By Erin Kelly
Correction: A previous version of this article contained incorrect information about the start date for the new system and listed an incorrect spelling for Charles Price, senior associate registrar.
Students have customarily complained about accessing the course registration site during their scheduled times, and this year has been no different.
“First of all, it wouldn’t even let me in for a while, I guess because too many people tried to access it at the same time,” said Heather Belanger, a freshman journalism major. “Then, when I finally got in, I would type in my key code for a class and click ‘Add,’ and in addition to taking forever, it would log me out, which was really annoying.”
Kylie Clark, an undecided freshman major, said she had similar problems accessing the site. By the time she got on, two classes essential to her schedule had already filled up, she said.
“Now I have to go meet with my advisor and figure out what I’m going to do,” Clark said. “The system is horrible … Every time I try to schedule classes, it sucks.”
The current online registration process for scheduling classes has been in place for about five years and was designed to make the registration process easier and more convenient for students than the previous process, said Charles Price, a senior associate at the Registrar’s Office.
Price said the online registration system for undergraduate students works on a pass system, which allows one class, like incoming seniors, to register on a pre-assigned day. During that day, registration times are determined randomly based on student ID numbers.
“There are five windows that open up during a day for each of the classes. Once you’re in [the system] for good, you can go make changes to your schedule,” Price said.
Price said the Registrar’s Office received complaints from students about the process, especially during last week’s fall registration, but said a new system is on its way.
“Most of that [complaints] is due to a very old system that we’re in the process of replacing,” Price said, adding that a new system is in the works for Fall 2009.
Price said the current online registration process is a more practical way of registering for classes than filling out papers and meeting with advisors.
The website updates automatically so that when a student registers for a class, other students can immediately see the number of available seats in the class.
“Once you’re in and able to view your registration, the changes do happen right there so you’re able to see what’s going on and what’s available,” Price said. “This gives it a more real-time approach.”
Price said the pass system allows students to enter the site in groups.
“If everyone tries to hit the site at once, the system would definitely fall to its knees,” he said.
However, Mitch Allen, a junior economics major, said he thinks the problem with online registration is the system can’t handle the amount of students who try to access the site at once.
“The main problem that I have had is being locked out of the system or it taking forever to do one thing inside the system,” Allen said.
Still, Price said the current system is better than in past years.
“[The system] is much more convenient for students overall unless they don’t get in for some reason, then it can be very frustrating,” he said. “It can be done from anywhere, and it gives you the real-time results of doing the registration and getting classes.”
