esterday, students returned to classes for the onset of spring quarter, mindful of the fact that they needed to be enrolled in at least 12 units by the end of the day in order to avoid a $200 fee from the Registrar. Because of the new preliminary study list deadline that went into effect this year, undergraduates are required to sign up on Axess for at least 12 units by the first day of classes, while graduate students need at least eight. While there may be several valid reasons why the preliminary study list deadline is beneficial, the practical considerations of the new deadline make the policy seem silly and ultimately meaningless.

Ideally, most undergraduates should be able to form a general idea of at least twelve units in which they would consider enrolling by the first day of classes. It is not hard to enroll in classes at Stanford–to the contrary, with the exception of the minority of courses that require instructor consent, enrollment for nearly all courses is as easy as clicking a button on Axess. The problem, however, is that Stanford has always maintained a tradition of using the first week of the quarter as a “shopping period” for classes, during which time many students juggle, switch and rearrange courses depending on their first impressions of courses as well as other considerations. Even with the preliminary study list deadline in place, many students will continue to shop for classes in this fashion, making sweeping changes to their schedules during the coming days and weeks. Ordinarily, most students who were unsure of whether they want to take a course would put off enrolling until they made up their minds. Under the new deadline, however, students are pressured to enroll in whatever classes they “think” they might be taking just so they can have at least 12 units.

What makes this policy so silly and pointless is the fact that even someone who has no intention of remaining on campus for the full quarter can still manage to find twelve random units in which to enroll. Because it is so easy to enroll in random classes–and because the Registrar threatens a $200 fee for missing the deadline–a lot of people who are undecided about classes will simply pick some out of the lists and enroll. This does not pose much of a problem for students, but for the University, especially for faculty and TAs, it means that it will be all the more difficult to gauge the size of classes during the first few weeks of a quarter. The irony here is that this deadline is meant to penalize students who fail to enroll on time, but the real inconveniences seem to be created for everyone but students.

What the deadline does take away from students is the sense of openness and possibility that once marked the beginning of new quarters. Instead, the vibe coming from the University seems to be that the more quickly students settle on a study list, any study list, the better it is for everyone. But since students have no reason to stick to the courses on their preliminary study list, the deadline is left void of purpose, while students are left with the impression that making decisions quickly is more important than making decisions thoughtfully.