For many students, a new semester represents a fresh start. New classes bring about new hope for students looking to raise their grade point averages or those looking to maintain the strong grades they have accumulated in previous semesters. However, sometimes selecting those new classes can prove to be quite the hassle.

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Freshman occupational therapy major Krystal Brighton has experienced this hassle firsthand.

“It’s very stressful because every time you try to register, (the classes) fill up right away,” Brighton said. “It’s very difficult to find something that is not already filled.”

Brighton went on to explain that her main issue with the registration and academic planning program, Self Service, is the volume of students that crowd the webpage at the same time, causing it to crash.

“You can’t have everyone logging on at the same time. There needs to be a Richard Mille Replica different way to do that,” Brighton said.

As far as a solution to that problem goes? Brighton doesn’t have a definitive answer but feels it needs to be fixed as soon as possible.

“I honestly don’t know what the solution would be to that, but there has to be a way to get the classes you want without them filling up,” Brighton said.

Freshman health science studies major Nicholas Noto also admitted that while he cannot think of a direct solution to the problem, there is room for improvement regarding the loading times on Self Service.

“I don’t know how you can increase how fast (the website) goes,” Noto said. “When it comes time to register, it crashes a ton, and it’s really annoying because you want to know if you’re in (the classes you selected) or not. They have to try harder (to fix) the issue.”

University Registrar Joshua Berry is pleased with the Self Service website, explaining that it is a welcomed improvement over the previous WebAdvisor registration process.

“Since implementing (Self Service) in spring 2016, we have had strong student and faculty support of the change from the previous WebAdvisor process to the student planning module housed within Self Service,” Berry said.

Despite complaints of the website crashing, students feel that the website is student-friendly.

Sophomore biology major, Joy Okang said she likes Self Service more than WebAdvisor.

“I think it’s easier to see where your classes are because it has the calendar,” Okang said.

Berry explained that the Registrar’s office has not experienced many complaints of late regarding the registration process.

“I have only received one inquiry at this time, and it was related to the timing of when registration returns,” Berry said.

As far as the nature of the complaints overall, Berry described them as Panerai Replica Watches criticisms that can be expected from students registering for classes at any university.

“Generally, the concerns are the same – system technology constraints, availability of courses at popular times and students wishing to over-enroll into closed courses,” Berry said. “These are very typical inquiries across higher education.”

Freshman psychology major Luz Avila has pinpointed a specific feature of Self Service that needs to be fixed.

“The waitlist button doesn’t work,” Avila said. “I’d appreciate (if they would fix it) because it would make everything easier.”

To combat this issue, Avila sought assistance from her advisor.

“For the most part, I just emailed my advisor and asked ‘What should I do?,” and (my advisor) just said to look up more classes or just wait it out because somebody else might drop (the class),” Avila said.

Assistant professor of journalism Ben Bogardus who is also an advisor, has received emails from students stressing over registration in the past.

“I tend to get two or three panicked emails each semester, mainly from freshmen or sophomores who pick last and get closed out of classes they’d like to take,” Bogardus said.

Much like Avila, Okang was able to work her way around any registration troubles she has faced.

“I just emailed the dean or the head of (the department), and they put me in (the class I wanted),” Okang said.

However, while Brighton searched for other classes after not being able to get into certain ones she wanted, she ultimately had to take what was available to her.

“I would just keep on going through and looking at different classes,” Brighton said. “However, I had to get a professor that I didn’t want.”

While the process proved to be frustrating, Brighton was able to become more acclimated to using the site.

“I think (Self Service) is easy to use, but it is kind of confusing with how it’s set up,” Brighton said. “It definitely just takes a little practice once you sit down and start to play around with it, but it is nice to see all of your classes right there (on the webpage).”

Bogardus feels that students should not panic if they do not get into a class they want to take now, specifically if they are currently freshmen or sophomores.

“Freshmen and sophomores often get frustrated when an elective, UC or sports studies class they want to take is closed by the time they register,” Bogardus said. “But I remind them they have five or six more semesters to take that class and getting their preferred section gets easier as they become upperclassmen. It’s all about patience and planning ahead.”