As of September of this year, Camosun College will be implementing a 20-credit registration limit. This will prevent students from registering in extra classes as a safeguard, a practice that the college says is making other students unable to get into the classes they want.
Camosun registrar Scott Harris adds that this limit is coming into effect mainly to help ensure students’ academic success.
“Most colleges and universities will limit the number of courses that any student can be in at any one time,” says Harris, “particularly from a student success perspective primarily, to ensure that students aren’t overloading to the point where they’re diminishing their chances of being successful.”
Harris says that it’s common for many Camosun students to register in courses they may or may not want to take and then drop out at the last moment, which can get in the way of students who really need to be in that class to obtain their desired certification.
“Students will often register in up to dozens of courses and then sort of hedge their bets heading into the first couple weeks of the term. We were seeing a pretty significant number of students doing that,” says Harris. (Harris was unable to provide numbers of how many students do this.)
There are exceptions to the credit limit: the college will allow students who maintain a B+ average or higher to enroll in more than 20 credits.
“The focus is on success,” says Harris.
But Harris also points out that some Camosun programs—for example, some computer programs—require more than 20 credits in one term. Harris says this is “another issue unto itself.”
“We need to have some real discussions at Camosun about how we determine credits,” he says.
Harris also says that students who are slightly below the required average may still be able to register in more courses, depending on circumstances.
Camosun College Student Society (CCSS) external executive Rachael Grant says that the CCSS was not directly involved in the implementation of the new credit limit, but she hopes Camosun students will respond positively to this change.
“This was causing an issue for other students in that they might not be able to sign up for a class, and I imagine it was also a financial issue for the college when people are withdrawing from classes and there’s this big empty spot where there could be students who are paying tuition,” says Grant.
Grant says that the change could work toward the greater good for both students and for the college.
“The intention seems to be very positive, and we hope that it will be a positive thing overall when it starts to play out,” she says. “We’re hoping the benefit is maintained.”
Grant says the college should remain open to student feedback about the policy.
“We hope that as this is implemented the college is open to adjusting practices if this ends up negatively impacting students in some way,” she says.