You Are Responsible for Your Own Registration

[CatFanatic]

I work at a university (Australia) and the onus is entirely on students to handle their registration. This is the policy for security and confidentiality reasons. If there is a glitch, then they do have to come in and do it in person. These things happen sometimes; it's just like a self-service checkout breaking down. It isn't a huge failure on the university's part; in fact, it is most frequent when large numbers of students leave this to the last minute and the system gets overloaded. Occasionally I have had students complain to me about online issues with access, registration etc. While it actually isn't my job (I'm an academic, not IT or admin) I usually look at the problem - and would you believe that not once has it been a system problem? I'm stealing PICNIC for myself, too!

Naturally, my job means I'm not unbiased, but the whole 'I'm-paying-your-salary-so-you-better-jump' attitude towards university staff (or anyone, really) grinds my gears. I've only experienced it occasionally myself, but I have had students who are sugary sweet to me but snotty and dismissive to our admin and tech staff. Beyond the rudeness, it gets back to the academics, and it doesn't bode well for you if you are looking for a recommendation. If you have straight A's but you treat those you deem your 'employees' like garbage, how are you going to manage in the professional world?

[mbbored]

I graduated from college in 1999 and we still stood in line to register.  No phones, no internet.

And I started in 2001 and it was all online. Granted, my school was all about technology and required all students to own a laptop.

[lollylegs]

I graduated from college in 1999 and we still stood in line to register.  No phones, no internet.

I started my first degree in 2001 and I had to stand in line as well! When I started my second in 2006, I almost missed registration completely because I was waiting for instructions on where to go, not realising that it was all online.

[LadyClaire]

Naturally, my job means I'm not unbiased, but the whole 'I'm-paying-your-salary-so-you-better-jump' attitude towards university staff (or anyone, really) grinds my gears. I've only experienced it occasionally myself, but I have had students who are sugary sweet to me but snotty and dismissive to our admin and tech staff. Beyond the rudeness, it gets back to the academics, and it doesn't bode well for you if you are looking for a recommendation. If you have straight A's but you treat those you deem your 'employees' like garbage, how are you going to manage in the professional world?

That attitude irritates me as well. Here, if a student is snotty towards a staff member they will get called into the Dean's office and then made to apologize. One student made a snide remark to someone and had to write them a letter of apology and apologize in person as well. Luckily I very rarely encounter a bad attitude from our students.

[LadyR]

I do all my own registrering for classes as well. I the system doesn't work (or if its a course that goes against system parameters), I am responsible for filling out a form and doing it myself.

[Harriet Jones]

When I started college, we registered for classes by filling out the little bubbles on Scantron forms and waiting in line to submit them.  By the time I graduated, we had gone to online registration.  *So* much nicer.  An instructor may have needed to approve your registration for certain classes, but you always had to register for classes yourself.

[johelenc1]

The OP certainly did everything she could, and the grad student was rude in the way she hung up.  But, I suspect the student had just about had it and was frustrated in the way that trying to get classes you want and need but can't can frustrate someone. 

The online registration system at my undergrad was know for it's quirks - and it was also known that if registration started at 12pm, some of the best classes were gone by 12:05.  If you were a senior and couldn't get into the system to get classes you needed to graduate and called in desperation trying to get help...I suspect hanging up abruptly would be considered polite. 

It doesn't mean the grad student was correct, but really, registering for classes can be almost as serious as picking a mate! - and it can drive people a little batty.