>>11474534it makes sense to a degree and gives you a lot of freedom depending on your program but i agree it's a bit silly. someone with a fresh start in japanese at my current university basically just needs to take the next japanese language class each semester and make sure they're not going over on their free electives if they don't want to delay graduation but other than that can do pretty much whatever they want.
at my old university taking computer science was a bit more complex since there were different concentrations with different class requirements, a web of prerequisites, surprisingly difficult courses, and very little room for free electives so someone could certainly be forgiven for accidentally setting themselves back or unwittingly signing up for multiple demanding courses in the same semester so needing advisor approval does make a bit more sense.
ultimately i think most programs at most schools could just post a framework for the courses you should take each year and it would work for most students but they don't trust the 1% of exceptions to navigate themselves or recognize they need help so instead they just make everyone get consolation as a safety net
