Most students discovered earlier this week that the usually faulty OASIS was operating at an all-new low — not at all. This was further complicated by a series of enrollment issues after OASIS came back online. This is simply unacceptable. All students should have access to the registration system and have the ability to simply add and drop courses.
Lori Shipley, director of enrollment management information systems, said there are both short-term and long-term solutions with the long-term answer obviously being the full replacement of the old system. Unfortunately, this overhaul is scheduled for use in the fall of 2010 — in other words, of little practical use anytime soon. This means, as students, we will have to deal with OASIS for the mean time.
Since this is in fact the case, Shipley and her staff should focus on meeting student’s more immediate needs. This means providing a stronger system that allows for more people to simultaneously access the site, removing opacity of the waitlist system and helping seniors and others meet their course needs (both major- and AXLE-wise).
Speaking of upperclassmen, several have discovered they are unable to get into classes that satisfy their major and minor requirements despite their hypothetical seniority. While all students should be given a chance to attend the classes they prefer, a student approaching graduation has more pressing registration needs. There is no reason someone in their last semester should be unable to schedule the classes they need to complete their academic requirements. This, however, does not mean first-year students should automatically be bumped from their classes. There should be a happy medium if at all possible.
In the end, there is unfortunately little we as students can do. As Shipley advocates, students should just wait. Access issues from too many simultaneous attempts to log in will diminish as we get further in the semester. As for waitlist problems, there is little to be done but to join the list and hope to get in the class. OASIS is neither the simplest nor most efficient, but it’s the best there is for right now.
