The Issue on the (time)Table

Apologies for the post vacuum as vacation period went by. Hopefully, like myself, you all are coming back into the semester refreshed and ready to tackle on new challenges and subjects (also, “warm” winter welcome to the mid-years!). I myself would like to talk about one such challenge, and some advice on how you can overcome it.

Going into Semester 2, us first years will have realised that, depending on your subjects, it can be challenging to find classes that fit your day schedule with no clashes, let along registering for various lectures, tutorials and workshops that you have to attend, and making the timing of which perfect for each week. Unlike Semester 1, where I pretty much have all my lessons clumped together and within the square south of College Crescent and north of University Square, this semester features all sorts of exotic places in my view, including the Law Building and The Spot, coupled with tutorials at the Richard Berry and Redmond Barry. Worst of all, my Monday schedule features a delightful trek from the MSD, to the Law Building, and back to the Old Arts to attend 3 lectures in immediate succession. Even this was after I sacrificed a subject that I’ve been waiting to attend for months due to a lecture clash.

That being said, there are useful advice that I picked up along the way. If you wind up having clashes on your subject, or some very inconvenient travel routes on your timetable, it may be possible to reshuffle your schedule to be more comfortable by doing the following:

• Be Early
  In the future, take note of when the University releases class places (viewable on ask.unimelb) to take advantage of being first in line to register for your preferred classes or streams. Generally, this would be a few weeks before the semester starts, and they would be released in two waves, each at a specific date and time. Remind yourself to be on a computer and logged on to my.unimelb at around this time to get first dibs!
• Prioritise
  The Timetable Editor on my.unimelb can show you if there are other variants of the same lectures/tutorials (streams) available in the subject. Plan your timetable around the schedule items that are immovable, and reschedule those that can be moved more easily. Generally with less popular subjects, there will only be one stream of lectures, hence those would be harder (if not impossible) to reschedule. On the other hand, there will most likely be multiple tutorial classes, which can be moved around to suit your timetable and travel routes. You can also search for classes that are full at the time by clicking ‘Show Full Classes’ while on the Timetable Editor. You won’t be able to register for these, but there are still some ways to get in..
• Beg/Wait
  Though there are little recourse towards better lecture timeslots (largely due to the limit of large venues), It’s quite common to find a more preferable timeslot for your tutorial, practical or workshop, only to find out that it is full and registration is no longer available. Sometimes, getting a lucky spot can be as simple as asking politely to your Senior Tutor(s). Take note of your current and preferred timeslots and kindly ask a Tutor present at the lectures (depending on the subject, this does not always happen) or email them at their designated email addresses (commonly listed on the LMS subject page), stating your wish to be in a particular class. I actually managed to move one of my tutorials to a much more preferable time due to a very kind tutor opening up a place for me on that timeslot after I asked. Yay to going home early!If your Tutor’s firm about their stance, don’t worry! As it is the first week of the semester, students are still shuffling between subjects and classes and chances are the timeslot you wanted would soon open up once another student reschedules. Just wait and make sure to check your Timetable Editor several times throughout the day, as other students might also be gunning for that timeslot you want.

Hopefully these tips can help you get into your preferred classes and make your uni life a little more comfortable. If you need further help in streamlining your timetable, or have other pressing issues or questions, I’d recommend heading down (physically, or simply by phone) to Stop 1, they are much better suited to assist you.

I wish you all a prosperous and successful semester!

P.S. Who else doesn’t play Pokémon Go?

Eyre (Peso)