Most students who registered using the new on-line system instead of the in-person style system which used to take place at Alumni Hall have found the experience positive, despite encountering some technical problems with the new software.
"I thought it was fast, quick and painless," So-Jin Lee '01. "You don't have to trek over to the Hop."
On-line registration "makes everything easier - no lines, which is nice," Justin Bunker '99 said.
According to Phillip Hobbie, project manager of computer services, the on-line registration system is a success.
"We've received fairly positive responses that indicate the [registration] processes have been easier. In addition, it is exciting for students to be able to get their grades this way as well," Hobbie said.
The negative responses mostly had to do with the temporary shutdown of the system late Wednesday morning and afternoon.
"There was a general frustration that while we were having problems students couldn't connect, and we're sorry that that happened," Hobbie said.
"It was very difficult for us to test this software with end-to-end testing. The pieces that failed involved the authentication process," he added, referring to the step asking students to identify themselves on the Kerbos ticket.
Charles Gussow '01 was one of the students who encountered this problem.
"It took a couple of times to sign on," Gussow said. "But you don't have to wait in line. It was as pleasant as registration can be."
According to Hobbie, bugs in the authentication process are now fixed and are not expected to cause any more problems.
Other inconveniences that students met involved using older versions of Netscape that did not support the registration process.
"I actually had to [register] at Kiewit, because my Netscape certificate had expired," Sarah Tantillo '01 said. "I like the whole idea of [on-line registration], if I could do it from my room. But it just pissed me off that I couldn't do it."
One student sent an e-mail message expressing dismay at losing the opportunity to enjoy the social aspects of the arena type registration at Alumni Hall and some students felt there was room for improvement.
"Some of the menus are a little circular, it seemed you had to go through a lot of pages to do a simple thing. It's a pretty simple process," David Tatkow '01 said.
"We're hopeful that [on-line registration] is going to turn out to be something that students like. They'll have more time and not need to stand in lines," Registrar Thomas Bickel said.
According to Hobbie, on-line registration is the first step in an ongoing effort to further broaden the range of on-line services for College students.
"We consider it as the first building block to deliver more services to students and faculty. We are targeting course registration for first year students for Fall term and the rest of the students during winter and spring." Hobbie said, adding that another goal is to allow students to add and drop courses on the Internet site.
