By Cara Miller

Arizona Daily Wildcat

The {Arizona Daily Wildcat} is now an off-ramp on the information highway.

University of Arizona students are now able to tap into on-campus information such as on-campus phone numbers, bookstore information and the {Wildcat}. Class schedules will soon be available as well.

"We geared it towards students and what students wanted to see," said Brett Bendickson, a management information systems sophomore and a member of the UA Info Support Team, which designed the program.

"Frequently asked questions will be on line to free up staff," said Karen Warren, support team coordinator. "It will also increase the availability of information for students. They can access the system 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

A computerized class schedule will also be available soon and will go one step further than the print version, Bendickson said. The computer will include current enrollment in the classes.

"Students can look at it, see that (a class is) closed and look for another class," he said. "The whole process will be much, much faster."

The system will be particularly beneficial for students with special needs.

"The computerized version of the {Wildcat} will make it available for disabled and handicapped students who can't make it to campus," said Mark Woodhams, student publications director.

Sight-impaired students will also be served by the system.

"The {Wildcat} didn't exist as far as they were concerned, because it wasn't produced in braille, but there is computer software that can read it off the computer to them," Bendickson said.

Carol Fuenkes, academic support services program coordinator for the Center for Disability Related Resources, said she is looking forward to the system.

"Right now the schedule of classes is pretty inaccessible to the blind," she said.

"It's also important for all students to stay in touch with issues on campus, which is what the {Wildcat} does," she said.

Other students seem excited about the prospect as well.

"I think it is a wise idea, and we'll probably be seeing a lot more people in the computer labs," said Lily Louie, a math junior and computer lab assistant at Kaibab-Huachuca Hall.

Chris Rettig, a graphic design junior, said "I think the schedule of courses is definitely going to be more useful. Students will know whether they will have to show up on the first day of classes to drop or add." Read Next Article