2008 Woodie Awards
WebSTAR problems won't go away
INFORMATION & TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
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If you panicked Sunday night when you tried to access WebSTAR to find out where your classes were only to find that the service wasn't working, you weren't alone.
And if you woke up early Monday morning in hopes that the service might have been fixed, you were among the many.
The question is this: If WebSTAR doesn't work during the times that it is most needed-registration and at the start of the new semester-then why do we continue to use it?
After all, it seems to cause nothing but problems for both students and ITS. From not processing room changes correctly to granting students access only on an intermittent basis, it seems that WebSTAR is about as functional as Fred Flintstone's car would be on Highway 40, when what we really need is Dale Earnhart Jr.'s.
The bottom line is that students need to be able to access their class schedules, their degree audits and all of the other information guarded by the WebSTAR program at any time they want, day or night.
The WebSTAR system is not equipped to handle the kind of student traffic it receives during these crucial times. It outdated and inefficient, and must go.
ITS hasn't been able to do much to improve the current system because of plans for the implementation of a new system, which should be in place in time for registration for the fall semester.
The fact that ITS is understaffed has been a problem in the past, and continues to be a problem. It is compounded by the fact that the information systems used by Saint Louis University seem to be in constant flux. Its technicians respond to student queries as best they can, but often end up sending students to the Office of the Registrar, because they can do nothing to help them.
The WebSTAR and WebPro programs have inhibited students and faculty members for long enough. A change in the system has been long awaited, and the recent troubles that students and faculty members alike have had accessing the systems have helped to highlight these difficulties, which we must hope will be resolved with the implementation of the new system, without delay.