For many students, the process of course selection looks a little like this:
Open Path@Penn. Create a primary cart. View major requirements. Check College Foundations requirements. Open Penn Course Review. Check College Sector Requirements. Evaluate course attributes. Read The Daily Pennsylvanian’s double count website. Compare class times. Read syllabus. Find a recitation. View primary cart. Add class.
And then repeat this cycle about 17 times in a carousel of different combinations, and the classes you choose might still not be right.
What should be an exciting (maybe) and fairly easy process, often becomes so arduous that students end up taking classes that fail to interest them, duplicate requirements they’ve already met, or slow down their degree process entirely.
Of course, students have advisors to help, and supposedly we’re all perfectly capable of whacking through the weeds to find a perfect schedule each semester. But does it really have to be like this? Could there be a better way to build a schedule that gives students the freedom of fun while keeping them on a steady track to graduating? Definitely.
I remember thinking as I scheduled my fall semester courses, “I wish there was a way to streamline all of these sources of information. Could there be a way to see eight tabs at once? Is there a way I could put all of this information in my Chat GPT?” The answer is a resounding no.
While the presence of artificial intelligence looms around our world, with more people than ever denouncing its uses, it feels scary to admit that it might have beneficial assistive and organizational elements. No, I don’t think it should write our papers, create our art, or misinform my relatives via Facebook reels. However, helping students choose which classes to take seems like a relatively harmless and time effective practice.
Path@Penn course selection could feature a small chatbot, built to combine your academic information and answer questions like: How many more courses do I have to take to finish my degree? What class could fulfill my Sector requirement and add to my major progress? Do I have room to fit this minor in? Which class that fills X and Y requirements fits best into my schedule? Do any classes for Quantitative Data Analysis have required attendance or recitation?
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This AI assistant could respond with answers to FAQs, information about courses, or small advisory suggestions to ensure students can find their way to the perfect course for their schedule. It would be a nexus — a system that bridges syllabuses, degree requirements, course reviews, and scheduling in one tiny package.
But you may be wondering: What if this takes away the explorative and educational experience that is choosing classes? I hear you on that point. Perhaps we should be slowly flipping through a dusted course catalog and scribbling down codes on a notepad, adorned with a tweed blazer, elbow patches, and fountain pen in hand. Maybe that’s what Benjamin Franklin intended. But the opportunity to do it without technology will still always (mostly) be there if you don't want an AI assistant.
A tool such as this one is merely an assistant — not there to choose for you, but to help make the process more informed. And at the risk of seeming like an AI-crazed futurist, I think this would meet students where we already are. The process of Penn’s course selection might be one of the only media we haven’t completely optimized.
This wouldn’t take away the function of our advisors, either. When choosing my courses, I don’t ask my advisor every single question I have. They advise on the big decisions, concepts, and questions. As far as which individual course fits the best place is my schedule, it is likely beyond their pay grade and below productive uses of their time.
My perspective is largely influenced by the privilege of being a student in the College of Arts and Sciences with the flexible curriculum we have to choose from. For pre-med, Engineering, Nursing, or Wharton students, choosing courses is likely much more straightforward. But even they have to take electives; they might benefit from a platform to search. What courses could I take about pop culture? Is there a class about environmental justice? What classes are known to be easy and fun?
That’s the kind of exploration that choosing classes should provide. Students don’t have the time or way to see a full picture of courses and often take a shot in the dark, settling for any course they think could be helpful. Which, while it seems harmless, can be at the expense of their best interests. Choosing a course with elements that suit a student’s academic preferences, such as a paper rather than test final, can be the difference between class success or failure.
A chatbot could give students the gift of time, of exploration, or of play. Time to find a class that fits a student’s academic goals, preferences, and interests.
Penn’s curriculum markets itself as the very pinnacle of exploration, and it can be. Especially if we give students more time to discover what excites them and limit the time spent decoding degree requirements and syllabi.
PIPER SLINKA-PETKA is a College sophomore from West Virginia studying health and societies. Her email is pipersp@sas.upenn.edu.
