AAU released a new timetable for the Fall semester of 2024, sparking confusion among new students and leaving returning students dissatisfied with the sudden changes.
In just the first week of the fall semester, the new schedule has received a lot of criticism for the changed class times and incorrect directory. While many students and faculty are still familiarizing themselves with the adjustments, administration struggles to accommodate the influx of complaints and inquiries.
“During the add/drop period, the majority of students were confused because of the new schedule. There were many students coming to the reception asking for the locations of their classes,” AAU’s Operations Assistant Adiya Ashirova said.
The new system also triggered last-minute finalizations about classroom changes without notifying students, making for a very busy week for the front desk staff.
“I walked into class the first week and everyone was giving me weird looks because I was in the wrong room and no one knew where I was supposed to go,” first year student Emily Slean said.
In the past, the timetable used a structure in which students would have an hour of allocated free time in between their afternoon and evening classes. This year, students are only given 15 minutes between the afternoon class that ends at 18:15 and the evening class that starts at 18:30.
“I do not appreciate the short break in between classes because there is clearly not enough time to eat a small lunch or snack,” returning student Rebecca Vilsmeier said.
Students like Vilsmeier, who have two consecutive evening classes, are practically learning for six hours without time to eat, relax, or take a necessary break. In previous years, students had enough time to eat an entire meal to sustain themselves, but now even a small snack seems unattainable.
