University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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Professor Larry Cressman ' s Introduction to Drawing class awaits his arrival. With classes located in East Quad, one of the many benefits for students in the R.C.was the ability to live and have class in the same building. L. Proux photo In an introductory ceramics class. Professor Susan Crowell teaches senior bio-psychology major Ashley Shiavone the art of sculpting. The R.C. offered creative outlets for students such as Shiavone outside of the program. L. Proux photo voodontbr tolanuto 1 Cb yeil,der- solely to IB LSAindott included G io ISA aid As offering coi liciency ani ittftro; Tl ing environ aiceuxh 72 Academics

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he Crisp lady, that voice on the other end of the phone that took students registration requests in years past, seemed to be a distant memory. Registering for classes by phone disappeared with the creation of Wolverine Access, the University ' s online registration system, just four years ago. Class schedules were altered with a few simple clicks of a button. The registration system was generated for all students, including graduate students. Classes from every school were accessible from a course search. LSA students were able to look up class availability if they were interested in a business class, and music school students could find an engineering class if it was something they were considering. Many of the courses though were reserved for certain eligible students only. To bypass the prerequisites, students went to the professors to be issued an override. Some students thought that Wolverine Access could have even more functions than simply a registration tool. There should be a mark where I can read about the class while I ' m looking it up on the site, said LSA junior Lei Lei Sun. It would be like combining the LSA course guide along with Wolverine Access. Other students also felt that combining more of the student programs all into one site might make it more efficient. They said adding coursetools or e-mail to the registration site could eliminate the constant signing in and out of programs with one ' s UMich ID and password. I think the main problem was that it was really slow, commented Business School senior Sandra DelColle. You couldn ' t get into it sometimes because there were so many people using it at once. Although one might have wanted to simply drop a course off of his or her schedule, it could occasionally take minutes of staring at a computer before the transaction was complete. There were also days when the online system was down, fully halting the entire process and causing headaches for students. Despite some kinks in the system, most people appreciated the new system and the switch did not pose a problem. For new students, Wolverine Access was all they knew. I thought that once you knew what you wanted to fit into your schedule, the system was pretty easy to figure out, said first year LSA student Erica Wilczynski. The peer advisors [at orientation] were a ton of help too. I know I ' d have been completely lost had it not been for mine. It took longer for some than others, but all in all, I think registration went pretty smoothly. The registration process seemed to get easier with the installment ofWolverine Access. The time that was spent on the phone punching in numbers and waiting for speeches was simply a blur. For the sanity of the student population, the University continued to find multiple ways to make the procedure easier. Fi how convenient is wolverine access? Registration 71

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TT oused in East Quadrangle, the University ' s Residential College was uncharted territory and an unfamiliar component of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts for many University students who were not part of this unique four-year program. The R.C. kicked off the new academic year with a series of events throughout Welcome Week. Among them was a performance of Shakespeare ' s play Much Ado About Nothing, pre- sented by the R.C. ' s drama program in the Nichols Arboretum. This was followed with an informative R.C. Con- vocation for the Class of 2007 in the East Quad Auditorium, during which students were afforded the opportunity to learn about the resources available to them and meet with faculty and staff. Characterized by its innovative and interdisciplinary programs and course offerings, the R.C. was a four- year, degree-granting unit. It was also a sub-division within LSA, whose faculty, staff and facilities were dedicated solely to undergraduates in the program. While students in the R.C. may have taken a number of classes within LSA and often opted to complete LSA-offered concentrations, the R.C. offered many courses and five concentra- tions of its own, which were open only to its students. Concentrations included Drama, Creative Writing, Arts and Ideas in the Humanities, Social Science, and an Individualized Concentration. Academic minor programs, which included Crime and Justice, Global Transformations, as well as Science,Technology and Society, were available both to LSA and R.C. students. Aside from its more creative emphasis offers, the R.C. was embraced by many for its language programs, offering courses in French, German, Latin, Russian and Spanish, enabling students to achieve both language pro- ficiency and cultural immersion with the host of opportunities. These occasions to improve one ' s conversational abilities in a foreign language took the form of intensive classes, daily lunch tables and weekly coffee hours. The foreign language classes ' demanding schedule was complimented by the R.C. ' s unique living-learn- ing environment. For the first two years in the program, students had to live in East Quad, where these sessions and classes were held. Here, they could take advantage of both the benefits of being members of a small community and a large, research university. The R.C. was known for its multidisciplinary approach to humanities, natural sci- ence and social science courses; it also offered courses in fields not available elsewhere in LSA, such as Studio Arts or Drama and Music. students find a unique community within the r.c. Residential College 73