"We don't want to say that we want to have a pre-registration system and then have something bad forced down people's throats," Fagen says. "I approached SAC about this, wanting to make sure that we work out something that is acceptable to both of us before going forward."

But at a discussion at the council's Student Affairs Committee Tuesday night, the matter did not receive such a friendly reception, according to SAC chair Eric M. Nelson '99.

"We discussed it in a preliminary way...and the members expressed several concerns," says Nelson, who is a Crimson editor.

Specifically, council members say they are worried that what began as an informal system might someday lead to full-fledged pre-registration and an abolition of shopping period.

"Obviously, the largest concern was that this kind of step, although it is non-binding and voluntary, will eventually lead to binding pre-registration," says Nelson. "It might be a prelude to a larger change."

But Ziolkowski says these fears are unfounded.

"I think if people air it out and discuss it without fear that it will lead to a totalitarian no-choice system, something could be resolved," says Ziolkowski.

Nelson says he will relay the concerns of the council to Fagen and will broach the subject at the next Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE) meeting.

The freedom to change classes after the beginning of the term has been a part of the Harvard system for at least a hundred years, according to Secretary to the Faculty John B. Fox Jr. '59.

"Formalized programs for changing programs are mentioned very early in the century, and the present system of drop/add petitions was in place by 1917-18," Fox writes in an e-mail.

Pre-registration has often been discussed at Faculty Council meetings over the years, most recently in the spring of 1995, but has never received extensive enough support to become an issue at a full faculty meeting, Fox says.

Logistical Concerns

Fox says that there are a number of pragmatic reasons why the faculty has decided that pre-registration would be difficult to implement.

"Pre-registration means...students providing an intention of what choice to make before the courses get underway," Fox says. "[Students] would need access to a course catalog, a CUE guide, published syllabi and adequate advising."

According to officials in the Registrar's office, course catalogs are not available until the late summer, and to make them available by early May would require a major shift.