Sacramento State students will have to contend with another round of unit caps for the spring semester.

Students who have not registered to graduate in the spring semester will be limited to 13 units during early registration, according to the Office of the University Registrar website.

Associate vice president for Student Affairs Edward Mills said he had four goals when implementing the unit cap.

Mills said he wanted to help students get their bachelor’s degree, provide the maximum number of units for full-time students, limit the number of people on class waitlists and ensure each full-time student has 12 units.

Mills said he compares registering for classes to waiting in a buffet line.

“I am egalitarian during early registration,” Mills said. “For instance, if I had 100 people lined up for a buffet. If I let the first 50 take all the food…then the other 50 would be left with (nothing). I am trying to have all 100 people to get at least one serving.”

Interim associate dean of the College of Arts and Letters Kimo Ah Yun said the 13-unit cap is a test to see whether there is enough interest to create more sections for courses.

“From the 13-unit early registration cap, we get to see the demand for courses and get a sense if that class should be taught,” Ah Yun said. “If there are a few students enrolled, we can substitute another class for that class and students will still get the same experience and work as the other class.”

Pre-nursing junior Jennifer Manibot said the unit caps would place her at a disadvantage when registering for classes.

“This semester was a bummer for me because I didn’t even get into my core hard classes and I’m one of those people who would take a really hard class with a bunch of easy classes,” Manibot said. “Now, I can’t do that at all. I am trying to get out of here as soon as I can.”

Mills said students should plan carefully for registration to avoid the pains of dealing with the unit caps.

“Although there are some classes that can be more challenging to get into, the vast majority of students have been able to get into the courses they need,” Mills said. “Pre-planning, advising and being persistent are the most important things students can do to help themselves.”

Kirandeep Kaur can be reached at [email protected]