The Art Institute of Las Vegas Review: Registration Week

When I was a flight attendant for Comair, a lot of us noticed something was going down when pilots were quitting left and right.  Soon after, the company closed its doors.  There were many reasons why those pilots and many other employees were quitting - things within the company grew worse and worse.

A look at the recent history of Registration Week at the Art Institute of Las Vegas should be an indicator of a sinking ship.

When I started in January 2012, the registration process was fairly smooth.  It took place Week 5 (midterms week).  Days before it came up, students had access to the courses that were available for the following quarter.  The online registration system worked fine (a lot of students had issues with the online registration and I don't know why - it was fairly simple).

Then things got worse.  Some faculty members who were essential in Registration Week left AILV.  Soon after, students weren't getting the courses for the following quarter until the day of registration.  Then, the online registration went down for a few quarters and has been a hit or miss since.

The funny thing about this is the fact that the school is always hounding on everyone to get registered right away, but then they weren't giving the tools to the students to do so.  Registration has always opened on a Monday morning right when the first class started, so it put students who had class at a disadvantage.

Now, it looks as though students are not going to be registering until Week 7 except for select students.  The only logical explanation I have heard so far is the fact that it allows students to focus on midterms.  I don't buy this excuse because it takes barely over an hour to register and if the school was on its game like it was when I started, then this wouldn't even be an issue.  And if that is the excuse, why not have registration on Week 6 if it is to be pushed back?

And the select students?  I've heard from various places on who the select students are.  However, I don't see the point of giving certain students early registration preference.  The only ones that should get this are the students who are graduating the following quarter, but this shouldn't come at the cost of making everyone else register later than they already do.

I personally don't see why classes aren't even available to register Week 1, or even the previous quarter, or even two or three quarters ahead of time.  It only makes sense to plan things out a couple quarters in advance (I have been told to plan, plan, and plan again so many times at the school, but the school fails to heed its own advice).  It would help students ensure they get the classes they need and it would allow students who have jobs/lives outside of school to better plan for the future (since classes sometimes are so rarely offered).

Another shady tactic the school does is register its students automatically.  For example, during my 11th quarter, I decided that I didn't want to go in to the 12th quarter.  I didn't register.  However, the school automatically put me in a class, and it was kind of a pain to make sure I was taken back out of that class. 

My situation wasn't that dire, but if you search comments on articles about AI or For-Profit schools, you'll see how some students are screwed by the automatic registration process or by academic directors not cutting enrollment students at request. (I'll post links here when I come across a couple I have seen again)

I've heard so many students complain about schedules they are given because of the automatic registration process.  Registration is an adult & responsible activity - making it automatic treats people like children and I'm sure is only in place so the school can keep students enrolled.  It shouldn't be an automatic activity - if students don't register, don't babysit them.  Then again, the school doesn't really live on its promise to prepare students for the real world.

At a minimum, the school needs to return Registration Week to how it was when I started in January 2012.  However, I wouldn't even accept that.  If the school claims that it can't create class schedules at least a quarter in advance for whatever reason, it is unacceptable.  Students shouldn't settle for it.  The worst thing the school could say is "That's just how it work."  Don't accept poor service just because that is how it is, especially for the outlandish tuition fees in comparison for the poor education.

List of all the posts I have about my experiences at AILV