The course preview feature at courses.brown.edu is up and running for spring semester courses after Computing and Information Services discovered and fixed a glitch in the system yesterday. Next semester's course data had not been processed and uploaded onto the site as intended, wrote Jerrod O'Connor, associate director of web and information services, in an email to The Herald.
Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron wrote in an email to The Herald that she was unaware the feature had been malfunctioning. Faculty members are encouraged to upload syllabi onto the site before the beginning of each semester, not during the pre-registration period, she added. But image captures of the website reveal that for at least the past three semesters, the preview pages have been available before the regular registration period, which begins for seniors today.
Course preview pages give students the ability to view course descriptions and syllabi without being enrolled in the courses. CIS, along with the Undergraduate Council of Students and the dean of the College, offers the service to help students make "more informed" decisions about their courses during registration periods, according to its website.
