By Rachel Lea
Correspondent
Students will have a choice as to how they register for their fall 2024 classes this semester. They can either continue to use PAWS or try College Scheduler, the registration system that will soon replace PAWS in this role entirely.
The College started using the Personal and Academic Web Services System, or PAWS, in 2009, and the system’s age has become noticeable to students.
“The system feels so outdated compared to other programs we use, such as Canvas,” said Megan Heintz, a senior biology major. “It took me a while to learn where to find certain things, such as where to register for classes or see my unofficial transcripts.”
The College originally planned to give PAWS a fresh coat of paint after graduation this semester. Yet, when Student Government asked the administration to update the class registration software through a resolution passed in October 2022, the College sped up their plans by purchasing College Scheduler.
“We were not necessarily looking for an external product to help with student registration,” said Heba Jahama, the director of Records and Registration. “Without the SG resolution, I do not know if we would have ever purchased College Scheduler…I do think that was prompted by the concerns the students brought to us.”
Dylan Nguyen, executive president of SG and senior communications major, drafted the resolution during his sophomore year after hearing complaints from the student body and has worked hard to make his resolution a reality.
“I felt amazing when I heard that [the College] truly listened to student concerns and took action to improve the student experience,” said Nguyen. “It was not an easy journey by any means, but I am very happy that it is coming to fruition!”
College Scheduler itself has undergone beta testing from peer mentors from the Center of Student Success and cabinet members from SG, including Nguyen and Jared Williams, executive vice president of SG and junior political science major. Beta testing has occurred for about a month, but no one has found any major problems with the system.
“I would not say that there are any cons,” said Williams. “The system works fast; it is efficient and effective…I really do think that students are going to like it.”
Once the system is active, students will be able to access it by signing into PAWS and clicking the button labeled “College Scheduler.” This will direct them to the system’s landing page, where they will immediately see how modern it looks compared to PAWS.
“Typically with PAWS all the information is condensed to the left side of the screen and you have to expand the dropdown menu multiple times to get to the place you need,” said Nguyen. “With the new system, this is not the case, and every space is utilized to maximize the effectiveness of your screen.”
Students can access the new system by signing into PAWS and clicking the button labeled “College Scheduler.” This will direct them to the system’s landing page. (Photo Courtesy of Heba Jahama / Director of Records and Registration).
Williams’s favorite aspect of the system is that students can now find classes based on the professors teaching them. This will give students the freedom to choose classes based on previous experiences with a particular professor or recommendations from classmates.
“Within my major, there are a lot of professors that are truly elite…and I want to take more of their classes,” said Williams. “And I know the same is true for a lot of students…That is one [feature] that I really appreciate that PAWS did not have and think students will appreciate as well.”
Once students select their classes, they can move on to Nguyen’s favorite feature: the schedule generator. This allows students to create every possible schedule based on the classes they selected. Then, during their enrollment appointment, they can select the schedule that works best for them instead of registering for classes one at a time.
“The class schedule generator is…[an] amazing feature,” said Nguyen. “This will allow you to choose the schedule that works best for you since you will be able to visualize all your possible class combinations beforehand.”
As for Jahama, she appreciates how proactive the system is about making sure no classes overlap. For the staff of Records and Registration, this will make pre-registering incoming freshmen a simpler task.
“Sometimes,...there is no possible class schedule that is going to fit all of [a student’s activities],” said Jahama. “And it takes a while for us to find that out…[College Scheduler] does a lot of that work for you.”
Along with reducing stress, Jahama also hopes that College Scheduler will reduce the time spent on registration.
“If there is a schedule that is not going to work, then [a student] will know that without spending hours trying to fit it all together,” said Jahama. “So, I am hoping it will make the enrollment appointment a lot smoother, along with that time of advising.”
Records and Registration will host training sessions leading up to enrollment in order to help students and faculty navigate the new system, according to an email sent to the campus community on Feb. 29. Students and faculty/staff can sign up for a session on the Records and Registration website.
