It was the event that had OU students talking and stressing.

After two years of planning, full-year registration, which allows students to register for more than one semester at a time, went into effect this past month.

Through the full-year registration process, students can register for summer, fall and winter semesters at the same time.

“I think overall, the initiative has been very successful…it really involved a number of offices, both administrative and academic, to make the initiative a success,” said Steve Shablin of the Registrars office.

The proposal, which was approved by the president’s cabinet in December 2009, was put together to help minimize the inability for students to register for classes as a result of issues on SAIL.

“I found the new process to be very convenient. In previous years, I always struggled with making my schedule,” said sophomore Jackie Marker.  “I definitely think it allows us to be more flexible with our schedule and not have to worry.”

But along with planning for a full year of classes comes a considerable amount of stress, some say.

“I find it inefficient,” said English Department Chair and Professor Susan Hawkins.  “Given the lead time, so many changes have to be made and the burden of getting that paperwork done falls on the department’s administrative secretary. We are now scheduling 18 months in advance; a lot can happen in that time.”

The new scheduling process has professors weighing the pros and cons as well.

“Any time you change a process, some of the negativity might be just because of change itself,” Shablin said.

“We’re sensitive to change and want to assure that we’re communicating to students, faculty and staff about the change. In reality, many of these processes affect most students and we want to ensure the success in that by a good communication.”

While many students may juggle the simultaneous role of student and employee, the task of planning for an entire year of classes is a burden to some and a convenience for others.

“I’ve seen ambitious students graduate in three years because they knew exactly what they wanted to take when and where. This system helps them. Some students, of course, aren’t sure yet about their major, or they change their minds, frequently,” said Journalism Interim Director and Professor Garry Gilbert.

Planning around work schedules and degree requirements served to be a problem for some students, as they needed to be aware of the specific requirements for their degrees.

“The idea that a college student knows exactly what classes he or she wants for the next year only applies to a very small percentage of students,” said junior Andrew Haggard.

“I would warrant a lot of students can’t even commit to finding jobs because they need to have possible flexibility in their school scheduling.”

Senior Megan Rochon said registering for a full year of classes could be tricky.

“You never know what classes are going to fill up and if all your classes end up being full, that can send you into a panic,” Rochon said.  “I think most students are okay with it once it’s over and done.”

To help students with the transition to a full-year registration, advisors served on a full-year registration committee to help students resolve scheduling issues.

“We have provided a number of banner work flows,” Shablin said, “we had advisers there to identify the importance of communication to students when certain processes change.”

Before registration, students are encouraged to visit an academic advisor to ensure the class planning process is a smooth one.