ASU is one of few universities that have multiple campuses. Multiple campuses allow for more space, more majors and a larger student body. Each campus is unique in its own way. However, having multiple campuses also comes with a few disadvantages.
Since Tempe is the largest campus, it’s fitting the majority of events and activities occur there. Unfortunately for smaller campuses, such as the Downtown campus, there are also fewer classes and fewer options for those classes offered.
For example, there are only three Psychology 101 courses offered on the Downtown campus for the fall 2011 semester.
Only one of those classes is offered on Monday and Wednesday. On the Tempe campus, however, there are 11 Psychology 101 classes offered with more variety in both times and dates.
In fact, last semester I had to take a history class in Tempe because two of the classes I was required to take that semester were offered at the exact same date and time on the Downtown campus.
If you want to take “less common” classes such as Intro to Physical Geography or Geology, they might not be offered on your campus. So if you need to take these classes, there is no escaping an intercampus commute.
Many students who have majors located on the Downtown campus are also faced with scheduling conflicts. Ashton Davis, an exercise and wellness junior, had to forgo taking Foundations of Exercise & Wellness because it was offered at the same time as his Introductory Chemistry class.
“I feel that there aren’t enough classes offered Downtown. I find it difficult to make my schedule the way I want it to be,” Davis said. “I have to take a minimum of 12 credits and I try to keep my classes as early as possible so I can have the afternoon off. However I still get stuck with those few afternoon classes at very inconvenient times.”
Davis is not the only student who is displeased. Journalism freshman Court Jeffrey is also was a bit unhappy with the class selection on the Downtown campus. “It’s difficult to get a class at the time that you want. I wanted classes in the morning and the earliest I got was 10:30 (a.m.),” Jeffrey said.
While there are numerous ways to commute between campuses, some students prefer to just take all of their classes on the Downtown campus. Davis lives at home in Glendale and feels commuting between Tempe and Phoenix would take a lot of time and energy out of him.
So what’s the solution? A smaller campus does not have to mean fewer classes. It would be both impossible and impractical to turn ASU into a one-campus university. As the years go on, however, hopefully there will be more professors and more classes offered on the other campuses. A larger variety would definitely make it easier for students with majors based on the smaller campuses. But for now it seems that these students will simply have to take the convenience of multiple campuses with the inconvenience of having fewer classes.
Reach the columnist at agales@asu.edu
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