Registration gets mixed reviews

By Anna Clark

Daily Staff Reporter

The CRISP lady is officially dead.

The revamped Internet-based Wolverine Access has permanently replaced the aged telephone registration system that often frustrated students with its monotone requests to "please hold on."

But while the new system has alleviated some difficulties, students have had mixed opinions on online registration.

Nursing juniors Patty Milne and Missy Myer said they were skeptical about moving away from the familiar phones.

"I don't think they've done a very good job of explaining the process," Milne said. "I've used it, but I'm not very informed when I use it. I'm going to miss the CRISP lady."

Launched in June with the first session of freshman orientation, the registration system is now the most prominent feature of wolverineaccess.umich.edu, a site that also offers students access to personal records.

"The phone system worked fine, but it was archaic," said Linda Hancock Green, communications coordinator for Michigan Administration Information Services, formally known as M-Pathways, which is supervising the project.

The phone system worked off an old database that is no longer used, Green said.

"We had to make a decision whether to provide Web-based registration -- which we've been told for two years by students that it was something they wanted -- or remain stagnant," she said.

Besides affording easier access to students' class schedules, the new system is able to support at least 500 users at a time. The phone system was limited to 128 callers.

"It worked very well for me. It was fast and easy," Engineering freshman Vinita Brown said.

Incoming freshman were the first to fully use the system at summer orientation.

"For the most part, it was very successful and the students who used it liked it," said Ann Hower, director of the Office of New Student Programs, which runs orientation. "However, having said that, there were some difficulties."

The new system can be "very, very slow," Hower said. Once, system problems forced students to abandon online registration and register manually through the registrar's office.

But, Hower said, problems were expected for a new system of the magnitude of Wolverine Access.

"Nobody taught me how to use it, and I was a little confused about class numbers," LSA junior Rob dePicciotto, "but I thought it worked pretty good. Very simple."

But many, especially returning students, have become frustrated.

Myer said she thought there were not enough problems with CRISP to justify the switch to online registration.

"I wonder how much money they've spent on it," she said. "If it was some big multimillion dollar project, well, I think they could've spent the money better on other projects."

Green said she recognizes the concerns and her office is trying to help students adjust.

"There's an FAQ on the site with pretty good instructions on how to use the system," she said. "But some students feel they don't need that. They think they should be able to figure it out through osmosis."

Another instructional aid is the consulting hotline at 764-HELP, where trained staff can address questions and concerns about Wolverine Access in addition to other computer issues.

Green added that about 17,000 posters were distributed throughout campus and all students should have received postcards explaining how to use Wolverine Access.

"We've tried to put out the information so students can get the help they need," she said.

Green said students also can e-mail reasonable suggestions to mpathways@umich.edu.

"This first version of the system is not the last. It will get easier and better," Green said.