In response to the article and editorial in Monday’s edition of The News, I apologize for the recent myNEU portal service problems (“Registration still frustrates,” “Communication breakdown,” April 7). The roots of the three problems noted (registration, e-mail and ticket sales) are three different “back-end” systems upon which myNEU is dependent to process these functions.
In the case of registration, the university has a project underway to replace the core “student” systems with modern technology in the first half of 2008-09 academic year. These systems will support improved integration and functionality with myNEU as well as the level of activity we had trouble processing last week. Last week’s registration for Fall 2008 represents our heaviest demand of the year and our project schedule calls for supporting Fall 2009 registration next spring on the new technology.
In the case of student e-mail, we have reviewed replacement options semiannually for the past couple of years, including a myNEU version of Gmail. Recently, technology options have matured to the point of being feasible for Northeastern in terms of mailbox migration, myNEU integration and reliable service levels and commitments. Within the past month, we have chartered a project to create a pilot during the summer and into the fall that, if successful, would lead to conversion and deployment during the coming academic year.
In the case of the ticket sales issues, the root of the problem is the ticketing and charging service behind myNEU. We are investigating options to resolve this problem.
It should be noted that, unlike last fall when we could only support 1,200 concurrent myNEU users, today we support peak demands of more than 3,500 without issue.
We recognize the importance of myNEU to all members of the Northeastern community, particularly students, and apologize for the unacceptable service problems. The replacement of systems supporting tens of thousands of community members must be managed carefully and takes longer than anyone wants. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to deliver the level of service our community expects.
If you have additional questions or suggestions I would welcome them at [email protected].
– Bob Weir is vice president for information services.
