Course Permission Numbers

Undergraduate Courses:

The upper-level undergraduate courses that I teach are capped at about 30 students.  It is important to retain the small class sizes because these are seminar classes that require a lot of student/teacher interactions.  If you want to enroll in one of my classes, but find that it is full, here are a couple of suggestions for obtaining a permission number:

1.)  Wait until the first week of classes and then try enrolling again.  Many students change their schedules several times before the beginning of the semester and when students drop my class they free up spaces for others.  Additionally, the School of Criminal Justice reserves a certain number of seats in each class for majors, but if they are not filled by majors by the beginning of the semester, then they are made available to non-majors.

2.)  Show up at the first class to see if there are any open seats.  Again, there are usually a few seats open on the first day of classes and I am happy to fill them.  However, I will not allow more students than the alloted number of spaces.  If there are more interested students than there are open spots, we will find a fair way to distribute permission numbers.  In other words, showing up for the first class will not guarantee you a spot in the class.

3.)  Don’t email me with the details of your particular situation and how you have to get into my class in a particular semester.  I am sympathetic to the difficulties of scheduling classes, but all students have different circumstances and I can’t be in a position to judge who is more deserving of a spot.  If you are truly having trouble getting into the classes that you need to graduate then you should speak with an academic adviser.

Graduate Courses:

For criminal justice students, Dr. JoAnne Malatesta  (jmalatesta@uamail.albany.edu) gives permission numbers for all SCJ graduate courses.  For students in other departments, you should first email me about your interest in the course.  If I approve you taking the course, then Dr. Malatesta will give you a permission number.  My graduate courses usually have open spaces so as long as the course is appropriate for you, it is likely you will be able to get in.