The University of Wisconsin brought back the HTML web timetable Thursday in response to an outcry by students who felt it was superior to a new system for searching for classes.
UW stopped offering the web timetable as an option for searching for classes this semester, forcing students to use the Integrated Student Information System Student Center, according to UW Registrar Joanne Berg.
She said UW decided to provide only the ISIS program as a step toward moving the operations to a yet unfinished program that will integrate course guide information into the process.
The cost of providing two separate timetables also played a factor in the decision to get rid of one of them, Berg added.
However, some students said the web timetable was superior to the ISIS version, and a Facebook group sprang up that grew to 800 members in less than two weeks.
UW spokesperson John Lucas said he even joined the Facebook group to see what students were saying about the ISIS system and released a statement from Berg Thursday, which said, “Timetable on the Web is temporarily back!”
Lucas said the web timetable will be offered at least through the semester and was brought back because of popular demand.
“I think she was aware of the group, and they want to be as student friendly as possible,” Lucas said. “She realized the class search has limitations.”
Karl Locher, a UW junior who started the Facebook group, said it was inconvenient UW took away the web timetable because the ISIS version was slower and less accessible.
He said he was surprised UW responded already to student criticism.
“We didn’t get a petition together or anything like that — they responded so quickly,” Locher said.
Locher added he hopes UW will keep the web timetable until the new course guide system is working properly.
“I would hope that they continue the web timetable until they’ve not only implemented the course guide system but have had it in place for at least a semester,” Locher said.
In addition to being slower than the web timetable, the ISIS program also was incompatible with the popular Schedulizer service used by UW students. Schedulizer is a service that allows students to input classes they are considering and then shows possible schedule combinations.
Schedulizer CEO Jay Searson said the service had been having trouble providing service to UW students because the Student Center is too complicated to work with Schedulizer’s automated scripts.
He added the company had to put its two best programmers on the problem, but they have worked out the kinks, and there should be no more problems with UW courses as of this morning.
