With the start of spring 2011 course registration one week away, Information Technology (IT) has changed the information system Bearings to provide more stable service to students and faculty.
On Tuesday afternoon, IT sent an e-mail to students and faculty describing the software changes and asking for participation in a test of the updated system on Thursday afternoon. In the e-mail, IT asked students and faculty to use Bearings from 1 to 4 p.m. on Thursday so that IT could gauge the system's ability to handle concurrent users. The e-mail stated that, "Modifications have been made to Bearings that should make it more stable."
These efforts stemmed from complaints from students and faculty that Bearings allows too few people to sign in at once, causing frustration during periods of heavy use, such as course registration.
In addition to mentioning the intent to make the system more stable, the new Bearings, which became available at 1 p.m. on Thursday, allows students to access the course finder without signing in and provides professors with easier access to their class lists. The system also allows users to view multiple course descriptions in one search, a feature that was not available in the former version of Bearings.
Noelle Schoettle '13 used Bearings during the test period.
"I like the layout when you search for courses," she said. "It's much easier when you can see all the courses at once."
Chief Information Officer Mitch Davis mentioned that the updates were part of a process during which IT will gradually limit the services that Bearings offers as it seeks to introduce a new student information service.
"We looked at the process when accessing data and streamlined [it]," said Davis.
In terms of how the course lookup system had changed, Davis said, "Although it looks like you're looking at Bearings, you are not really going into it."
Davis added that by pulling some of the databases out of Bearings, IT could have a better chance of making the system, "a lot faster [with] a lot more people on."
Davis pointed to the test that occurred Thursday as useful for determining how the new changes reacted to a period of high use.
When asked how many users this test hoped to include, he said "The more the merrier", but that "200 to 300 users" would be satisfactory.
Davis stressed that tests by students and faculty are useful because they show patterns of behavior that computer simulations can't expect or reproduce.
Lecturer in Mathematics Aba Mbirika tried Bearings during the test period and liked the new interface, noting that the course listing layout was a specific improvement. He also mentioned that he had never had a problem with exceeding the user capacity before because he is a "late-night owl."
However, even if the software updates do improve the layout and increase login capacity, there are still other aspects of Bearings in need of attention, Davis thought.
"We have to take one thing at a time," Davis said.
IT has been researching a new student information system that is expected to launch in the near future. The plan, according to Davis, is for Bearings to "limp along" until a new faster system can be implemented. In an interview in October, Davis told the Orient that the new system would take 12 to 18 months to be put into effect and could cost up to $1.5 million.