Illinibucks
The concept of Illinibucks could be extremely beneficial for students who are looking to gain an edge in different areas of the university. The first issue that would need to be addressed is that of allocation. I believe that each student should be given an equal amount of Illinibucks so that the playing field is even. If there were a way to purchase them then that would simply give an advantage to wealthier students, leaving the rest in basically the same situation as before Illinibucks. In addition, things have to be assigned values in Illinibucks corresponding to their demand or importance to students. This way things that are almost essential such as gaining priority when registering for classes would cost more Illinibucks then maybe reserving a room at the library. The university could also adjust prices as they gain data on what students are spending their Illinibucks in in order to ensure that their system works effectively. If prices are too high then Illinibucks would rarely be used outside of the most important reasons and if too low, they'll be used for everything and would become basically worthless.
There are a couple of things that could be candidates for this system. The first that comes to mind is the one mentioned in the prompt, registering for classes. Registration works on a time ticket based system, meaning that each student is given a different date and time and the earlier it is, the earlier that student can sign up. The issue is that if you are a given a later time slot, your class might fill up and you'll have to wait for someone to drop. If no one drops the class before the first two weeks of the semester, than you're out of luck and will have to wait till next semester. Students need to to take certain classes especially during their freshman or sophomore year as those classes tend to be prerequisites for classes down the line. Classes can also be major restricted so some students who need the class have to wait. This happened to me last year. I am minoring in computer science and one of the classes I needed to take in order to progress was CS 173. When my time slot came up, I tried to sign up for the class but found out that it was still restricted. By the time the restriction had been lifted, the class was full and I was unable to sign up. I ended up taking the class at a local community college over the summer. Illinibucks would be great for students to gain priority for a class that they really need so they do not fall behind on their academic plan.
Signing up for university sponsored events could also be done on the Illinibucks system. The economics department recently held an etiquette dinner that served as a guide for what to do during a professional dinner setting. I heard about it through my ECON 198 class and it filled up on a first come first served basis. With Illinibucks, if someone wanted to gain priority for this, they could. Another event is when Obama came to talk on campus. Tickets to the event were raffled off but with Illinibucks, someone could have tried to increase their chances to see the former president of the United States. Some minor things that Illinibucks could be useful for is reserving library rooms during finals week, skipping the line for sports games, and making appointments with teachers. The system would have to be designed carefully as each of the things I mentioned have different values and would need to be assigned a price around that price.
There are a couple of things that could be candidates for this system. The first that comes to mind is the one mentioned in the prompt, registering for classes. Registration works on a time ticket based system, meaning that each student is given a different date and time and the earlier it is, the earlier that student can sign up. The issue is that if you are a given a later time slot, your class might fill up and you'll have to wait for someone to drop. If no one drops the class before the first two weeks of the semester, than you're out of luck and will have to wait till next semester. Students need to to take certain classes especially during their freshman or sophomore year as those classes tend to be prerequisites for classes down the line. Classes can also be major restricted so some students who need the class have to wait. This happened to me last year. I am minoring in computer science and one of the classes I needed to take in order to progress was CS 173. When my time slot came up, I tried to sign up for the class but found out that it was still restricted. By the time the restriction had been lifted, the class was full and I was unable to sign up. I ended up taking the class at a local community college over the summer. Illinibucks would be great for students to gain priority for a class that they really need so they do not fall behind on their academic plan.
Signing up for university sponsored events could also be done on the Illinibucks system. The economics department recently held an etiquette dinner that served as a guide for what to do during a professional dinner setting. I heard about it through my ECON 198 class and it filled up on a first come first served basis. With Illinibucks, if someone wanted to gain priority for this, they could. Another event is when Obama came to talk on campus. Tickets to the event were raffled off but with Illinibucks, someone could have tried to increase their chances to see the former president of the United States. Some minor things that Illinibucks could be useful for is reserving library rooms during finals week, skipping the line for sports games, and making appointments with teachers. The system would have to be designed carefully as each of the things I mentioned have different values and would need to be assigned a price around that price.
Based on what you said, please explain to me the plusses of a minor in CS. It sounds like there aren't that many while you are a student. I can understand some benefit on your resume, but if you can't get into the courses you need for the minor, that sounds like a bummer. My younger son eventually got his degree from CS. He started out in ECE, tried to transfer to CS from there but didn't make it at the time, so instead transferred to a Math/CS program that is LAS, but you pay the Engineering surcharge. He did well there and eventually was able to transfer into CS. He had access to all the courses he needed by going this route. Maybe it's a little late to consider that alternative now, but I've heard from many other students that it is hard to get into CS classes beyond the one that satisfies the Gen Ed requirement.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard about that etiquette dinner. It's an interesting idea. Way back when there was some professor in FSHN who taught students etiquette by making video vignettes with students role playing about doing things wrong - so the videos were entertaining -- and then the students could deconstruct them to come up with a better approach. Truthfully, I don't think you can learn etiquette in one evening, but you might get a sense of what having the right tone is about. As an assistant professor I had a colleague who was then a fan of Miss Manners. Since then, I've always like this quote.
It is far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help.
As you can see, after reading all these posts I get a little punchy and am looking for some variety in responding to yours. So this is quite different from what I wrote in response to other students. I hope the novelty is okay with you.
I added the CS minor as it was something I personally wanted to learn about. I also started out in ECE and wanted to transfer into CS but was unable to. I ended up as an Econometrics major with a CS minor. The CS classes are very difficult to get into mostly because of the major restriction and large demand they have. On the other hand, I think the CS minor will help with some potential career paths such as data science.
ReplyDeleteThe etiquette dinner was a nice idea from the economics department as I'm sure some students never learned or thought about how to act in a professional dinner setting. While probably not something you can learn immediately, it served as a nice introduction and baseline for people to build off. The video vignettes also seems like a good way to do this as it keeps the students engaged in something that might seem a bit boring at first glance. In addition, I really like the quote you left. Qualities seem far more impressive when they are organically discovered rather then if you point them out yourself. Possibly cause the idea of humility goes unnoticed most of the time.
Finally, I do not mind the novelty, I find it quite refreshing.