Registration: "Online" or "On a Line?"

by Barbara Pizarro and James Valente

Many students still prefer registering face-to-face.

Ellen DeLuna, University Registrar, indicated that there was an increase of students using online registration.

This semester 63% of students used the CLASS system on the Adelphi University website to register. According to DeLuna, students are finding it easier to register with a computer because it mimics what they would have to do in person.

"More advisers are getting accustomed to the computer and that is having an impact on how students register," said DeLuna.

Online registration is a simple process where students choose their classes and then e-mails the selections to their advisers. Once their advisers approve their course selections, students can then register at their designated times. Student appointments are determined according to the number of credits they have earned. Seniors register first, systematically followed by juniors, sophomores, and freshmen.

Yet, not all students are comfortable using online registration. Meredith Sandler, a sophomore, registered using both methods. Friends told her that she could register online but because she is new to the school she didn't know what to do. "The night before I did whatever I had to do online then in the morning at my assigned time I went and registered," Sandler said.

According to DeLuna, the problems of online registration are due to the department stamps. Classes that are required for majors get top priority. The art department, for instance, gives precedence to majors. "We have to make sure majors get their classes first before we can offer the course to non-majors," DeLuna said.

For Osman Moncada, senior, the decision to register in person didn't have anything to do with department stamps or not knowing his way around the CLASS system. "Registering on a line is just has fast as doing it on the computer," Moncada said. He says he likes the personal touch that he gets by registering in line. "I also register online because I like to be sure that I get the classes I need," he said.

DeLuna also stated that the university is making changes to the CLASS system. "We are planning to add a degree audit system by this time next year," DeLuna said. This will help students program their schedule by telling them what they are required to take. The university is also hoping to implement a system that will allow students to order transcripts online.