Headlines/February 11, 1999

A letter from Skip

An open letter from
President Skip Bassford to
Staff, Faculty and Students:

A number of problems occurred during
the recent registration period that
created a bumpy start to the winter term.
Many students experienced delays,
frustrations, and in a few cases, serious

disappointments. Staff and faculty were —

also faced with a number of difficult
challenges.

On behalf of UCFV, I would like to
apologize to students who experienced
this situation. I’d also like to take the
opportunity to explain what happened
and what we are going to do about it. At
the same time we would like to thank
students for their patience as we tried to
sort things out. I also want to recognize
the exceptional effort made by staff,
especially, in Admissions and
Registration, Student Services, and
Financial Aid, and many faculty, in
what was a difficult situation for
everyone.

The problems we experienced during
the winter registration were the result of
a number of unanticipated factors
occurring unexpectedly at the same
time.

Sheer volume caused some of the
problems. This winter UCFV registered
about 6,000 students, which is up more
than five percent over the same time last
year. Prior to Christmas, some 900
students had been notified that wait lists
were removed and they could now
register for classes. Only about 450 took
up this offer. By the time others came in
to register after Christmas, many classes
were filled. We have begun analyzing
the reasons why many students waited
until after Christmas to register and by
then had been dropped from wait lists.

Another cause of the problems was __
‘the implementation of a new computer |
software program. This resulted in
delays and errors which led to some
classes being overbooked. Consequently
some students found out that they were
not enrolled in classes in which they had
thought they were registered.

People have asked why we changed
from one computerized registration
system to another. The main reason is
that the new system, when it’s working
right, can do a lot more for students and
staff. For students, when the system is
fully implemented over the next 12
months or so, it will be possible to

register via the internet, from home, or
any computer site on campus. (In-person
registration will still be offered, for
those who prefer that option.) As well as
online registration, it will also be
possible for students to look up their
own records.

With the help of many staff and
faculty, nearly all of these immediate
student problems were resolved, ~
although many students experienced
frustrating delays before a solution was
found. Other students eventually ended
up in the right course, but not at the best
time, or they had to accept another
course altogether. A real problem this
winter is that courses that have had
some space in the past are completely
full this year.

Eventually, we were able to resolve
registration problems for most students.
A number of faculty members were
willing to take extra students to help out.
But there were some students who,
despite our best efforts, we were unable
to accommodate satisfactorily.

There were also problems in the
Financial Aid area. Again these were
caused by a number of factors. One of
the most obvious was the pressure of
sheer volume. Applications for financial
aid were up 40 percent over last year.
This year alone, the Financial Aid office
has already handled more applications
than in all of last year. There has also
been an increase in the number of
students requiring emergency funding
until their loans arrived. There were
delays at some banks in processing
loans. The Ministry of Advanced
Education helped us out directly by -
contacting some of the banks and
speeding up the process.

The combination of many more
financial aid applications, and more full
classes, created problems this year for
students who had to wait to pick up
documents, which was not necessary in

.the past when volumes were much

lighter.

Further, we had problems with some
confusion in our grading designation
around the meaning of an NC grade
which caused confusion for some —
student loans. We also experienced
some delays because some grades were
not submitted or recorded in time to
work in the new system. A review of
these situations is underway and we will
work to resolve it before the next _.
registration period.

Additional delays were experienced
in the bookstore, created by the increase

_ in demand as a result of higher numbers
of students in classes. We have

implemented a number of changes such
as opening at lunch in Chilliwack and
adding a third cash register in
Abbotsford. We are looking for other
ways to minimize the line-ups as much
as possible.

We are both grateful for and
impressed with the patience shown by
the students, the flexibility shown by
faculty who worked hard to find -
solutions to the mix-ups, and especially
by the efforts and fortitude of the staff
who were at the front line. In the final
analysis we have been able to address
most of the winter registration problems
for the time being.

We have already begun to look for
and implement solutions to all of these
problems. We will do everything we can
to try to ensure that the next registration
goes much more smoothly for everyone.

I would like to thank everyone for
their understanding and patience.

H.A. (Skip) Bassford
UCFYV President