Even though the integrated software system has been in the works for nearly a half-decade, campus discussion about Banner has become frantic in the last week. For years, students have complained that Brown is one of the few top universities stuck in the stone age of course registration. But now, about 15 percent of the undergraduate student body has joined a new anti-Banner Facebook group - created just under a week ago - that is serving as a sounding board for students' speculative panic.
The widespread student interest in the anti-Banner Facebook group speaks loudly. To her credit, Associate Provost Nancy Dunbar, whose "Banner project owner" title bestows a level of responsibility that surely keeps her up at night, was quick to respond to the surge in student trepidation. Yesterday, Dunbar posted a lengthy response to student concerns on the Banner project's Web site, and her letter was quickly linked to on the Brown Against Banner online message board. Dunbar's three-page memo carefully unpacks many of the concerns raised on the Facebook forum. Some of what she says is comforting (students will be able to add courses without a professor's signature during the first week of class) and some is troubling (seniors get to pick their courses first, meaning juniors will get the dregs of upperclassmen seminars). But we appreciate her openness and willingness to engage students.
Even though some of the anti-Banner fears are baseless, administrators must not underestimate the seriousness of logistical concerns. University officials say the introduction of Banner won't bring any new registration policies because professors will be able to login to the system to override virtually any restrictions, such as prerequisites and caps on class size. But administrators must be absolutely certain that every one of the University's 658 professors knows how to use the system. If creating guest accounts and uploading class readings on MyCourses is any indication, that won't be an easy task.
Some of the Facebook activists behind Brown Against Banner upped the level of anxiety by invoking an argument sure to cause a rise in almost any Brown student - Banner is a covert attempt to bring down the New Curriculum. Even if you don't believe Dunbar's reassurance that "Banner is not a project to change the Brown curriculum," suggesting that Banner is designed to destroy the open curriculum is irrational or paranoid.
Banner is not going away, and new technology infrastructure is necessary for 21st century Brown. But as April pre-registration approaches, University officials need to boost their efforts to educate students and faculty about how to use Banner. Conspiratorial administrators won't cause Banner to alter our curriculum. But logistical nightmares could.
