Web
site causes frustration
By Amy Cucinella
On-line Forty-Niner
There
is one thing every returning Cal State Long
Beach student has in common — the My CSULB
Web site.
This Web site, launched in early April,
provides students with access to their own
personalized Web page containing information
tailored to their needs. It also features
campus news stories, links to CSULB services
such as Webmail, Beachboard and the University
Bookstore’s Web page, and also has posted
information about current events occurring
on campus.
“The system does provide functionality that
was not yet available before, such as allowing
students to search for classes that meet
their needs, the ability to waitlist for
classes and the ability to view their account
balances,” Janet Foster said, director of
the Common Management Systems. “And we are
very excited about future functionality
we will be adding to allow students to view
their grades, request transcripts, and request
graduation checks all online.”
In addition to providing a personal portfolio
for students to store and access their academic
information, the Web site is also intended
to assist students with maintaining and
accessing their financial aid information.
Using this Web site, students can view their
financial aid status and financial aid awards,
view their accounts and pay online using
a credit card and also request and purchase
a parking permit.
Most importantly, the My CSULB Web site
will help students register for courses
online, check their grades online, and access
the course catalog and current schedule.
This aspect of the Web site has recently
been tested as many CSULB students have
begun to register for the fall semester
through the My CSULB Web site.
“Students are now able to register either
by using My CSULB or by telephone voice
response,” Foster said. “At this time we
have no plans to make using My CSULB mandatory
however there are features only available
on My CSULB such as being able to pay fees,
wait-listing, and requesting parking.”
Several students who have already registered
for the fall semester via the My CSULB Web
site have run into problems and have expressed
frustration.
“We are happy to say that we received several
very complimentary notes from students on
the system,” Foster said. “We have also
received feedback on areas that could be
improved or were frustrating and we are
working very hard on improving those. We
encourage and appreciate the feedback.”
“You should have seen the amount of people
complaining in my class yesterday,” said
Kendra Wilkinson, a senior kinesiology major
who registered through the Web site on Monday
and experienced complications.
“I tried to register through the Web site
first but ran into problems. So I tried
the phone system but that just went blank
on me. So I tried the Web site again and
after it made me change my password three
times, I was able to register,” Wilkinson
said.
Casey Lewis, a senior civil engineering
major with priority registration, registered
earlier this month through the CSULB Interactive
Voice Response System because the Web site
was not yet up. She recently tried to add
a class through the My CSULB Web site but
was unable to because of a message saying,
“Error Found.”
“The error was because it was for a class
that you have to have special permission
to register for, but I have that permission,
it just isn’t in the system, I guess,” said
Lewis. “A guy in my class yesterday was
so mad with trying to register that he said
he almost threw his computer out the window.”
“Only a handful of people are trained to
clear the holds and deal with the errors
on the Web site, so there’s a backlog of
students waiting to get their correct information
into the computer system,” said Wilkinson.
“Like in the entire kinesiology department,
our undergraduate advisor is the only one
trained to get into the system. One of my
professors was saying she’d love to help
us except that faculty isn’t going to be
trained to use the system until next semester.”
Holly Knevelbaard, a junior illustration
major, registered earlier this month through
her priority registration status. Because
the Web site was not yet up, she attempted
to register through the revised phone registration
system.
“The new phone system sucks, it’s so annoying,”
said Knevelbaard. “It didn’t register any
of my prerequisites that I have so I couldn’t
register for my classes. So I waited and
the Web site came up late that night and
once it was up and running it worked fine
and I registered.”
Although many students may vent about the
added frustration of learning to use a new
system, most see the benefit in making the
transition.
“Once it gets working better, it will be
awesome,” said Lewis. “It’ll be so convenient.
It’s about time we got online.”
“I like the online system,” said Knevelbaard.
“I like being able to look up my grade.
It’s easier.”
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