New class available conflicts with another class

[PaintedLizard]

Just a simple, quick question.

I wanted to take this one class, let's call it Class A. The registration info said that I need to contact the prof after registering. I did that, and also asked him what textbook we'll be using. The prof is a cool guy who invited me to take the class even before I registered.

Then suddenly, a second class that I'm more interested in, Class B, comes into existence. Class B schedule-conflicts with Class A.

Would it be good form, or unnecessary, to tell Class A professor that I won't be in his class because of a schedule conflict? I'm asking because I've spoken to him before and, even though I didn't really say much, I clearly showed my intention take his class.

Edited June 28, 2012 by PaintedLizard

[TMP]

If you showed serious intention, I would explain that this class just came up and you think it would fit better with your future plans for research and teaching, and you hope that Class A will be available again in the near future. However, if you can see it already on the master schedule that there aren't many students enrolled, it may be worth being upfront to add "and it also conflicts with Class B" because registrars will sometimes cancel classes due to low enrollment. So the prof may be more flexible.

[PaintedLizard]

Class A has 15 slots and 9 are currently filled (which probably includes me). Class B has 25 slots and 9 are currently filled. (That doesn't include me; I can't be registered for both at the same time.)

I think I'll switch to Class B and ask the Class A prof whether he'll offer it again soon. Thanks for the tip; I'll keep this in mind when talking to him.

[Sigaba]

I'd check to see if class B is going to be offered again later. If so, I'd stay in class A and then class B. Option two would be to take class B and class A as a directed study course.

Here's why. A cool professor isn't going to tell you that he's pissed off at you--he's just going to play it cool. Until later when the two of you have a strong bond and he says "I thought you were an asshole."

Not that this has ever happened to anyone I know.

And it definitely never happened to me.

[TakeruK]

It sounds like going from 9/15 students to 8/15 students isn't going to hurt the prof too much, so it's probably okay to switch. But you should be upfront about it and say that you're interested in Class B too. I'd also check to see if Class B is going to happen again in the future as well. If Class B is being taught by a visiting prof in his/her specialty, then I'm sure everyone will understand if you want to take advantage of an opportunity that might not happen again.

Maybe the culture is different in your department, but here, classes that are under 20 people usually decide on class time by class vote / whatever slot fits best for everyone. That doesn't sound like the case for you, but if there are other students interested in both A & B (and the classes are in the same department), then maybe consider bringing it up to both profs -- they might not realise the conflict and may reschedule. Also, depends on your department culture again, but I've found that profs aren't very offended by our course decisions -- we've been encouraged to attend lectures for the first couple of weeks and then decide whether or not we actually want to take the course. But the registration rules are pretty lax here, as long as you officially hand in the form with all signatures before the last day of class, they will make it work (even though the official deadline would be ~1 month into the term).

I'm not saying that your department will work that way -- it sounds like Sigaba is speaking from experience -- but I just wanted to show that not every department has the same "culture". If in doubt, you could always ask another student in the department. But I wouldn't give up a chance at Course B to spare a prof's feelings -- you will have to make choices that disappoint some people through your whole career. I've found that even if they say "this course will be offered every 2 years", you never know for sure!

[Sigaba]

it sounds like Sigaba is speaking from experience

Wait. Are you saying that other professors thought I was a butt hole as well? Zoiks.

But to underscore TakerUK's eloquent point, every department is going to have its own culture and everyone will learn to navigate that culture through trial and error. In my experience, an effective way to find one's way around is to talk to professors and staff members.

More generally, I think graduate students should keep in mind that it is important to manage well your relationships with professors as well as your own expectations.

[TakeruK]

Wait. Are you saying that other professors thought I was a butt hole as well? Zoiks.

I think the correct term is to say that I'll plead the fifth? See, I'm integrating into American culture already!

But to underscore TakerUK's eloquent point, every department is going to have its own culture and everyone will learn to navigate that culture through trial and error. In my experience, an effective way to find one's way around is to talk to professors and staff members.

I've seen this many times by many people now but for some reason I decide I'll point it out here -- the u in TakeruK isn't a capital letter It's a name, Takeru, followed by an initial, K Not my real name at all, just a name I made up a long time ago and use as my Internet pseudonym. The origins of this name betrays my age when I thought of it -- it's related to Digimon and Neopets characters (i'm so cool )

[Sigaba]

I think the correct term is to say that I'll plead the fifth? See, I'm integrating into American culture already!

Well played, sir. Well played.

I've seen this many times by many people now but for some reason I decide I'll point it out here -- the u in TakeruK isn't a capital letter It's a name, Takeru, followed by an initial, K Not my real name at all, just a name I made up a long time ago and use as my Internet pseudonym. The origins of this name betrays my age when I thought of it -- it's related to Digimon and Neopets characters (i'm so cool )

I seem to get it right every other time. I'll do better in the future.

[far_to_go]

In my department, grad seminars occasionally conflict with each other. I've known other students to e-mail the person in charge of scheduling the courses (called the Director of Grad Studies in our dept) to say "I'm interested in taking both class A and class B, but there's a schedule change; any chance that one of them might be rescheduled?" The DGS usually them sends out a poll to the grad students to find out how many people would be interested in taking both classes; if a few people express interest in both, then one class is rescheduled. Of course, this works best if it's done well in advance of when the semester starts!

This works in my dept because grad seminars are usually quite small (on the order of 3-10 students), and we tend to be quite democratic and cooperative about stuff like this. Your mileage may vary according to your department's culture, obviously.

[PaintedLizard]

Well I don't think I'll be able to get either rescheduled, as Class B is a seminar-style class offered by a different department and just cross-listed in mine (since it's an interdisciplinary topic) and Class A is a regular-style class in my department. And they've both already decided on scheduling already.

That said, I've decided on which one to take, and even bought the textbooks. I'll take the seminar-style one, as it fits the sub-field I want to work in perfectly, and the prof finally replied to me with a tentative syllabus.

Thanks for your tips.

Now, though, I have to tell the Class A prof (the one whose class had "let the prof know if you're taking it") I'll take his class next year. He's offering it every fall I think. (There's actually a chance that I might not take it, because I've already taken a graduate-level class on the topic before.)

Edited July 14, 2012 by PaintedLizard