Registration problems may be fixed

By: Michelle Anstett
Editor-in-chief

Starting Monday, Nov. 6, at 6 p.m., students can register for next semester’s classes from any computer with Internet access.

For students who were at Monmouth College during last spring’s registration debacle in which students were unable to register themselves and many accommodations had to be made, Sue Dagit, registrar, assures “things should be better.” Last year, Monmouth tested a new version of the Datatel system which “extracts and saves data in a different way than our old system,” Dagit said.

“We were a Beta site for the program,” and the weaknesses of the program were exposed, she added.

Currently, the registrar’s office is working with the information system center to make sure all current updates to the Datatel system have been installed. In addition, Dagit has made some changes to the registration process to lessen the load on the system. She has cut the number of students registering at any given time in half, extending the registration process until Thursday, Nov. 16.

Students who have earned at least one credit hour are set to register between Nov. 6 and Nov. 14, depending upon the amount of credit hours earned. First-year students with no earned credit hours can register Nov. 15 and 16, with the groups divided according to student identification number.

In preparation for registration, Dagit advises, “Don’t wait to figure out what your schedule should look like.” She suggests logging on to Web Advisor and becoming familiar with how the system works.

There is a special feature of Web Advisor called the Preferred List, where a student can build a list of the classes he or she wants to register for and then register, when the time comes, with one click of the mouse. If a student chooses not to use this feature, Dagit advises at least having a written list with preferred classes and sections to help ease the process.

Anyone who experiences problems during registration can e-mail Dagit, and she will do her best to help. Students should also include some indication of what error message they are receiving in order to help Dagit and her staff more fully.

The registration schedule can be found in the Registration section of the campus message boards.