I’m sorry, you’re enrolled in how many classes?
For those of us returning to law school this fall, our year began with several challenges. For most people, one of those challenges involved class schedules. As a 1L, I didn’t think much about course selection, but I did attend Law Follies—a hilarious variety show put on by U of T Law students every year—and Cognomos was the butt of a hard-hitting joke on more than one occasion. So, I was aware that people were not the fondest of the system.
For people who don’t know, Cognomos is the web-based application the law school uses to enrol upper-year JD students in classes. It is said to be powered by Nobel Prize-winning Economics. The selection process is gruelling; students are expected to rank twice the number of credits needed per term, meanwhile cross-referencing class times for potential conflicts and ensuring graduation requirements are met. Classes are ranked by preference based on three categories: “Great,” “Good,” and “Acceptable.” The system is lottery-based, and although students have autonomy over the classes they rank, there is no guarantee they will actually be enrolled in any of those classes. One of the most stress-inducing parts of the whole process is the lack of transparency regarding how Cognomos actually works. The algorithm—known amongst my friends as “the all-powerful wizard in the sky”—is a mystery.
Right off the bat, there seemed to be a few problems with Cognomos this year. First, there was a delay in uploading the course data, meaning that the ability to preview classes was limited. Additionally, the course selection information session that occurred in late-June conveyed too much high-density information. Later, many students received error messages while ranking their courses, the course selection result date was pushed back, and students were confused about signing up for intensive courses, which were given a separate ranking system this year.
I spoke with some of my fellow students for their take on the course selection process. One source claims they were enrolled in a total of three credits for the Winter term—far short of the 13–16 credits required—despite ranking more than 30 credits. At the time of writing, the individual is reportedly still working on adding enough credits to their Winter schedule. They were also provided with an inadequate amount of credits for the Fall term, which left them playing catch up by the time they were enrolled in a sufficient number of credits as Fall classes had already started. On the other side of the spectrum, a second source told Ultra Vires that Cognomos gave them double the number of credits per term, an issue seemingly caused by their enrollment in a year-long course. Lastly, some students reported not receiving any waitlist spots.
Now, don’t get me wrong, the course selection process does have an upside. Because the choice of classes is not first-come, first-served, students who are travelling or living in a different time zone can relax and select courses at their leisure. However, this upside does not negate the sheer amount of time spent in frustration and the number of emails needing to be sent to administration.
