Capetonian Academic Organisation

First, yes, it is spelled with an “s” here.

Let me brief you on registering for classes here…

You are given a handbook with classes in it. All semesters are listed so you have to be sure that you are not signed up for an “S” course (second semester, not spring), “W” (whole year), or “H” (half semester) course, even though these classes comprise about 2/3 of the booklet. The syllabi in the handbook are posted with the class titles but do not say during what days the classes take place. Most have recorded their time period, but some do not. None of them have listed the location or the dates/times of any tutorials. Some have listed how many days a week they meet, but often this is falsely recorded. So that’s your handbook. Good luck picking classes.

Registration times are sorted by last name, but in reality it’s a first come, first served basis. So, on registration day at 8 am, we sat at the beginning of the line for an hour. Then, when the doors opened there were 4 separate lines to check in A-B, C-D, E-F, G-H students and then one more line for I-Z last names. Nice work. Then, you shuffle through chairs for another half hour filling out forms. The “advisor” who signs off your forms just checks to make sure that none of your classes are the same period. Good? Great. Signature.

Then you wait in line to get your peoplsoft password (like blackboard), but you still don’t have internet set up on your computer at UCT, so that needs to be done later. In order to get your ID card (which they make right then and there), you must wait in line for anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. We all did that, only to find out that there had been another place to get ours done without any line at all on the other side of campus all along.

Of course, even after registering, you don’t know where or when your classes are, so you must wait until they are posted on each individual department board in different buildings around campus. The departments are listed on a campus map if you are lucky enough to get your hands on one. If you, like me, are just looking to have simple classes that, for the most part don’t take place on Fridays, you must go around to each department and take mobile photos of the individual class times and venues to make sure of your schedule.

Lastly, if you want to add/drop a course you must wait in another line to get an approval from an advisor, but that’s only if you remembered to print out your unofficial transcript. And then there is the process of getting text books and course readers…

TIA.