Yes, at schools that have a fucked up late-add process. Or professors who don't want to commit to adds, so hopes the problem fixes itself with the application of a little bit of time.
During my first run through university, I never was able to figure out the fucking financial aid system. I qualified for a state grant, but the grant date was after registration, and if you paid the fees yourself, the grant was not allowed to be reimbursed for cash for already paid fees. So I had to add all my classes when the semester started, which was always a nightmare, with the added complication that the add form for ALL the classes had to be turned in at once. So one semester, one professor dithered until something like week 5, which meant that when I turned in the complete add form, I THEN had to go to the dean of each department to petition for the OTHER super late adds to be accepted, even though those professors had signed on first week. The Dean of the Math department then had the gall to say to me, "
Why have you been attending all these classes illegally." And it was pretty clear he meant that as an actual crime and not just an administrative term. As shy and timid as I was back then, I was literally in shock at what I had just heard, and I just stared at him saying nothing until he finally looked down, signed the paper and said "don't let this happen again."
To this day over 25 years later, as much as working in retail and now media has eliminated just about all of my shyness and public speaking fears, sometimes the idea of walking into a strange office for administrative tasks or presenting paperwork makes me sick to my stomach with anxiety even when I intellectually know that nothing bad is going to happen.
