Ghizlane Zerzkhane | Contributor
Featured image: Limited spaces in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science courses and arbitrary waitlists leave students feeling confused and forgotten. | Fatema Ali
The Lassonde Student Government refuses to be another brick in the wall.
Last week, they launched a petition in response to the lack of space available in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, or EECS, courses.
The mandatory courses can only be taken once per year, which means that if students don’t get into the course, they may have to extend their program.
Over the past year, the engineering department has seen an increase in enrollment to over 3,000 students, of which 70 per cent are engineering and computer science majors.
Spaces in the EECS courses, however, have failed to grow at the same rate, leaving students sitting on waiting lists.
In first-year courses, for example, there is only one professor and two teaching assistants, which means that not all students can be accommodated.
The waiting list is only produced two days after the course drop deadline and many students assume they won’t be successful in getting a spot and so, enroll into other courses.
This can affect student finances, as dropping out of courses can prevent students from receiving a full refund of course fees, leaving them to cover the cost.
Even if students are offered a spot, they can be delayed by professors not allowing them to join the course even if the department has already granted them permission.
These miscommunications have led to many students, including Saad Saeed, a third-year computer science student, feeling bemused and frustrated at the system.
“I find that the Lassonde waitlist decisions have no criteria whatsoever. I had a GPA of 7.2, met all the prerequisites for the course and I still didn’t get in,” said Saeed in the petition.
The Lassonde Student Government is demanding the EECS department alter their course space to accommodate the number of students within the engineering programs.
Janice Walls of York Media emphasised that steps are being taken to improve the process and that concerns have been taken on board.
“The Dean’s Office is aware of the issues being raised by some students and is working with the department to improve the process in the future.
“[The department] has increased spaces in a variety of courses for next year to address high demand,” she says.
The petition has accumulated 189 out of the required 200 signatures for it to be presented to the Lassonde School of Engineering.
