If you've registered for classes before, chances are you became very familiar with the tan, blue and green registration packets that list course descriptions, offerings and times.
This year though, those packets will not be printed. Instead, everything found in them will be online.
While the thought of not having these packets may cause some people to panic, Don Foster from the Registrar says the process itself has not really changed.
"The only real change is that you don't have the books right in front of you. It's all online," said Foster.
Everything has always been online, but is now put together in a Registration Toolbox that can be accessed from the Registrar's Web site.
The toolbox has links to course offerings, course descriptions, deadlines and other information that would be needed in the registration process.
He also pointed out that by having everything online, the information will be much easier to change.
About once a month, the files will be updated to show any changes that may have been made to the class offerings.
According to Foster, this change has been made for two reasons. One is to catch up with other schools around Ohio.
"Most colleges have already done away with paper and have put everything online. We are definitely behind when it comes to that," Foster said.
The other reason has to do with "going green" on campus. "We are really doing this to fall in line with the college's goals of sustainability," Foster said. The decision not to print the packets will save approximately 150,000 sheets of paper.
Kailey Parker, a freshman English Education major, is glad that the college is taking this step. "The paper packets were a nice reference, but we each need to make our own little sacrifices to help the college go green," she said.
Breanna Watzka, a sophomore public relations and journalism major, doesn't think that the process will be harder, but a lot more time consuming for the students. "I don't really like it because I like to have all my options right in front of me and see all of the different combinations before I get online," she said. "Having all the choices online will significantly slow down the process."
Denise Shively, an adviser in the communication department, hasn't met with many students yet but doesn't think there will be many problems. "Most students have a plan of their own laid out when we meet so I don't think there will be much of a change," she said. "And the online system is always good because you can see when classes are closed or if something changes."
Jon McClintock, the director of administrative computing with IT, feels that the Otterbein servers will be able to handle the extra congestion. "We have really had pretty good luck and no major problems so far. We have staff members who monitor the servers and network and can see right away if there is a problem," he said.
Registration begins April 23 for students with 145 credit hours earned by the end of last quarter and will then open up to students with fewer credits on a rolling basis.
A full registration schedule can be found online at the registrar's Web site.
Guide for dummies 1. Go to the Otterbein College Web site.
2. Click on the Registrar's Web site.
3. Select Registration Toolbox to gain access to courses, descriptions and other important information.
You can also access a course guide by logging into the Cardinal Web for students site. The registration catalog can be found under "course sections".Compiled by Peter Behr
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