When UNC’s new registration system takes effect March 3, students can anticipate a course selection similar to shopping online.

Shopping carts that explain the status of each desired class, an improved search engine, more registration start dates and the replacement of StudentCentral with the MyUNC portal will all be components of a sweeping change in the University’s registration process.

The new system will allow students to plan multiple semesters ahead and use a shopping cart to keep them informed on the status of classes. The system will also feature the ability to drop and add classes simultaneously.

The new system will be used to register for the fall semester but not summer sessions.

Administrators said there will be up to nine registration dates, more than double the current number.

Students who have completed more individual semesters will have earlier registration times than those in their year who have fewer completed semesters.

“The idea is to make sure that people who are closest to graduation have the closest access to registration,” Interim Registrar Roberta Kelly said.

The Faculty Council decided on increasing the number of registration start dates in 2007.

Kelly said the new registration process will be more supportive than the previous system because information about course availability will be constantly updated.

Debra Beller, communications specialist for ConnectCarolina, said information for course openings is delayed under the current process.

Registration will be a part of ConnectCarolina, UNC’s new enterprise resource planning system that will allow the University to consolidate many of its activities, including registration and financial aid, into one system.

ConnectCarolina has a cost of $88.1 million, making it the largest non-capital expenditure in UNC history, Beller said.

Sophomore Andrew Phillips, co-chairman of the tech and web services committee of student government, said he has a test version of the system. He said the new system will allow the registrar to more easily see trends in class enrollment.

Phillips said the course search engine will give students more options and make searching for courses easier.

“It’s a course search engine on steroids,” he said.

But administrators said the transition will require flexibility since the University has been using the current registration system in various forms for the past 16 years.

“You tend to forget about the flaws of the old system and focus on the flaws of the new system,” said Christopher Derickson, associate registrar.

Some students said ConnectCarolina’s high functionality will make the system more complex to use.

“Our current registration is very simple,” said junior Max Beckman-Harned, co-chairman of the tech and web services committee. “The thing about the new system is it’s a lot more powerful, so it’s just sort of a lot more complex system because it has all these new systems.”

Some students will be trained today as peer mentors to help other students learn how to use ConnectCarolina.



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.