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16B - The Michigan Daily - Weekend Magazine - Thursday, April 15, 2004
New 'U' registration method a flop
The Michigan Daily - Weekend I-Il
And the
winner is.
By Katie Marie Gates
Daily Arts Writer
junior Julia Bochnowski said. "It
took me an hour and a half to regis-
ter. I am really just frustrated, and I
don't understand why they would
harm people's ability to register."
The Michigan Daily voted the
website, updated this semester
because of the University's contract
with the software company, People-
Soft, the worst of the University's
websites, a fact that was daunting
to Michigan Administration Infor-
At the end of the registration
period, the words Wolverine Access
have many students on campus
cringing. "I hate it so much," Music
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LAft A ilI
mation Services spokeswoman
Linda Hancock Green. However,
Green understands the students' dif-
ficulty adjusting to the new system
because she has seen similar situa-
tions in the past.
"When we rolled out Wolverine
Access in June of 2000, students
were not very happy with it then
either," she said. The same was true
when the University implemented
the phone-based CRISP system in
1975. "I'm really sorry the students
are unhappy with the change, but
I'm also fairly confident that they'll
get used to it."
Currently, MAIS is collecting
feedback about the system in an
attempt to make the website work
well, Green said. Academic advis-
ing is also communicating with
MAIS about its concerns for stu-
dents and staff.
Performance issues are the
biggest concern, said Philip Gor-
man, associate director of LSA Aca-
demic Advising Center. For
example, he mentioned that a stu-
dent was unable to sign on to back-
pack classes because of inconsistent
ability to connect to the website.
Additionally, "Some students don't
like the new interface as much,"
Gorman added. "But part of that is
getting used to a new look."
"The layout is pretty ugly," LSA
junior Melissa Solarz said. She has
had few problems with the system
itself but wishes it were more aes-
thetically pleasing.
about the old sys-
tem, said Green.
The new menu is
part of the Peo-
pleSoft format,
she explained.
Several stu-
dents have com-
plained about
difficulty search-
ing for classes.
LSA freshman
Jeff Hicks com-
mented, "It sucks.
You can't even
"I like the interface," LSA junior
Lenny Bronshteyn commented. "But
it isn't as easy to find the things
you're looking for," he said, in ref-
erence to the new main menu that
presents a list of links for viewing
various information.
This differs from the side naviga-
tion bar, a feature students liked
excitement about the changes, not
everyone on campus is unhappy with
the website. "I think it's just as easy
as the other one," remarked Engi-
neering freshman Eric Royston who
used the old system for one term.
"I don't know what the big con-
troversy is," LSA junior Greg Kreil-
ing said. "I don't think it's hard to
"I'm really sorry the
students are
unhappy with the
change but I'm also
fairly confident that
they'll get used to it"
- Linda Hancock Green
Spokeswoman, Michigan
Administration Information
Services
figure out."
Though she can
see significant
changes, LSA jun-
ior Velma
Hutchins believes
the upgrade is
"not really a prob-
lem (because) the
labeling is really
self-explanatory."
According to the
Registrar's Office,
nearly the same
number of people
find any of the classes. Now it says
there are too many results."
The PeopleSoft software only
allows 200 search results per query.
"We recognize that students are
unhappy with it, and we are analyz-
ing our ability to redesign that
search functionality," Green stated.
"What you see now is all sections
of all the courses," Gorman said.
"That isn't pedagogically very
sound, and it is not the way advisors
and students think about classes. It
is not a good interface for an aca-
demic community."
While few students expressed
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signed on and registered for classes
this term as in the past. However,
these data do not include failed
attempts, Gorman explained. "It
doesn't record how many times a
student tries to get on but can't get
on, or pushes a button and waits for
five minutes." He stresses the
importance of student feedback in
conveying the frustrations that sta-
tistics cannot express.
Unfortunately for aggravated stu-
dents like Hicks who wish the Uni-
versity could go back to the old
system, the new version of this web-
site is here to stay. "We had no
choice," Gorman said. "We had to
upgrade."
MAIS is interested in student
opinions about the website and is
constantly working on the database
of information behind Wolverine
Access. However, while the Univer-
sity is tweaking the system, "Funda-
mentally, (the new Wolverine
Access) is not going to change that
much," Green noted.
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As classes quickly near their end
and our seniors prepare to bid
farewell to their home of four long
years, The Michigan Daily took it
upon itself to honor the best and
worst of the Ann Arbor scene.
Eager staffers grabbed their surveys
with a never-before-seen gusto and
voted for their favorite remem-
brances of this small town. Con-
gratulations to the following
winners! The Michigan Daily staff
salutes you.
Best of Ann Arbor
Cuisine
Best Asian Restaurant: China
Gate
Best Birthday Treat: Stucchi's
Best Breakfast: Angelo's
Best Coffee: Espresso Royale
Best Dessert: Stucchi's
Best Hot Dog: Red Hot Lovers
Best Pizza: New York Pizza
Depot
Best Soup: Zingerman's
Best Veggie Options: Seva
Most Underrated Restaurant/
Food Restaurant: Frank's
Restaurant
On the Flip Side
Most Overrated Restaurant/
Food Venue: Pizza House, Jimmy
Worst Pizza: Hello Faz
Worst Service: Cosi, Cottage
Inn (Packard and Hill Streets)
Best of the 'U'
Best Ann Arbor Event: Foot-
ball Saturday
Best Michigan Sports Crowd:
Yost Ice Arena
Best Michigan Sports Player:
Chris Perry
Best Place to Use a Fake ID:
Scorekeepers
Best Student Group/Organi-
zation: Detroit Project
Most Romantic Place: The Arb
On the Flip Side
John's
Best Blog: Goodspeed Update
Best Line to Wait in for a O< SAMPLES TO
Bar/Club: Mitch's W
Best Slang/ Catchphrase of
the Year: "Yeeeaah," either the
Dave Chappelle or Howard Dean
version
Best Thing about Michigan D.E
Weather: The first spring party
night u :
On the Flip Side O
Least Inventive Date: Watching
an episode of "Sex and the City"
Worst Fashion Trend: Pants
with "Juicy" or Greek sorority let-
ters written across the butt J=
Worst Thing about Michigan
Weather: Snow after a 60 degree
day
Most Annoying
Event/Person: Michigan
Assembly candidates
Diag
Student
Most Obnoxious Greek Event:
Rush
Worst Campus
Frieze Building
Building:
I
p :
is.
U-M Computer Showcase
best compute,.
Mbor by students for the i 'e
Come see why!
We're located in the Michigan Union Ground Level.
Hours 10-5 M-F
Phone 734-647-2537
www.itd.umich.edu/sales
Best of the Rest
,"I.+
r
Worst Classroom: MLB base-
ment classrooms
Worst Place to Use a Fake ID:
Village Corner
Worst University Website:
Wolverine Access
-~-~ ~- ..
UC REDIT
UNION
U mcu.org
NCUA ,
For information, call:
734-662-8200 or 800-968-8628, ext. 4100.
Or visit www.umcu.org
Locations in Ann Arbor:
333 E. William
777 Eisenhower Plaza
North Campus Pierpont Commons
Michigan Union, lower level
. .. .a