After months of build up, UAccess, the system replacing Student Link, has hit some snags, which the Mosaic project managers are trying to fix.
In an e-mail to the campus community, Hank Childers, the director of the Mosaic project implementing UAccess, noted that the system is “”experiencing significant performance issues at various times and for some individuals,”” and was a problem “”affecting UAccess Analytics, Employee and Student.””
Departments around campus are running into scheduling problems.
The UA School of Journalism resorted to manual registration for students to cope with inaccurate online class schedules.
“”We had every intention in using the new system,”” said Karen Weaver, adviser for the UA School of Journalism. “”But at the point where we needed to make a decision, it wasn’t ready.””
Other departments had different issues.
Heidi Hopkins, an administrative assistant for the Latin American Studies department noted that although on Monday the department’s online schedule was updated, training interfered with the ease of registration for students.
“”I think once everything is implemented it will be great but as of right now, it’s not really helpful,”” Hopkins said. “”For new employees that have transferred to different units, there is no workshop training for the course scheduling component. Between now and April 26, if you don’t have access, you can’t get access.””
Diana Rix, senior academic adviser for the Arizona Outreach College, submitted changes for online classes in February and saw a major delay with UAccess updates.
“”Data is getting entered as we speak and they are still making changes at the last minute,”” Rix said. “”I’m expecting it to work. I’m expecting there to be some glitches but I am just hoping for the best. “”
Rix considers the slowness as collateral damage in the implementation of the new system.
“”I don’t think what’s happening is anything other than what we all expected which is a period of adjustment,”” she said.
Students have also voiced concerns with the system.
A 182-member strong Facebook group named “”UA Students AGAINST the New Class Registration System – UAccess”” shows the discontent some students have toward the system.
Upon hearing of the concerns of some UA departments, Suellyn Hull and Tom Bourgeois, co-directors of the Mosaic project in charge of UAccess implementation, tried to address the concerns of struggling departments, echoing Rix’s assertions about system changeovers.
“”We are addressing concerns as they are identified, such as adding a “”browse catalog”” button to the Student Center to address student concerns about searching for specific information about a class,”” Hull said. “”These types of fixes are to be expected with any new system.””
Hull noted there were some faults with the system, but they would work to improve it.
“”We understand that the system isn’t everything we want for this registration period but we will continue to try to make improvements,”” she said.
Childers noted the performance improvement team is “”working long hours”” to resolve these issues to address the “”both frustrating and concerning”” problems. The staff hopes to resolve these issues quickly.
Each department is handling registration concerns differently as students begin priority registration today.
