R.S.V.P. creates summer registration woes

Dan Webster, a language, reading and culture graduate student, said he was unable to register for a presession class, LRC 525, because the system said he had another class at that time.

"It told me specifically, 'the hours of this class overlap,'" he said.

Webster said R.S.V.P. would not let him register for a presession class because he had a first summer session class scheduled at the same time.

The action code on the R.S.V.P. system is the same for presession and the first summer session. The computer system considers all classes scheduled for the two sessions to be in the same session.

Eventually, Webster had to complete a drop/add form and register for the class in person at the Registrar's Office.

"It did not make sense that I had to go through all this rigamarole to do it," Webster said.

With students unable to register for the class over the phone, Webster said those who are less persistent may simply not pursue getting into the class. As a result, the class could be canceled due to low enrollment.

Associate Registrar Judy Mobasseri said the root cause of the problem is the capability of the computer system.

The current system allows a maximum of four terms, and students who run into trouble can come get help in person, she said.

The computer system, created by a Pennsylvania company called SCT, was installed in 1988, Mobasseri said.

She said she could not explain why the University of Arizona purchased a system with a four-term limit when there are actually six terms in a year.

The purchase of a new registration system is part of a larger plan, Student Information System 2000. SIS 2000 is a campus-wide re-engineering effort, which intends to replace student and administrative computing systems.

There is not a time frame for when the new system will be installed, Mobasseri said.