By
Daniel Scarpinato
Arizona Daily Wildcat
12,000 leftover booklets last semester cause UA to re-evaluate registration system
Starting this fall, UA students will have to register for courses without the use of a printed version of the classes schedule.
Gary Wagner, director of curriculum and registration, said the entire restructuring of the student information system (SIS) has been a "major project with many stages."
"This has been under development for sometime," Wagner said, explaining that several factors prompted the decision to move toward a more online-focused system rather than that of past semesters.
Wagner said that because the publisher of the schedule went out of business recently, the price to print the booklet with another publisher would have increased drastically. He also pointed out that there has been an increase in the number of students using the online schedule of classes, and more than 12,000 copies of the printed version were left unused last semester.
The new system, called COSMOS, is being developed by Sallie Mae Solutions, a Boston programming company that has developed similar Web-based systems for schools such as Harvard Business and Caltech. Wagner said that since the University of Arizona is the first large public research institution to implement a system like this, the university will play a major role in setting the standard for systems used by other schools.
With the new system, students will now only have access to the schedule of classes over the Internet. While they can still register over the phone, COSMOS also allows students to do so directly over the Web.
"We're anticipating that the phone system will continue," Wagner said. "We plan to maintain the system for at least several more years."
The print version will be made available only to academic advisers and department heads. Students without access to the Internet can see the printed version by visiting their advisers, but they cannot take one home.
"The advisers are going to be holding on to these booklets pretty closely," Wagner said.
Heather Molloy, a communications junior, said she would rather stick to the old way of registering for her classes.
"There is something about having that tangible, printed version in your hands," she said.
Molloy said that getting rid of the printed schedule will be an inconvenience for her and many other students.
"My registration time is while I'm at work. I don't have computer access from there," she said. "I know people who register from championship football games. How can you do that without the schedule in your hand?"
Wagner admitted that the new system will be an adjustment for some, but added that a version of the schedule will be offered on the Internet and will allow students to print out the classes they are interested in.
"We understand that people develop habits and get used to something," he said. "It's comparable to when we first put the schedule on the Web. We believe that people will get used to it like they did then."
