A classy system

Catching up with the pace of technology, the new online registration system for students, should it function as planned, will undoubtedly aid in eliminating one of the more frustrating but necessary aspects of college life.Students will no longer be forced to wait in lines for hours in order to get the classes they need to meet their requirements – students on and off campus will be able to quickly and easily drop and add classes from the comfort of their own dorm room or off-campus residence. The speed and worldwide accessibility of the system will greatly affect student life.For classes that require an instructor’s permission, the system will allow students to contact professors well ahead of time so that they can register with a PIN, eliminating some of the headache and paperwork associated with adding and dropping classes. This feature allows students to take a more active role in determining and managing their own schedules. The Registrar’s Office should be praised for coming up with a system that appears easy-to-use and addresses issues involving class year, closed classes and schedules. There are a number of nice touches to the system, as well, such as the automatically generated weekly schedule and comprehensive Web registration instructions that accompanied the regular registration booklets.If spring registration proves successful, the Registrar should consider other elements that may enhance their new system, such as allowing students to verify their address before the registration period. The option to audit classes through the system should be added, as well, to make Web registration as useful as possible.