This semester, for the first time in several years, CS 473 reached is registration capacity of 120 students only a few days after registration opened. If you need to take 473 this semester, RELAX!! Unfortunately, this has happened often enough in the past that we've developed a relatively stable system.
- Try again next semester.
- Enough said. (Chandra and Sariel are tentatively scheduled to teach 473 next fall and next spring.)
Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate everyone on the waiting list this semester. The waiting list already has an unprecedented 37 names, and in a typical iteration of CS 473, only about 10-15% of the students drop by the end of the semester. I cannot increase enrollment further without creating an unfair burden on the TAs. (The enrollment cap was already raised once, from 100 to 120.) Moreover, I cannot hire another TA; the department has already used up its entire TA budget, and even if we had money, no qualified TAs are available.
For this reason, I will only give students permission to register late if (1) their name is on the waiting list, (2) they submit HW0, (3) CS 473 is required for their major, and (4) they are graduating in Spring 2010. I will do my best to ensure that all such students eventually get in, but it is highly unlikely that there will be room for anyone else.
- Get on the waiting list.
- Come to class, take notes, do the homeworks, go to head-banging sessions, go to office hours, and so forth, just like the registered students. During the first two lectures, I will pass around a signup sheet for a waiting list. Students on the waiting list will be registered in decreasing order by Homework 0 score. If you do not submit Homework 0, I will assume you are no longer interested in registering and will remove your name from the waiting list. On the day of the add deadline (February 1), if the class is still full and there are still unregistered students on the waiting list who need CS 473 to graduate this semester, we will raise the enrollment cap to let
everyonethose students in. (I've had to do this exactly once in 12 years.)
Keep trying to register.- No, don't bother. I asked the department to close registration for CS 473 on the first day of classes. Even if some students drop, the only way to register after the first day is to put your name on the waiting list and submit Homework 0.
- Take a proficiency exam.
- We do not offer separate proficiency exams for CS 473. However, you can take the regularly scheduled final exam at the regular time for proficiency credit. Your grade will be based on your exam grade, relative to the registered students. For example, if you get a 75% on the proficiency exam, you get the same letter grade as a registered student who got a 75% on their final exam. If you plan to take the final exam for proficiency credit, please contact me at least one week beforehand.
The university has lots of rules about proficiency exams. You need a grade of C- or better to pass. If you pass, your transcript will have a grade of "Pass", and you will receive the usual number of credit hours. If you do not pass, nothing will appear on your transcript. You must be a registered student who has not already taken the class. (The rules for graduate students are slightly different.)
Do not take the proficiency exam unless you are sure you know the material! Some students wait until their very last semester at UIUC to take the CS 473 proficiency exam, and then fail. Those students did not graduate; some of them even lost pending job offers. Don't do this! As a safety net, I strongly recommend also taking the midterms; these will be averaged in with your final.
- Encourage your friends to drop.
- They don't really have to take CS 473 this semester, at least not as much as you do. If they're really your friends, they'll drop the class to make room for you.