The Undergraduate Council of Students, convening in special session Thursday evening, demanded that University officials publicly address student concerns about Banner by passing a resolution calling for an end to enrollment limits in pre-registration for next semester.
In related news, UCS President John Gillis '07 and Vice President Tristan Freeman '07 told The Herald that after meeting Tuesday with President Ruth Simmons, they felt optimistic the University would print a Course Announcement Bulletin. "She was very responsive to issues like not printing the CAB, and I wouldn't be surprised if they change that and end up printing it," Gillis said. "We've been following up with her office on that."
However, Gillis said that after meeting with Simmons, he felt administrators don't place the same importance on the transition to Banner that students do.
"She didn't feel like Banner was going to be a significant academic change, so she didn't seem to think a change to course restrictions would affect things either way," Gillis said.
UCS members stressed in their session last night - attended by about 35 students -that Banner's enforcement of enrollment caps is a significant deviation from current registration policies, but their proposal to end enrollment limits during pre-registration is intended to delay these changes and not to solve the problem entirely.
The resolution proposed that if enrollment limits are exceeded after pre-registration ends, professors will be notified of students who pre-registered for their course, and all students will have their registration in the course canceled. Students will then require an electronic override from the professor to take part in the course.
"This is not intended as a final solution. This is intended as a way of opening up dialogue on this issue," said Matt Gelfand '08, who, though he is not a UCS member, helped author the proposal.
Whether UCS's proposal is technologically feasible remains unclear. Prompted by questioning from Mocha co-creator Daniel Leventhal '07, UCS Appointments Chair Drew Madden '10, an author of the resolution, noted that students who worked on the resolution have not met with Banner's implementation team to discuss feasibility.
The resolution also asks that Provost David Kertzer '69 P'95 P'98 and Associate Provost Nancy Dunbar, who is the Banner project owner, publicly address student concerns. UCS Webmaster Jake Heimark '10 told The Herald that calling for response from Kertzer is UCS' way of recognizing Dunbar's limited ability to affect change to Banner.
"The way Nancy Dunbar has painted this issue is that it's done and there is nothing we can do about it," Gelfand said in the meeting. "She comes to these forums with the intent of educating rather than hearing comments."
"People have been watching out for the technological issues, but no one has been watching out for the academic side," Gillis said in the meeting. "Nancy Dunbar's job has been to implement the software."
The attitudes of senior University officials toward the transition to Banner have been somewhat of a mystery, as Dunbar has almost fully represented the University's response to student concerns about Banner. UCS' focus on Kertzer, Gillis and Freeman's discussion of Banner with Simmons marks an attempt to shift the issue to Brown's highest levels of decision-making.
Freeman told The Herald that in his meeting Tuesday with Simmons, she "seemed kind of disturbed to hear" that students didn't feel involved in the transition to Banner.
"In general, I don't think the administration has realized the changes to Brown's academic atmosphere that these so-called small changes will have," Gillis said.
Beyond questions of logistics, the main concern among members was whether the proposal was "an action resolution or a discussion resolution," said UCS At-Large Representative Martin Bell '10, who co-sponsored the resolution but pulled his support before the vote, telling The Herald that the resolution "lacks a little meat to it."
Various members insisted the resolution is focused on policy change, prompting Gillis to ask for the creation of a UCS task force to quickly represent student interests over the remaining weeks until pre-registration.
"The question now is how potent is our action plan going to be?" Gillis said after the meeting. "The more resistance issues like this, the more students get involved, and that's where UCS gets its power."
