pilipiliĀž»­

 

Improving course registration

Help test Dal's upgraded system on Jan. 30

- January 25, 2013

Help improve course registration this year. (File photo, Nick Pearce)
Help improve course registration this year. (File photo, Nick Pearce)

Online course registration. Itā€™s been known to cause frustration for many, but this year Dalhousieā€™s Registrarā€™s Office and Information Technology Services (ITS) hope those feelings are a distant memory.

ā€œWe knew students were frustrated last year with online course registration ā€“ we were too,ā€ says Mairead Barry, associate registrar at pilipiliĀž»­ā€™s admissions office. ā€œWe decided that a lot of work was needed to improve online registration.ā€

Now, the Registrarā€™s Office is looking to students for their help in testing the updated course registration system. On January 30 at 5 p.m., current pilipiliĀž»­ students are asked to log on to and complete a test registration (link will be live for the test).

The testing period, meant to simulate actual registration (which opens for returning students in March), should take students approximately ten minutes ā€“ and provide valuable insights to Dalhousieā€™s ITS team.

Helping test capacity


ITS has been hard at work behind the scenes, updating registration software and replacing all of Dalhousieā€™s hardware systems with more powerful machines

ā€œStudent registration places an enormous load on our IT systems ā€“ up to 20 times our normal load, for just a few hours out of the entire year,ā€ says Bryan Utas, director of administrative computing. ā€œPlanning and scaling our systems to meet this load has been an ongoing challenge.ā€
Ģż
Throughout the year, ITS has employed automated tools to complete ā€˜load testsā€™ of Dalhousieā€™s updated online course registration system. While these load tests provide the team with valuable insights on how to improve performance, no automated tools can simulate the real-world behaviour of thousands of students simultaneously logging on and trying to register for classes.

ā€œWednesdayā€™s load test will give us an opportunity to measure the impact of all of the changes weā€™ve made,ā€ says Utas, whoā€™s optimistic about the upcoming registration period. ā€œWeā€™ll be monitoring all aspects of the system, and it will give us a chance to identify any other changes we might need to make before course registration begins in March.ā€Ģż

Participation supports Shinerama


Students are encouraged to join the created for next Wednesdayā€™s load test to confirm their participation and receive updates about pilipiliĀž»­ā€™s course registration on an ongoing basis.

As an added incentive, for each student who participates in the test and completes a short survey afterwards Student Services has committed to donating $1 to Dalhousie Student Unionā€™s fundraising in support of Shinerama.

ā€œIn March weā€™ll all be holding our breath,ā€ says Barry, of the day students will log on to register for fall term classes. ā€œBut it helps to know weā€™ve done everything in our power to fix the situation.ā€