Hopefully

By Paul Anthony Eso

(Vol. XXVII No. 29, Editorial Cartoon)

Hopefully

Negros Oriental State University (NORSU) has been known as a university that has the longest queues during enrollment. This is because of two reasons: the large number of students and the poor enrollment system.

Enrollment in NORSU has always been spiced up with complaints and irritations since time immemorial. Well, who would not? Early in the morning, the closed entrance of some offices in the university are already flocked with stressed faces of patient and impatient students who sacrificed waking up at dawn and going to school just to gain a front turn in a long line. Complaints and murmurs would usually arise. At the height of the grumbles and mumbles, some personnel come in late, move like there is still ample time to chill and relax, and leave the office early with plenty of reasons in hand. In the lateness of the hour, they begin marking and stapling papers and unnecessary documents and tell the students to go to the other line for completion. Outside, one can hear the eerie voices of babbling and cursing mouths due to the inconsideration and favoritism of some criminology students and staff on-duty. Others also exchange unpleasant words after allowing a late friend to insert in the never-ending line.

Unfortunately, though most students come to school before sunrise, it is next to impossible for them to be enrolled on the same day because after finishing one long line, other long queues await the following day.

These scenarios had been the common setting during the past enrollment period. Every Norsunian endured hardships just to be enrolled on time.

In the past years, the Office of the University Registrar has been working so hard to bring a stress-free and a better enrollment system for the university. And indeed, improvements were seen in the past years. From the manual enrollment system which could turn everyone impatient because of the seemingly endless long queues, it leveled up into a full-swing computerized enrollment system. The computerized scheme had somehow made the enrollment of this university a little better compared to the past years.

But just as when we thought the computerized enrollment is already the answer, we then realized that it was only better than the past systems but it was not good enough for this university. Problems and complaints continue to arise. Lines are still long. This is because computerized enrollment could only gratify 1, 200 students every day.

University Registrar Reymil Cadapan, upon seeing the annual dilemma of the students during enrollment, proposed a departmental enrollment system to the NORSU administration which could not only help lessen the burdensome sight of complaining students but will also help deans evaluate students’ grades easily. This idea got a big ‘yes’ from the university president with a word that the departmental enrollment system will be implemented next enrollment period. Also, the deans and the students responded positively to Cadapan’s suggestion and promised for their support, seeing that the whole enrollment issue has disturbed and brought discomfort to many.

After years of witnessing the same problem during the enrollment, hopefully NORSU will have a good enrollment system this time. If the departmental enrollment system will push through, it is expected that the coming enrollment will have a smooth flow.

Hopefully, it will be realized and give Norsunians an easier enrollment. A better enrollment system will create a new positive name for the school. A better enrollment system will lessen the students’ burdens. Hopefully, the departmental enrollment is already the answer for the quest of a better enrollment system.