Course registration is definitely going to be online, but not for a while, according to Becky McOmber, University registrar.
The idea of online scheduling has been lingering around administrators’ offices since the latter half of the nineties, McOmber said. Now, with better technology and other projects completed, the idea has become a greater priority.
“The timing is just right as of now,” she said.
A lack of software stood in the projects way until now, according to Phyllis Short, system analyst for Information Technology Services.
The University needed software to help find and update student information on the Internet before starting the project. Much of that software was recently purchased for unrelated projects, such as the My BGSU website.
Because the University already bought the necessary software, there will not be many costs other than labor, Short said.
Computer registration will be a much easier and quicker than scheduling courses over the phone through the Star 90system.
A computer-based system would allow students to see all of their classes and options at once, McOmber said. “With the Star system, you have to listen to several options and remember what you?ve heard,” she said. “It’ll be easier this way.”
Scheduling will be quicker because computer access is not limited by the number users to the extent it is with phones, Short said.
The current phone-based system can take 64 simultaneous calls before putting students on hold. Though 64 phone lines may seem like a lot, they fill quickly, Short said.
“When you’re looking at 16,000 students who want classes, 64 is not that many,” she said. “We don’t have those limitations with the Web.”
The University would continue using the Star 90 system to be fair to students without computer access, McOmber said.
“Students may not have access to a computer, but everyone has access to a telephone,” she said. Star 90 has actually been improved, McOmber said. This semester, students will be able to sign up for course waiting lists while registering by phone.
Though the project has no deadline, Short said she would like to see it finished by fall 2002. The project is too early, however, to know when it will be done, McOmber said.
“It’ll take a while because it’s pretty complex,” she said. “And we won’t know for sure till we get into the project.”
The projects impact will rival its complexity, McOmber said. “(The switch to) Star in itself was a big jump,” she said. “This will be the next big jump.”
