Lines shorter, days numbered
Mary Petrides
Issue date: 1/22/09 Section: News
Altered footwork and decreased paperwork resulted in a faster arena registration process this semester. The event itself may disappear altogether, multiple administrators said.
"[The registration event] actually went better than I expected," Registrar Douglas McArthur said. "It went well. We were pleased."
For the first time, students could create schedules and pay tuition bills online, removing time-consuming stops from the registration event. Previously, students were required to make up to 12 stops throughout the arena.
This semester, students stopped at a maximum of seven tables. Stations having been eliminated, administrators could create two lines, doubling the already increased speed.
Diane Watkins, executive secretary for the dean of women, said she collected outstanding student fees and checked identification during the registration event.
In previous years, Watkins' role was to inform students what they owed - outstanding fees, library books, proof of insurance. This year, students were informed of their fees before registration, and Watkins said about 20 percent fewer students still owed something at the time of registration.
Business Office Director Kathy Caldwell said her office's main tasks were to check meal plans and student employment.
Most students had already paid their fees, cutting a third to a half of the time they spent with the business office, and students with fees were redirected in order to keep the lines moving, Caldwell said.
Additionally, the office had computers set up for online billing.
Watkins said online payment may have been the most important change.
"I think it made a difference for all departments," she said.
Nearly all schedule building and revising was done online. McArthur said about 11 percent of students built their schedules in the registrar's office, and these students were mostly seniors and new students.
"The registrar's office didn't really need that event," McArthur said.
"[The registration event] actually went better than I expected," Registrar Douglas McArthur said. "It went well. We were pleased."
For the first time, students could create schedules and pay tuition bills online, removing time-consuming stops from the registration event. Previously, students were required to make up to 12 stops throughout the arena.
This semester, students stopped at a maximum of seven tables. Stations having been eliminated, administrators could create two lines, doubling the already increased speed.
Diane Watkins, executive secretary for the dean of women, said she collected outstanding student fees and checked identification during the registration event.
In previous years, Watkins' role was to inform students what they owed - outstanding fees, library books, proof of insurance. This year, students were informed of their fees before registration, and Watkins said about 20 percent fewer students still owed something at the time of registration.
Business Office Director Kathy Caldwell said her office's main tasks were to check meal plans and student employment.
Most students had already paid their fees, cutting a third to a half of the time they spent with the business office, and students with fees were redirected in order to keep the lines moving, Caldwell said.
Additionally, the office had computers set up for online billing.
Watkins said online payment may have been the most important change.
"I think it made a difference for all departments," she said.
Nearly all schedule building and revising was done online. McArthur said about 11 percent of students built their schedules in the registrar's office, and these students were mostly seniors and new students.
"The registrar's office didn't really need that event," McArthur said.
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