CALARTS SIGN-UPS PERSONAL GETTING INTO A CLASS MEANS CONVINCING THE TEACHER.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - While students these days click a few computer keys or telephone buttons to enroll in classes, hundreds of California Institute of the Arts students gathered Thursday to sign up for fall classes that begin next week.

Colleges and universities nationwide have computerized their class enrollment, but CalArts has chosen to keep things old-fashioned - a testament, school officials say, to its emphasis on individualized student attention.

``We do it very purposefully,'' said Walter Zooi, CalArts spokesman. ``Since CalArts is really based on mentoring between faculty and students, it's crucial that students meet with the teacher they will have and vice versa, so the relationship begins at that point - before they begin class.''

For Elizabeth Buchta, 20, who is beginning her first year at CalArts, it was a relief to talk to someone before enrolling in a class.

``At my old school we didn't even have to talk to an adviser. You signed up by yourself, and I missed signing up for a required class,'' said Buchta, who was in line for a digital production class. ``It's nice that we talk to people, see our teachers face-to-face and find out what the class is like.''

CalArts expects to register as many as 450 entering students this fall, bringing the total enrollment to more than 1,200 students.

Students come from 48 states and 39 nations, including Afghanistan, Algeria, Cuba, Indonesia, Laos, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Nearly two-thirds of the students are from out of state.

The registration process gives students a chance to ask teachers questions, while teachers explain their philosophies and expectations. The teacher must sign the student's enrollment form to grant entry into the class.

``Most of the students are confronted with a certain amount of choices above and beyond the required classes, and talking to the teachers, they get a better sense of the real nature of the classes that may not be clear in the catalog,'' said Steve Erickson, a writing teacher in the master's program.

The process benefits teachers, too, enabling them to get a sense of the students' personalities before the first day of class.

``They can gauge the personality of these kids - the individual personalities and the class's collective personality - to tailor the class to their specific needs,'' Zooi said.

Enrollment lasts two days, but students who wait until today may risk not getting into their favorite class.

Tracy McCormick, 23, a second-year graduate student said he was hoping the advanced painting seminar teacher would hold a spot for him in a class - average class size is 14 students - because he couldn't enroll until today.

Students and school officials both say that unlike with computerized enrollment, each student has the chance to persuade a teacher to let them into a class.

``Here, students are able to talk to teachers individually to make their appeal, and since we're not locked into this rigid system, it always has a way of working out,'' Zooi said.

While some students couldn't help but complain about spending three hours in line Thursday, CalArts doesn't plan on changing its system anytime soon.

``We're not going to phase it out,'' Zooi said. ``We're not behind the ball technologically. We could have instituted a computerized system a long time ago, but our faculty and students feel this is the way to go. It's unique and quite novel.''

James Isenberg, a 26-year-old music composition major, said the most exciting part of enrolling at CalArts is getting to meet professors who are renowned in their fields.

``It's a cool thing because we have widely known teachers here, and we get to meet and talk to them before class starts,'' said Isenberg, who was looking forward to meeting Morton Subotnick, an accomplished composer.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Students scramble to register for classes at California Institute of the Arts on Thursday; classes begin Monday.

(2 -- color) Steve Ahn, a third-year character animation student at California Institute of the Arts, waits in line to register for classes.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer