Online registration for spring semester classes began for seniors this Monday for the first time, implementing the initial idea and prototype created in 1995. Both administrators and students hoped that the new system would create more freedom while decreasing the time spent in long lines.
"We tried to set up a new system so conversations would be more relaxed when students visited their advisors," said Assistant Dean of Academic Advising John Bader.
"It is important to have a relaxed atmosphere with the advisor because [the student] can then get under the surface and tell what is really happening in their schoolwork and lives" instead of just discussing the course schedule in the allotted time," said Bader.
Bader added that one of the main reasons that the advising week in November was "scrapped" was to also help create this type of atmosphere.
"If students want meaningful advising, they cannot procrastinate," Bader said. "When students postpone themselves, they also cheat themselves. We hope that students learn to schedule their advising meetings earlier."
According to Bader, the registration clearance form from Academic Advising is a temporary device for this term in order to give students more freedom when signing up for specific classes as well as giving more responsibility to underclassmen. When creating this form, the Academic Advising personnel were trying to prepare underclassmen for online registration since it enables certain liberties to be taken. For example, most classes did not require signatures and approval from advisors and professors like before, which generated a system that did not "baby-sit" the students, according to Bader.
"We kept this in mind for online registration [when constructing the form] because that is freedom substituted for the advising hold," Bader said.
Yet, some students expressed confusion for the new clearance form, which was used with only those attending the School of Arts and Sciences.
Two anonymous sources commented that they "didn't know about it or did not receive information in their mail."
"The majority of the students had their clearance forms, but the people who did not know about it were unhappy," Registrar staff member Debbie Quigley said.
The same students were further annoyed when after being turned away from registration, they had to go through the process again after acquiring the proper materials.
"When the students did not have the clearance forms, we sent them to the administrative offices to get [the forms] signed," registrar staff member Michele Smoot said.
Moreover, other students did not fully understand all the miscellaneous steps that were required for registration.
"I did not realize that we needed a time card to register," freshmen Mike Sheehan said.
Nevertheless, administrators say that they can understand the confusion due to the forms' unfamiliarity.
"I expected a lot of confusion, but students had three occasions for information whether it was through e-mail or brochures in the mail," Bader said.
"Since students traditionally wait for the registration packet before thinking about registration," a lot of information can go unnoticed and ignored.
Despite the complaints, most people agree that registration in general, whether online or in person, had gone smoothly and efficiently.
"I registered online without any problems," senior Bonnie Chen said. "I had trouble logging onto the system in the beginning, but Academic Advising was very helpful and thorough with my questions on registration."
Both Bader and the Registrar expressed happiness with the status of online registration system as well as the student response.
"The Registrar and the trained programmers did a terrific job in setting up the program because they were open to suggestions and incorporated them into the system," Bader said.
According to Registrar Hedy Schaedel, the online registration process caused very few to no problems.
However, some people, both administrators and students, thought the system had some problems and could use some improvement.
"Although online registration worked well, there were some problems with the holds where some students were not cleared due to an unknown reason," Associate Director Richard Sanders said.
Consequently, "some seniors could not register online. When the crowds go away, we'll try to identify the problem."
Sanders also added that the problem would automatically be fixed in the spring since students would have to meet with their faculty and academic advisors directly in order to release the holds.
"It's a good beginning, but not an ideal system yet," senior Erica Mak said.
"I hope to see everything to be electronic and online in the future such as teachers' approval signatures instead of having to deal with both paper and online registration."
In addition, Chen agreed and suggested other alternatives.
"I wish I could put my alternate classes online also since I don't know which classes I got into for sure," Chen said.
The administration anticipates online registration to be available to all students and classes next school year.
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