREET
Or, for further information, call or write Dynamics Educa
tion Center, 868 E. 13th, Eugene. Oregon. Telephone ?44
3154.
Over 400.000 Successful Graduates
ACHIEVEMENT WARRANTY
We guarantee to refund the entire tuition of any
graduate who, after completing minimum class
and study requirements, does not at least triple
his reading efficiency as measured by our begin
ning and ending tests Reading efficiency includes
both speed and comprehension.
CERTIFIED PRIVATE VOCATIONAL SCHOOL
BOARD OF EDUCATION - STATE OF OREGON
(ov'e/unH^cd
READING DYNAMICS
A DIVISION OP
DYNAMIC
EDUCATION
CENTERS
#68 E. 13th, Ph. 344-3154
EUCENE, OREGON 97401