Administrators in University Hall know one thing about life with Banner.
"We should have fewer lines in University Hall during registration and shopping period," said Associate Provost Nancy Dunbar. "Everyone agrees about that."
Banner, a comprehensive program that will include online registration for courses, may change many aspects of pre-registration and shopping period beginning in Spring 2007 if it is implemented on schedule, said Dunbar and University Registrar Michael Pesta. But Pesta and Dunbar are unsure of how significant the changes will be, they said.
Along with the online registration system, Banner will replace current systems and databases for the University's admissions and financial aid operations.
Administrators are leaning toward tailoring Banner so upperclassmen will be able to pre-register for courses before underclassmen. In addition, course prerequisites - now largely ignored - will be enforced.
Both Pesta and Dunbar said the system may encourage students to select their schedules sooner. Banner will immediately tell students whether they have gained a spot in a course, Dunbar said, adding that students might register earlier because of this feature for fear that courses will fill up quickly.
"Students are going to be having to make up their minds sooner in order to get into the courses they want," Pesta said in a March 27 interview with The Herald. Students should not worry that Banner will prevent them from taking full advantage of shopping period, he added.
"I assume that students will bring their (registration) experience to whatever technology we use," Dunbar said. But "there's a big incentive to pre-register under this new system," she added.
Because Banner will tell students immediately if they have gained a spot, students will know immediately if a course with capped enrollment is already full and will avoid pre-registering for several courses they have little chance of getting into, Dunbar said. Under the current registration system, students could pre-register for four seminars that are already over-enrolled.
Banner may also give faculty a clearer idea of enrollment before the semester starts, both Dunbar and Pesta said.
"It's nice to be able to prepare, to make sure we can support the course," Dunbar said. "From a planning point of view, (Banner) really helps a lot of us," she said.
Both professors and students complain serious material is sometimes not covered in the first week or two of classes because of changing enrollment, Pesta said. "To some extent the so-called shopping period is disadvantaging students who want to get started and not tread water," he said.
But Dunbar said Banner will not force students to make course decisions quickly. Rather, the nature of the program will simply make it easier for students to create a schedule before the semester begins, she said. "Banner will give students what their viable options are earlier," she said.
Students will have a better idea of their chances to get into a class because caps on enrollment will take effect. "There are registration restrictions listed but because of the fact that we still have a paper-based system we've never been able to impose those restrictions," Pesta said. "But Banner will give us that opportunity," he added.
Faculty members will most likely have the power to overrule any restrictions Banner imposes, both Pesta and Dunbar said. If a student attempts to register for a full class, Dunbar said, the professor may allow the student into the class despite any cap on enrollment.
Professors will also be able to override prerequisite restrictions that Banner may impose, Dunbar said. Administrators will meet with faculty from each department next fall to determine which departments will prevent students from registering for a course for which they have not taken a prerequisite, Dunbar said. Science and math departments may be more inclined to use Banner to enforce prerequisite requirements, while humanities departments will not, Dunbar said.
Both Dunbar and Pesta said administrators working on the project still have to find solutions for many issues of Banner. Getting advisers' signatures electronically is one problem that has yet to be resolved, Dunbar said.
Other questions, such as when students will be able to register for classes online and which students will be able to register first, are nearly settled, both Dunbar and Pesta said. Banner will probably allow students to register during the current pre-registration and shopping periods, they said. But within those set time periods, registration will be staggered by year so that seniors and juniors, who have less time to take a class, get priority, Dunbar said. "This is the technological way of what faculty do anyway," she said.
Though Dunbar and Pesta are not completely sure of the changes Banner will bring, they agree any change will be positive.
Pre-registering using "the current system doesn't keep you out of the class, but it doesn't really get you into the class either," Dunbar said. Banner will give students "greater clarity" about their next semester, she said.
Student response to potential changes in pre-registration and shopping period was mixed.
"(Banner)'s useful because I had classes that were overbooked, but if it would mean that classes would fill up sooner that would be a negative thing," said Patrick Roux '09.
Roux added that prerequisites should not be enforced for humanities concentrators who may have prepared for a course in some other way.
"I think it will be helpful because people won't have to deal with lines," said Daniel MacCombie '08, adding that "shopping period is a long drawn out process for a lot of people."
MacCombie said enforcing prerequisites would be "a really bad idea unless professors take it seriously and make prerequisites absolutely essential."
"(Online registration) could be more efficient (than the current system)," said Galen Broderick '09. But he called enforcement of prerequisites "gross."
"I'm definitely against that," he said, adding, however, "If there was some sort of way you could talk to the professor that would be good."
