As University of Wisconsin students continue registering for spring 2005 classes, many UW students and officials have found the process to be convenient and successful.

“I’ve heard a lot of positive responses from students about web enrollment,” Karen Hanson, Assistant Registrar, said.

Nancy Westphal-Johnson, the Letters and Science Department’s Associate Dean, said web enrollment is a great system for students because it is more convenient in comparison to past systems used by the UW. The technology of web enrollment allows students the ease of viewing if classes are open or not before trying to register.

The electronic timetable is refreshed every 15 minutes, which helps students see what classes are available,” Westphal-Johnson said.

Many UW students, though sometimes frustrated by the lack of available classes, agree web enrollment is a great alternative to past systems.

“We are very fortunate we can enroll for classes via the Internet,” UW sophomore Brett Watson said. “The convenience factor is amazing.”

The spring 2005 registration process requires students to enroll for classes through their My UW portal at a designated time. Students’ registration times, which are e-mailed to students early November, are assigned based on the number of credits a student has earned. Anytime after their designated registration time, a student can add and drop classes as needed, according to Westphal-Johnson

However, Westphal-Johnson said the web enrollment system does have certain disadvantages. The new technology makes it much more difficult for University officials to be aware of the demand for certain classes.

As little as two years ago, UW students had to call in and request classes through a touch-tone phone. The process of dialing in when attempting to register provided University officials with statistics of which unavailable classes students still hoped to add to their schedule.

But with web enrollment, a student who sees that a class is closed may not try to sign up for the class, leaving officials in the dark about demand for the course.

Westphal-Johnson said the university is resolving this problem by seeking out other indirect measures of student demand for a class.

“Advisors will notify us if they think a particular class is going to be in high demand due to the cancellation of a similar class or for other reasons,” Westphal-Johnson said.

Westphal-Johnson also said advisors play an important role in helping out upperclassman worried about fulfilling requirements before graduation because of closed classes.

“Advisors will try to work with the student to find alternatives because often other substitutions are available,” Westphal-Johnson said.

Hanson said the registration process is a “work in progress” and individual departments are continuing to develop possible solutions to class unavailability for graduating seniors.

“Officials are aware of the problem and are trying their best,” Hanson said.

Westphal-Johnson said department heads are working to solve problems faced by students trying to enroll in classes that fill up quickly.

“We definitely talk with departments on an ongoing basis to determine if classes will need to be added,” Westphal-Johnson said. “We try to stay … on top of it.”