A new way of scheduling will be implemented at Kent State starting in spring 2012. Students who will still be here will be using a timetabling system. This way of scheduling classes will (supposedly) help students graduate in four years instead of the now-prominent five-year plan. The weird thing is that classes will no longer be the sensible Monday, Wednesday and Friday or Tuesday and Thursday schedule. Instead, Kent State will offer classes that could take place Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays or Wednesdays and Fridays. The idea is to accommodate the ever-growing student population coming to campus each year, as well as assist the student with his or her educational roadmap to graduation.

Timetabling sounds ideal. The program will help double majors graduate on time. It’ll help cut-down on efficiency costs in campus buildings by scheduling classes at times where the buildings will be consistently filled with students instead of having blocked times where empty buildings waste electricity, heat and water.

The main drawback here is the confusion of scheduling. Some students have a hard time with the every-other-day schedule. With classes on days that have no consistent pattern, the likelihood of lateness increases. The likelihood of not going to class at all doubly increases.

According to Gail Rebeta, manager of registrar office systems, faculty will not have as much control in certain respects when developing class sections. For example, faculty will only pick criteria like how many days a week the class is and the length of class time.

Timetabling, if it works correctly, will help students graduate on time rather than waiting an extra semester for the one last class they need to fulfill the requirements for their major. By spreading out classes to include more Friday ones, more students will have the ability to get out of school faster and save tuition money. We just hope the new schedules don’t confuse students who are already used to the current way of scheduling. We hope the computer program going along with Timetabling doesn’t raise tuition costs. And above all, we hope it doesn’t deter students from going to class.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the Daily Kent Stater editorial board.