Undergraduates filed approximately 2000 petitions for late course changes this fall, almost double the total submitted last year, said Registrar Margaret E. Law.

The number of add drop petitions filed by Monday's deadline exceeded last year's total by about 170 percent, Law said, and the rise likely resulted from a shortened shopping period this semester. A one-week waiver of the $15 fee to change courses at the beginning of the term also contributed to students' indecision over courses, the registrar said.

The average number of changes on each petition also increased, Law said. Most forms included two class changes so the number of actual transactions was closer to 4000.

The University shortened the period to speed course sectioning and teaching said Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for Undergraduate Education David Pilbeam.

"I didn't really expect that flood in the first week," she said, "We had almost twice as much work in this office." The deluge of petitions caught Law's office unprepared forcing staff to work overtime and push back other projects, said law.

"We did have noticeably more add-drops and most of them came in the beginning," said Virginia Mackay-Smith, senior adviser and assistant dean of freshmen.

Mackay-Smith said she felt that the majority of changes were due to freshmen having to make decisions they weren't ready to make, rather than the free week of changes. "Besides," she added, "when you think about it, $15 isn't much of a deterrent compared to a semester of suffering."

The University did not collect $1650 in late fees used to process petitions in the first week after study cards were due, she said. The waiver was intended to compensate for halving the traditional two-week shopping period given students to select courses at the beginning of each term.

"We're in the process of doing a systematic survey of the system [of course administration] and how it works." said Pilbeam.

Pilbeam will review with faculty and students the impact of the shortened shopping period and whether it improved course management, he said. He will then present conclusions to the Faculty Council, which oversees curriculum issues. Pilbeam emphasized that the shortened shopping period is an experiment and will be modified if necessary.

The period will be eight days long next semester, Law said.