Improvements come to spring registration
Lee students witnessed a new approach to the registration process in January as it was moved to the Science and Math Complex and infused with new tools, such as card scanners and self-help kiosks.
Rob VanHook, Information Technology senior programmer analyst, worked for over two weeks on the new kiosk web application before implementing it into registration this spring.
After arriving to the SMC, students swiped their ID cards at one of the several kiosks in order to view their personal registration status.
The web application at the kiosk ran a report to see if the student had completed all steps required to confirm registration for the spring 2012 semester. It determined if the student had already registered for classes, if he or she had a balance left to be paid from last semester, if he or she had financial aid available and if a down payment for the semester had been paid.
If a step hadn’t already been completed by the student, a nearby printer printed out the student’s check list, and the student could then go through all the necessary steps to confirm registration.
“The change was made to prove a point,” VanHook explained.
His point being that all of these steps could be completed by students online. If students registered for classes and confirmed registration on Portico, they wouldn’t have to physically come to registration at the beginning of the semester at all.
The new system is also set up in a way that conserves a significant amount of paper. In previous semesters, every student registration data sheet was printed off whether or not every student came to registration. The new kiosk method allows only those who need to print their schedule out to do so.
VanHook plans to do a few more things to the kiosk application, including make it more user friendly and work out the bugs that come with most new programs. He also plans to revamp the registration process on Portico to make it look more like the kiosk application.
While VanHook was working on the web application, IT Operations was breaking a figurative sweat for two to three weeks in advance to prepare the SMC for spring registration.
“There is a lot of work that goes into registration set up,” Chris Golden, director of IT Operations, said.
The work involves setting up a committee to lay out a plan and meeting with departments to determine the various needs.
Afterward, IT Operations gets to work, running cords and installing new switches to support the technology. After the initial set up is approved by the departments, Operations makes everything look clean and polished.
When the two days of registration come to an end, IT Operations and physical plant tear it all down in record time, pulling out all the wires, re-imaging machines and placing them back in computer labs to be checked and tested.
“It’s a thing of wonder,” Golden said.
Luckily, the IT Operations team had carefully planned this process, so tear down went smoothly.