Expos Program Drops First-Come, First-Serve

Fiscal constraints have forced the Expository Writing Program to abandon its semester-old-first-come, first-serve policy and to return to a modified version of its traditional sectioning system.

Peter Glenshaw, an Expository Writing Program administrator, said he made the decision last December after reviewing projected costs and consulting with Nancy Sommers, the program's associate director.

The program could not afford to rent an indoor space to hold students, who otherwise would have waited outside for several hours, Glenshaw said.

"Wintertime is no time to stand in line outside," he said.

Instead, students will fill out sectioning forms as they have in the past. Glenshaw said that the process has been improved because students have two days to submit completed sectioning forms rather than one afternoon.

The modified policy also requires students to list their other courses and extracurricular activities so that the program can better accommodate students.

Under the system used last fall, approximately 80 percent of the students received their first or second choice of class meeting times. Glenshaw said he hopes that the new method will have a higher rate of success than the first-come, first-serve system did.

"We will do whatever works best," he said.

But Glenshaw said he makes "no predictions" about the success rate of the new system. He added that he did not know if the 80 percent placement rate was a record high because no one had collected that kind of data before.

When asked if a decline in student satisfaction would lead him to reinstitute the first-come, first-serve policy, Glenshaw said, "We will seriously consider it. It's not a matter of hitting a target. I can't say specifically what we will do in the future. We'll see how it goes in the spring, and then we'll take it from there."

Students noted that the return to the traditional system will hurt those students who have a strong preference for a particular section meeting time.

Cynthia J. Dunbar '95, who was the 115th student in line for sectioning last fall, said that the first-come, first-serve policy was "good for me" because she was placed into her first choice section, "History Before the Bar." Dunbar said she stood in line for two hours prior to the start of sectioning. She added that she was the 12th to get into the class of 15 students.

Another student who waited in line in the fall had a different opinion, however. Eve C. Stewart '95 said she thought the queuing procedure was a waste of time.

"It works in principle, but in practice it does not work very well," she said. Stewart lauded the new procedure, saying, "It makes a lot more sense."

Even Dunbar was willing to admit that the previous system had its problems. "Basically, everyone was in a bitchy mood in that line," she said.