T-Reg moves to Web with new program
By Emily Bechen
Santa Clara will soon implement a new e-campus program that will allow students to register for classes and access many of their personal records on the Web.
According to Carol Lamoreaux, the university registrar, students will be notified via their preferred e-mail account and also by traditional mail of their new user identification and password.
Lamoreaux claims that the information contained within the e-mail will instruct students how to initially register for the program, and the process should run fairly smoothly for most students.
E-campus is a Peoplesoft application that will eventually take the place of T-Reg. To access e-campus, students will use a link located on the Santa Clara homepage.
This winter, students will have the option of registering either by T-Reg or by the new on-line program, though students will still have a designated time to register on-line just as with T-Reg. Perhaps its greatest perk will be students' ability to retrieve personal records virtually 24 hours a day.
Its many other uses include adding and dropping classes, searching for class availability, accessing financial accounts, including students' financial aid award summary, and eventually technology that allows students to change their address, telephone, or e-mail information.
The program also allows students to print out their own unofficial transcripts or misplaced class schedules, which will cut down on visits to Student Records.
Lamoreaux feels that the program can only expedite basic services, and she hopes that students will now be more self-sufficient.
The graduate schools at Santa Clara are already using the program. First year graduate business student Jason Whetsone experimented with the program and concedes that e-campus is easy to use and fairly self-explanatory but also notes that he is a computer and Web expert.
Student Records is aware of the complaints registered by students regarding T-Reg, and it has always planned on phasing in this new Web program. With the old system it was easier for students to make the mistake of thinking they had added a class without actually doing so.
In the future, traditional mailings will be minimal, and Web e-mails will increase. For students who move each year and change addresses this is a more convenient form of communication with various administrative offices around campus.
Lamoreaux is confident that the program will provide a host of new opportunities. However, if students have any difficulties registering, she encourages them to call the Information Technology (IT) department. For problems navigating the program once registered, students should ask Student Records.
New Server Installed
Both students and faculty have expressed frustrations throughout the last couple of years concerning the unreliability of Santa Clara's server.
Although IT says they are anxious to alleviate the inconveniences created by T-Reg, the servers that power Santa Clara's e-mail network is often on the fritz and also causes inconveniences.
Senior Amy Magruder stopped using Groupwise and switched to a Hotmail account.
"I was tired of the server's instability and I was missing important e-mails concerning my job's work hours on campus," she said.
IT is working with the vendor of the new program to stabilize the server for future use, however, predictions of when this will be complete are not known.
"It's a chore for us as well. We would like to see things work and keep working," IT technician Willis Dair said.