Ecampus alternative gets mixed reviews

By Tyler Green

For sophomore Mike Baranick, registration just got easier. Rather than deal with busy signals and dead-end menu options through T-Reg, Baranick chose to select his classes for spring quarter online through Ecampus, Santa Clara's new administrative Web site.

The new system was launched on the first of August and is available to all students through the Santa Clara Web site. It offers a variety of services such as online registration, academic summaries and financial services.

Online class registration is offered as an alternative to the T-Reg automated telephone system, allowing students to register with their preference. Enrollment services also included registration appointment times, and current and past class schedules.

"The system makes the registration process much more visual, rather than punching in class numbers into the telephone. I can actually see how my schedule is forming," Baranick said.

A complete academic summary folder is also accessible, including an unofficial transcript, past grade history, advisor contact information and exam schedules.

Access to the site also affects the way students interact with both faculty and staff. Previously, students wouldneed to call or visit the appropriate administrative center during office hours to obtain current information. For example, unofficial transcripts were available at Student Records for a fee of $4, but are now accessible at the click of the mouse.

This results in a savings in mailing costs, as students access up-to-date information online instead of waiting for the information by mail.

Financial services on Ecampus allow users to view current account balances, make payments, and give a complete financial aid summary that includes viewing current financial awards and applying for aid.

"If there is a last minute crisis with getting a payment taken care of, I don't need to worry about the office hours. I have 24/7 access to my information anytime, anywhere, and from any browser," Baranick said.

Considering all the apparent benefits of the system, many students feel the university is lagging in the availability of online registration, and are unsatisfied with the delay. Other university campuses have been using online records and registration for a number of years before Santa Clara even considered introducing the project.

"Santa Clara is in the heart of the Silicon Valley and should be on the forefront of this type of technology. Even community colleges had online student resources before we did. I expect more out of an elite university like Santa Clara," sophomore Colin Harrigan said.

University staff members admit it has taken the University longer to introduce these interactive online technologies than originally planned.

"Santa Clara had a Y2K problem and all resources were spent implementing a new system. The Ecampus development came after that two-year project had finally been completed," Carol Lamoreaux, University Registrar, said. "We also had some technical problems with infrastructure and firewalls which held us back."

Ecampus was implemented using PeopleSoft software, which, according to Dean of Enrollment Services Richard Toomey, was much of the cause for the delay.

"We firs needed to complete and stabilize the University's implementation of the PeopleSoft suite of Student Administrative System software. This proved to be much more of a challenge than originally believed, and required all of the time and resources functional and technical staff could provide," Toomey said.

Other universities using similar systems have recently utilized PeopleSoft software and experienced similar delays.

Assistant Registrar of Stanford University, Susan Maher, says their new Axess system is very similar to Ecampus, and it too has encountered problems.

"Certainly like any new system, we've had bugs and our share of issues too. Of course, some people are quite concerned. But for the bulk of the students and faculty it seems to be serving them rather well," Maher said.

Whether or not Santa Clara is late to introduce the system, new technology has the potential to change the way colleges and universities everywhere interact with and serve their students. However, the resistance to change may lead many students to reject the new tools and stay with the familiarity of the old systems.

Sophomore Glen Williams expressed mixed feelings about the new system while registering for the spring quarter on Tuesday, Feb. 19.

"As far as registration, I didn't really like it. It was slow and not very helpful. It seemed like I would have had an easier time just calling up T-Reg and punching in numbers, or at least it would have been quicker. However, it allows the option to check your transcript as well as easy access to look at classes. That's obviously not available on the phone."

During registration over the last two weeks, 64 percent of seniors used T-Reg, according to Assistant Data Manager Ahmad Ahmadi.

As the registration period continued, this number dropped to 56 percent. Ahmadi sees this as a hopeful sign that as the lower classes become more comfortable with the online system, T-Reg can be phased out over the next couple of years.