The Monday Message: The Decision to Extend Spring Enrollment

January 21, 2020 / Uncategorized

Most idioms exist for a reason, and “when it rains, it pours” is no exception. The weekend before classes started at NOVA, it began to rain, and then it poured for students trying to register for the spring semester.

Students attempting to sign up for spring classes received a series of error messages that stopped them from enrolling. By the time we were able to resolve the issues, classes had begun, and we could not tell how many students had been prevented from registering. So, we made the decision to allow students to enroll in the first week.

I recognize that this was not an ideal solution: NOVA works to assure that every student is in class on day one, ready to succeed. And, it is understandable that some of you were concerned about students who would appear suddenly on Friday after having missed the full week. So, I wanted to share the following to put the decision in context.

Comparing the first week of classes in January 2019 to the first week this spring, it appears that about 350 additional students registered in 16-week courses. This is a small number relative to our overall enrollment, suggesting that the population impacted by the extended registration period was not huge. However, as you might guess, this extended ability to register made a big difference for these students–who would otherwise have been shut out due to tech issues that were not of their making.

Many thanks to our outstanding NOVA colleagues who resolved the technology glitches, who worked diligently to help the students impacted, and who made our students feel welcome in their classes. And, much appreciation to the NOVA Nighthawks, who persisted in their goal of registering this spring!

All the best,
Anne