Emporia State implemented a staggered enrollment process this semester.
“To the best of my knowledge, it has been a success,” said Shelly Gehrke, assistant provost for enrollment management and academic success. “We’re still waiting for some of the data that we wanted to look at but I have not received any complaints or negative feedback from anybody.”
Enrollment opened at 12:01 a.m. on Monday March 4 for seniors, at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday for sophomores and juniors and at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday for freshman.
“I feel really good about the idea of having enrollment opening at midnight or 1 a.m. versus 8 a.m. so students can have a head start on that for sure, and I think the technology worked on that,” Gehrke said. “The one little glitch was on the good side. We were going to turn it on at midnight…for just seniors and graduate students, but it turned on for everyone.”
Along with staggered enrollment, advisors in the SAC started seeing students early to help with the advisors being booked weeks in advance as well as alleviating some of the panic surrounding enrollment, according to Gehrke.
Not every advisor works through the SAC and those who don’t may have different ways they enroll students. Staggered enrollment may have affected them differently than the SAC office.
“It was not practical for someone like me,” said Darla Mallein, professor of social sciences. “I’m the only advisor for the social science education majors so we found out so late, maybe two weeks before enrollment, so it was suggested that I could perhaps do pre-enrollment.”
Pre-enrollment is when advisor help get students enrolled without needing an office visit after enrollment starts, but not every advisor allows it.
“I don’t do pre-enrollment appointments,” Mallein said. “How am I going to get 70 in before and 70 in after when I still teach classes at the time enrollment happened? I was out on the road doing student teacher visits. There was no advantage to my majors, that’s for sure.”
Enrollment also affects students applying for their first semester.
“It was pretty easy…There was no real difference,” said Elizabeth Hund, sophomore elementary education major. “I think they (high school students) should have to wait because they have all four years. Seniors need the classes because they have less time.”