Seat in the Campus Self-Study Areas Becomes

¶ … seat in the campus self-study areas becomes an uphill task. This is more so the case given that students have a tendency of leaving their belongings on the self-study area seats thus preventing others from making use of the said "occupied seats." In this text, I evaluate a proposed solution to this particular problem.

To avail seats to those who want to make use of the self-study areas, a record book will be availed. In this particular case, each and every student will be required to append his or her signature in the record book on taking a particular seat at the self-study area. Seats without signatures will be regarded vacant. Students leaving their seats will be required to "sign out" in the record book by signing against their names. Those who take more than 15 minutes to return will have their seats cleared so as to create space for others.

To begin with, the measures above will help create space in the self-study areas by discouraging students from "dumping" their belongings on the said areas' seats. It is important to note that for some students, their belongings including but not limited to backpacks, laptop bags, jackets, etc. are somewhat burdensome to carry around. This is more so the case for those who would want to idle around the campus with their friends or visit the cafeteria. In such a case, the self-study areas become convenient places to "dump" such belongings. Requiring students to append their signatures on the register on their entry to any of the self-study areas and requiring them to "sign out" on their exit will effectively discourage those who would want to dump their belongings in the said areas. It is not difficult to see why such a move would free-up many seats in the concerned areas.

Sometimes, a student could leave the self-study area with the intention of returning shortly. As a result of poor time management which Myers (2008) identifies as one of the issues acting as a barrier to student success, the said student could end up being away for a longer period of time than intended. All the while, the seat that had been occupied by the student remains empty -- others can't take it as the previous occupant could have left his or her belongings there. Based on the proposed solution, those who take more than 15 minutes to return would have their positions cleared and made available to other students. Such a move will effectively ensure that in addition to discouraging students from being away for long periods of time, seats of those who have been away for long are availed to incoming students.

Next, the proposed solution will lead to a more efficient utilization of the self-study areas by ensuring that only those who intend to study visit the self-study areas. It is possible that some of those who visit the self-study areas have nowhere else to go -- they basically view the self-study areas as the perfect places to idle. These are students likely to spend more time away from their seats than they would spend seated. Although students in this category may not necessarily vacate their seats for long, their constant movements in and outside the self-study area "ties up" their seats unnecessarily. The proposed move would complicate matters for this group. Those seeking to idle around would be discouraged from visiting the self-study area hence clearing up the said area for those who truly want to study.