Students majoring in computing aren’t the only ones straining the department’s resources. Demand for the introductory data programming course offered to non-majors increased nearly 40 percent from 2016-17 to 2017-18, according to university records.

“We’re getting to the point where the university doesn’t have large enough lecture halls to meet the demand to offer these courses,” Arpaci-Dusseau said.

The university uses a priority enrollment system based on the number of academic credits students have earned. At the department level, additional restrictions on high-enrollment courses allow students majoring in computer sciences to enroll for a period of time before non-majors can register for classes.

For high-achieving computing students coming to UW-Madison with 20 to 30 credits earned through their high school’s Advanced Placement program, class registration poses few problems.

Students from rural or less affluent high schools where AP courses may be limited, however, are often disadvantaged by this system, which is problematic for an industry struggling with diversity.

Computer science major Saad Choudry, who came to the university having taken one AP course in high school, described course enrollment as a frustrating exercise filled with waiting lists.