As students currently waiting to enroll in CS 189, we are asking the UC Berkeley EECS Department to expand enrollment so that more waitlisted and Concurrent Enrollment students can take the course this semester.

CS 189 is one of Berkeley’s foundational machine learning courses and is highly important for students interested in machine learning, artificial intelligence, computer vision, robotics, and related areas. For many students, taking CS 189 is an important part of their academic plans and preparation for research, graduate school, and future careers.

Being unable to enroll affects much more than our schedules. Students plan their coursework around prerequisites, research opportunities, graduation timelines, and advanced courses. Many students have already spent several weeks attending lectures, completing homework assignments, and keeping up with the course while waiting for an enrollment decision. Reaching the add deadline without being able to enroll puts these students in an extremely difficult position and may prevent them from taking a course that is central to their academic goals.

This semester, demand for CS 189 has greatly exceeded the available capacity. There are currently around 96 students on the regular waitlist, in addition to many Concurrent Enrollment students who are still waiting for enrollment decisions. We were also informed by the course instructor that only 12 Concurrent Enrollment students have been approved for CS 189 so far, despite the large number of Concurrent Enrollment applications.

We ask the EECS Department to work with the CS 189 course staff to accommodate more students by increasing enrollment capacity, adding discussion sections, and providing the teaching support necessary to maintain course quality. Any expansion should come with adequate staffing, including additional GSIs, course staff, grading support, and other instructional resources, so that both currently enrolled and newly admitted students receive the support they deserve.

We also ask that Concurrent Enrollment students be included in any enrollment expansion and given an opportunity to take CS 189 after the needs of regular Berkeley students and waitlisted students are addressed.

We recognize that classroom space, staffing, funding, and instructional resources create real constraints. We are not asking the existing course staff to simply absorb a much larger class without additional support. Rather, we ask the EECS Department and UC Berkeley to explore every reasonable option to provide the additional resources necessary to expand CS 189 capacity.

We also ask for clear and timely communication regarding possible expansion, enrollment decisions, and the timeline for resolving the waitlist and pending Concurrent Enrollment applications. This would help students make informed academic decisions before losing other course options or falling too far behind.

Berkeley is one of the world’s leading institutions in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Students who are eager and prepared to study this material should have a fair opportunity to build that foundation during their time here.

Please sign this petition to support expanding CS 189 enrollment and providing the resources necessary to accommodate more waitlisted and Concurrent Enrollment students this semester.