SCORE's missing pieces

The first semester of SCORE-selected classes is well underway, and by most accounts the online system works about as well as the much-maligned course cards it replaced. Most students were able to sign up for classes without major incident. SCORE's worksheets are complex enough to invite nostalgia for the little yellow cards, but they get the job done.

The move to SCORE, however, has introduced some unwelcome arbitrariness. Before this semester, the University maintained a thoughtful and fair-minded system that gave priority to upperclass students seeking to enroll in classes within their own departments. Where did it go?

In the new system, a junior or senior who isn't feverishly clicking away the moment his "appointment" begins risks being displaced from a departmental by classmates from other departments.

Some waiting lists, too, appear to have gone out with the cards. Apocryphal reports have it that some students were able to join full courses through dumb luck, clicking the "add" button moments after someone else had dropped the course and created a vacancy. Waiting lists remained in place for some other courses, but the thought that seats in any course would be rationed through this kind of randomness is troubling.

We hope for improvement next semester. If administrators did away with limited enrollment bidding in the interest of technological expedience, we think they should bring it back. If they believe the current free-for-all is more equitable than a points-based bidding system, we urge them to reconsider.