THE OLD saying goes that there are two certainties in life: death and taxes. For the average University student however, the saying should instead read "death, taxes and ISIS frustrations." For an inanimate object, ISIS incurs far too much anger and frustration among students than it should. Last November, after the infamous "ISIS meltdown," the administration promised reform and solutions to the problems that plague the system. Yet here we sit, another first week of classes, another week of battling ISIS. This time, however, students and student leaders should not let the parties involved with the ISIS system off the hook so easily. The University needs to dedicate the necessary time, effort and resources to fix and improve ISIS.
For the past few years, there has been a predictable cycle every time class or final registration takes place. Students try to register, ISIS cannot handle all the students, ISIS falters on varying degrees and levels, students become angry and everyone bangs the proverbial ISIS drum. Many might say, "Let's just throw some money at the situation" and hope that resolves the problems facing ISIS. Unfortunately, the situation is not as simple as some might believe.
A wide variety of groups all have a hand in the existence and functioning of ISIS and hence, any effort to improve the ISIS system or its processes. The Registrar's Office operates ISIS, while ITC administrates ISIS on the technical side. Student Council, "representing the specific interests of the Student Body," has a de facto role in helping to address problems with ISIS. Additionally, an organization called SESPOG (Student Enrollment Services Process Owners' Group), which improves student services and streamlines operations, would also be involved in changing the ISIS system. Finally, those with the most say in how ISIS does business are you, the students of the University.
One of the obvious problems with having so many parties involved is a lack of communication between said parties. It's easy to promise reform and wish all the problems with ISIS will solve themselves, but it's another to make a dedicated effort to find solutions to these problems. ITC, StudCo, the Registrar's Office, SESPOG and others all need to get on the same page to identify the specific problems involved with ISIS and to develop sensible and cost-effective remedies. While the University already boasts a comically large number of committees and groups, maybe the creation of an informal team of students and administrators to examine the best way to improve the ISIS is in order. It's better to at least facilitate discussion than to just assume the other camp is working to solve the problem.
During the first week of school, it's not a secret that most students wait until the last minute to complete their final registration. Some students are lazy, some are busy and some are just caught up in the general hubbub of the first week of school. Final registration should be a quick and easy process, not a long arduous one. Student Council technology aficionados note that a system that would allow for a more spread-out registration process is in the works. One idea might be to allow students with a social security number ending in an odd-number to final register on odd-numbered days and vice-versa with even numbers. This would immediately cut the number of students attempting to final register in half.
Despite the success that any short-term solutions to the ISIS problem might have, the core of the issue still looms large. The outdated hardware of the ISIS system is what is ultimately driving many of the system's problems. Currently, only 100 users out of the 15,000 undergraduates may be on ISIS at any one time -- that's less than 0.67 percent, and frankly is a joke. Additionally, the ISIS system is a mainframe, which means it shuts down every night for cleanup and updates. ISIS shuts down at 9:30 p.m. on weeknights, a time when many students are hopping on their computers for homework or to chat with friends (read: an ideal time to tend to registration and other ISIS needs).
The administration and parties involved are vague about the exact timeline for replacing ISIS with a brand-new student information system other than it will debut in the "near future." The Integrated Systems Project, a massive undertaking launched in 1999, successfully completed its first two phases, but the third phase, replacing the student information system is in limbo. The 2003-2004 budget notes "student systems on the market are not as fully developed as expected." The University should devote the time and spend the money to complete the Integrated Systems Project and replace the current student information system. Yes, it's going to be a large undertaking, but this isn't a run-of-the mill issue. The student information system logs class registration, grades, transcripts, degrees and more. Were it to go down in flames in a similar or worse fashion than last November, students would be electronically paralyzed. For a school that lauds itself in technology, this is simply unacceptable.
(Joe Schilling's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at jschilling@cavalierdaily.com.)
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