With classes starting yesterday, about 5,500 students are expected to change their schedule, while the UA Bookstore will rake in $1 million in sales per day for the next two weeks.

The Office of the Registrar, which manages schedule changes, is experiencing the usual number of students adding or dropping classes, said Beth Acree, senior associate registrar.

The Office of the Registrar has a satellite location in the Student Union Memorial Center to handle the number of students changing schedules.

The number of changes has also been reduced in recent semesters with a new program called WebReg Permissions. The system allows departments to set limits on registration by the student’s major, minor or identification number, Acree said.

“”The (system) has helped reduce the number of schedule changes,”” Acree said. “”What we see over here is students getting into a class that’s full.””

Eighteen departments currently use the online system.

Despite the growing popularity of online textbook sellers, lines greeted students at the UA Bookstore in the SUMC yesterday. Online retailers have not caused a decrease in sales, said Catherine Correia, the bookstore’s marketing specialist.

Correia estimated the bookstore will have a sales volume of up to $1 million per day for the first two weeks of the semester.

One way the bookstore is keeping up with online retailers is through a new online price comparison tool on students’ booklists on Student Link.

“”They can compare bookstore prices to online competitors such as Amazon.com,”” Correia said. “”Most of the time we beat out the competition.””

The Student Recreation Center also experiences a large volume of students in the first few weeks of each semester.

“”Typically, the way it works is, the first two weeks, it’s packed,”” said Donovan Pla, facilities supervisor for the Rec Center and a nutritional sciences senior.

Pla estimated that the number of students at the Rec Center doubles during the first two weeks, with the busiest times being between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.

However, the number of students using the Rec Center falls later in the semester, Pla said.