Things have gotten pretty desperate when it comes to course registration at Columbia Basin Community College in Washington state. So desperate, in fact, that it appears that at least one student has taken to Craigslist to barter his or her way into a class.
Inside Higher Ed obtained a screenshot of the ad, which has since been taken down. The ad reads:
so I heard that some people are registering for classes that are in high demand to sell their spots in them, and biology 160 is one of those classes. my roommate and i need into that class summer quarter so if anyone is currently enrolled in any of the bio 160 classes for SUMMER QUARTER and is willing to sell their spot on it or knows of anyone that is please please please let me know ASAP.
Inside Higher Ed's attempt to contact the poster went unanswered. The college maintains that the ad is true, but said it is not aware of the poster's identity and does not know if students are indeed trying to sell spots in classes to others online. However, a Craigslist ad-scheme could be effective in finding a student a spot in an otherwise full class at the school:
Frank Murray, a spokesman for the college, explained that it did away with waiting lists a few years ago, because students were registering for too many courses, and getting on too many more waiting lists, and registration had become hard to manage. Now, once a course reaches capacity, no waiting list is used, but when someone drops out (through the college's Web site), someone who knew when that was going to take place could quickly grab the spot. This happens all the time, and Murray said that the college wasn't aware of the Craigslist ad until a local newspaper, The Tri-City Herald, wrote about it -- and that the scheme could well have worked by then. Shortly after the article ran, the ad disappeared.
See a full shot of the ad here.
What do you think? Have you heard of anyone doing this? Or is this just a desperate stab at publicity? Weigh in below.