I must admit that I am motivated to write this, feeling very bitter, after a terrible experience trying to get into my first (and last, with any luck) five-college class. I won't go into course specifics, but all summer I'd been planning to take an upper-level class for my major that is only being taught at Mt. Holyoke College this semester. I tried to get in last spring, but at that point I was missing a pre-requisite course.
I found out after pre-registration last spring that the course would be offered again this fall, so I wrote a long e-mail to the professor in July to which he wrote back: "… your interests and background make you a strong fit for the course. Why don't you come to the first class and we'll make sure we get you into the class."
So I filled in the "DROP" section of my add-drop card with a class that conflicted with the upper-level major class. I spoke to my advisor, planned for my major and a possible thesis topic, worked out a special topics course just to compensate for the class I was dropping, and just generally stressed myself out. I organized my extracurricular activities around the Mt. Holyoke class, which I was willing to spend two hours waiting for and riding on the PVTA for.
Then I went to the first class meeting, traveling an hour each way. The professor had no idea who I was, despite the fact that between December 2003 and September 2004 I had written him at least four e-mails and he had said he'd "make sure" I got into the class. He wanted another e-mail telling him why I wanted to take the class and why I thought I was particularly well-suited (previous relevant course work, etc.). I wrote to him, including the text from our previous correspondence. I even told him that I might want to write a thesis on the general topic covered by his course. I found out the next day (just two days before the end of add-drop period, since Mt. Holyoke runs on a slightly different schedule than Amherst) that I couldn't take the class. Luckily, an Amherst professor allowed me into a class at the last minute and my semester wasn't completely ruined. The main lesson in this case, of course, is that people should keep their word and not make empty promises.
Now to the more general point. Amherst students in most fields (maybe not certain areas of the fine arts or languages) get screwed by the five-college "consortium" (I put that word in quotation marks because the first definition in the OED online is "partnership," and unequal entities cannot be equal partners). We get closed out of some of our own classes, sometimes because some Amherst professors hold spaces open for five-college students. Then, when we decide we actually want to branch out and leave the bubble, we can't get into what might be our only five-college class. The Amherst Student reported in 2003 that, "during 2001-02, Amherst sent out 443 students and received 962 students from the other four member institutions, making it a net importer of 519 students." We have five-college students in most of our classes, but I can't think of many of my friends who have taken a class at another college (not that I blame them). I think our classes are more crowded and harder to get into because of the consortium. Don't get me wrong-we need more professors and more classes just to handle the demands of the Amherst College student body-but I think that five-college students exacerbate the situation.
Amherst professors seem to be much more understanding of students' needs. I have always found that if a student has a compelling reason to be in a class (as I think I did with the Mt. Holyoke class), Amherst professors find a way to fit them in. I think I was in a rather unique position, in terms of the effort and interest I had shown in getting into the Mt. Holyoke class, and the professor could have made room for one more person.
Furthermore, some people take advantage of cultural events at other colleges, some people borrow books from the other libraries, but we seem to be the ones doing more sharing than receiving in these areas, too.
Five-college students also take advantage of our club sports (at least capoeira and sailing), which the Association of Amherst Students funds out of Amherst students' activities fees. Each semester clubs and the budgetary committee struggle with funding issues, then five-college students swoop in and reap the benefits.
I understand that we have an agreement and that we cannot exclude five-college students from our programming, but I wish the consortial benefits went both ways. The other colleges should be encouraged to do what they can to help in funding Amherst College programs that are heavily used by their students.
More importantly, though, taking classes (here at Amherst and at the other colleges) should be easier for Amherst students. Course catalogs for the other colleges should be available to us in print. The extra paperwork required for courses at the other colleges should be eliminated (that's what that column on the-add drop form is for-you don't just fill in an "A" for Amherst to show off your fabulous penmanship). That extra trip to UMass to register for their courses should also be nixed. The imbalance in student exporting should be taken into account and-although I know it sounds mean-perhaps Amherst students should have a slight advantage getting into classes.
Even if some of these suggestions are impossible, Amherst students should at least have an advantage when trying to get into Amherst classes. We got into Amherst and we are paying the tuition. The College should "terras irradient," but its first obligation is to provide the best education it can to its own students; learning that shit happens and you can't always get what you want doesn't count as part of this education. When I came to Amherst, I hoped I'd be able to complete a major the way I want, and also take advantage of the open curriculum by getting into classes in every department, even if I'm not a major. Any problems that threaten this-including imbalances and difficulties with the five college consortium-need to be investigated and resolved.