1. Online Registration Challenges and Solutions Carnegie Mellon University OLR Evolution Fall, 1995 - Spring, 1999

2. The Challenge “The subprocesses are... inconvenient and time consuming; bureaucratic; labor intensive; paper-intensive; prone to error; and unstructured and inconsistent across colleges.” -- Student’s problem statement -- Student’s problem statement

3. Before OLR n Student must walk the campus to get signatures from teaching department n Inconsistent paper and electronic process n Inconsistent course access rules across depts

4. Student Requirements n A system that is:  Convenient  Accessible  Informative  Fair n Treats students as responsible participants

5. OLR Design n Self-service, web-based n Available 6:00am to 2:00am all year n Enforces consistent rules across departments n Real-time update to Student Info. System

6. Ethernet Architecture HP 9000 Campus Network Netscape Enterprise Server + Verisign Key + Custom APIs Ether Ingres Data Custom C Programs

7. Functionality n Initial registration n Drop/add n Add and remove from waitlist n Course and section switching n Course and section information

8. Implementation Milestones 199719981999 Apr97 Pilot For F97 Nov97 Full release to CMU campus 2nd Registration cycle using initial process For S98For F98

9. 199719981999 Apr97 Pilot For F97 Nov97 Full release to CMU campus 2nd Registration cycle using initial process For S98For F98 Implementation Milestones n Problems  Way too slow... n Initial fix  Performance tuning n Final solution  Time assignments

10. Ether Ethernet Performance Tuning Ethernet Campus Network NetscapeServer SIS Ingres Database Application Database Server & Web Server

11. Implementation Milestones 2 registration cycles using time assignments 199719981999 Apr97 Pilot For F97 Nov97 Full release to CMU campus 2nd Registration cycle using initial process For S98For F98For S99For F99

12. Current Project Status n A success for students, faculty, administration  Meets student requirements  Allocates university resources fairly  Improved data quality  Captures course-demand data for decision support

13. Student Response “As a senior, this was a very refreshing experience. It was much easier, friendlier, and more efficient than having to wait in long lines for hours and deal with tired and frustrated department people.” “Online registration is a great idea. I had been waiting in lines for the past four years. Now, I’m registering for classes from my home…” “It was really smooth. I got everything done in less than 3 minutes.” “Online Registration is so COOL!” “Oh my gosh…that was soo awesome!”

14. Essentials for Success n Implementation team  Dedicated, varied constituencies, fun, risk-takers n Clear student directives n Champions  Big dogs, early, inclusive, “ever supportive” n Key assumptions provide guidance & focus

15. Essentials for Success (cont.) n Benchmarking n Proof of concept  Testing the technology -- SIO  Testing the Process -- OLR pilot n Complete audit trail

16. Leasons Learned n Performance  Peer and independent technology reviews  Load testing  “Gating” n Communications with students  Focus groups, student gov’t & newspaper, OLR advisory board  OLR online feedback  Public relations professionals