Stan Birch ‘22
News Editor
In an effort to understand how changes were made to the Law School’s course registration process for Fall 2020, the Law Weekly examined the administration’s communications and reached out to Dean Dugas over email with questions. When asked to sit down with the Law Weekly, Assistant Dean for Academic Services and Registrar Jason Dugas replied that it being a “hectic and busy semester from an operations standpoint,” he would agree to answer specific questions emailed to him, but apologized that he was “not going to sit for an interview.” A common frustration from students is the wall of administrative rules and statements that are sent out, without any real insight as to how those decisions are made. In an effort to better understand the changes and student frustrations of this process, we asked our questions, received a timely response, and now publish this in hopes of clarifying the timeline and decisions leading up to Fall 2020 registration.
Before proceeding, I would like to thank the administration for working very rapidly to provide a registration system and course offerings, given that the process of setting up courses in the past normally took ten to twelve weeks. With the University’s announcement of returning to classes and the new restrictions to in-person learning, that process was condensed into four or five weeks and the speed with which this was handled should be applauded. Dean Dugas—and the Law Weekly—would like to thank Law IT, Adam Seid, and Debbie Proffitt for all of their hard work in making Fall 2020 registration possible.
The first apparent change to the Fall 2020 registration process was its postponement. It seems that, while this change in timing was inconvenient and even burdensome, everyone had come to understand there would be a delay. With the University hesitant to commit to a plan “to safeguard the health and safety of the UVA and Charlottesville community,” it is no wonder the community and the administration were unsure what timeline they should anticipate. With the email from President Jim Ryan ’92 on June 17, announcing the plans to Return to Grounds and hoping to “provide a measure of clarity,” a few questions were answered, but many, many more were raised. Hoping to clarify and give direction for the Law School, Dean Goluboff sent out an email the next day, one paragraph of which commented on the course schedule. This email mentioned that a tentative course list would be released the following week with a more finalized version of courses “as well as the plan for course registration” to come mid-July. Following up on the promise of Dean Goluboff’s email, Dean Dugas emailed the following week to announce that the tentative list of course offerings had been posted on LawWeb, subject to change. All of this was useful information but one piece that would bring stress to students was missing: timing of actual registration.
The first communication to students about the timeline to actually register for classes came mid-July, but it wasn’t communicated directly by a Dean. Instead, the first timeline given to students came from SBA President Katharine Janes ’21 in an email titled “Friday, July 10th SBA Update.” Before sending this email, Janes had been made aware that courses were coming up on SIS, and reached out to Dean Dugas. Dean Dugas provided rough information on the process to Janes, who confirmed and then shared the contents of that information in her email. This Friday afternoon email contained the first direct mention of when registration should begin: “[C]ourse registration (i.e. the lottery process) should start toward the end of next week and continue through the end of the month.” Students who didn’t read the SBA update on that Friday afternoon would have no way of knowing registration could start a week later.
Dean Kendrick emailed four days later “with some academic information in advance of course registration,” but still without mention of an actual or prospective timeline. Two hours later, Student Records and Dean Dugas added the following to clarify the timeline: “As Vice Dean Kendrick explained in her recent email, you will soon be starting the enrollment process for fall 2020 courses, and I will be sending more detailed instructions about that process separately very soon.”
Students ultimately received a timeline of registration directly from the administration when those detailed instructions came the following night with the important subject line: “Enrollment Process Details & Instructions - Starts Friday 7/17 @ 10:00am.” Student Records Office announced registration’s start thirty-six hours and twenty-five minutes before it was to begin. This compressed timeline stressed many, sent shockwaves through GroupMe chats, and went unnoticed by students who would not check their emails until the next morning, giving them even less time to prepare.
Many students anticipated a rapid turnaround and made themselves available to coordinate their new schedule, but this would not be like any prior registration. In addition to announcing the imminent lottery start-date, this short notice email also explained a number of “new aspects” about the new registration process that Dean Dugas likened to LSAT logic games. These “new aspects” represented a complete change of the lottery system groupings pursuant to which students have registered for years and are laid out, in plain language, as part of UVA Law Academic Policies IV(G).[1] Dean Dugas explained that without the University’s finalized Spring 2021 plans, courses could not be registered or confirmed for the spring, removing the option of dividing based on graduation requirements, which typically spans the full year. It was determined that maintaining the registration process along the traditional lines “would [have made it] very difficult to implement students’ preferences for in person or online only in that system,” thus the adjustment to lottery split.
One of students' main concerns with the fall registration process is with how changes were communicated and how that communication limited students' opportunity to hold administrative action accountable. Registration and academic policies may be waived (if waivable) by the Assistant Dean for Academic Services, and “[a]ppeal of any decision by an assistant dean may be made only to the faculty/student Academic Review Committee.” If anyone took issue with this policy change, they would have only had thirty-six hours[2] to complete an appeal. After that time period, they may as well try to unring a bell.
The goals of the policy changes were to provide the best system that would handle digital and hybrid learning. Several students took issue with this change, and many felt overwhelmed with the short timeline. On the other hand, given everything happening over the summer, many students were simply relieved to be able to register but, going forward, hope for clearer communication upfront. Students want to be kept in the loop about the administration’s decision-making process and would appreciate firmer timelines. Keeping students in the dark only brought frustration where there could otherwise have been understanding and acceptance in a summer fraught with uncertainty.
As Spring 2021 approaches and the world around us continues to be in flux, the administration is hard at work planning for the upcoming registration period. Dean Dugas appreciates “that students have been, and continue to be, patient and understanding about the uniqueness of the situation.” The timeline that Dean Dugas felt comfortable sharing with us was that he hoped “to know the University’s spring plans by late October . . . [and he] expect[s] that the lotteries will start in early November.” The spring process will follow the same lottery split as Fall 2020, “to meet the needs/preferences of instructors and students.” So as the end of this month and Spooky SznTM loom closer, keep your masks up and an eye on your inbox, as COVID and registration could lurk around any corner.
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sfb9yu@virginia.edu
[1] https://www.law.virginia.edu/policies/vi-courses-and-course-enrollment-1#vig
[2] When asked to confirm that this was the first notice given to the student body about the policy change, Dean Dugas did not provide a clear answer that indicated any other date notice was given.