Early Registration CRASH

Students attempting to access the server for early registration today may have had difficulty logging in to the new DATATEL system, according to a internal e-mail from the DMC Information Technology Department. Telephone calls to or from college offices experienced problems as well.

The problems lie with the new DATATEL system that only allows 500 users (students, faculty and staff) to log in at the same time, according to Interim Dean of Outreach and Enrollment Services Leonard Rivera.

The "slots" (spaces for access) are shared so students seeking assistance with registration from advisors have filled up the Counseling Office waiting for their turn to register. 

A misunderstanding between learning the system and implementing it caused some to believe only 125 slots were available.  According to advisor Mary Kingsbury, the problems aren't all that unexpected. 

"Any time you switch into a new system, you're going to have bugs.  My understanding is that both the advisors and the students share the 125 slots, and all I can do is keep trying to log in until the system lets me in.  Students at home can do the same thing and will fare just as well," she said. 

Kingsbury said the system runs off on a first-come, first-serve basis and students trying to register should just keep trying to log in. 

Kingsbury said, "I know there are students that are very upset. Some have been waiting here since 6:30 this morning, but right now we can't do anything more for them." 

One of those students, Zach Bruns, was one of the first to arrive at the Counseling Office and he wasn't able to get into an advisor's office until 10 a.m. 

"I have been waiting since 6:30 and I didn't know if I had holds or what was going on until today."  Bruns said that it was busy at 6:30 when he got there. 

Fidel Hernandez, another Del Mar student trying to register, was in the same predicament. He said, "I took time off of work to get here and register and then I come here and they tell us that the system is down.  I wonder if I took off work in vain."  Hernandez said that this was his first time trying to register with the new system. Not having tried it at home yet, so he figured seeking help from an advisor was his best option. 

He said, "I thought it would be best to talk to an advisor and it seems they have been caught off guard too." 

According to Rivera, DATATEL – which replaces SIS –– has a limit of 500 licenses as opposed to SIS' unlimited licensing. 

The difference between the two systems is that DATATEL, although limited in the number of users possible, should be user-friendlier in the future, once it is optimized. 

Many other schools have switched to similar systems and faced similar problems only to have the students get a grasp for and understand the system better, according to Rivera. 

He believes in the future, a "couple of tweaks" can be made to make the system better such as obtaining more licenses, allowing students to pay holds online so they can keep registering and possibly implementing time limits. 

As of right now, there is no limitation on the time users can remain on the system, but in the near future there may be a limitation and Rivera has some tips on how to approach registration. 

Plan your schedule online using the schedule link on the DMC Home Page, not the one in the DATATEL system. This way, users can log in, enter their schedule electronically and log back out quickly. This will free slots on the system for other students who are registering and advisors helping students with class selection and other related issues. 

Regardless of whether or not more licenses are obtained or time limits are put in place, the best bet for this semester seems to be patience and continuing log-in attempts.

As of 2 p.m. today, DMC officials provided the following registration figures: Summer I 627, Summer II 389, and Fall 2010 424.  Stay tuned for updates.