New registration system pros and cons

Students registering for fall classes during the next few weeks will have to adjust to VCU’s new online Banner registration system.

Banner’s interface and layout are very different from the old system. Even the login process is different. Students will now use their eIDs to access e-Services through the myVCU portal.

Senior Clay Rector, 23, said he didn’t know about the switch for a long time.

“I was just trying to look up classes for next semester, and I was confused,” Rector said.

While students registering for summer classes will use the old system, upcoming registration for fall classes will use Banner.

James Thomas is project manager for the Administrative Re-engineering through Integrating Electronic Services.

“With any new system, there is a learning curve involved,” Thomas said. “I believe students will find once that they get used to it, they won’t miss the old one at all.”

Earned Dates to
Hours register
121+ April 4
106-120 April 9
91-105 April 11
76-90 April 13
61-75 April 16
46-60 April 18
31-45 April 20
15-30 April 23
0-14 April 25

ARIES is designed to gradually implement Banner throughout the university’s various departments, such as human resources, finance, enrollment services and financial aid.

“It (the switch) is more incremental,” Thomas said.

The ARIES project began in 2004 on a three-year timetable that should be completed in December. Human resources and finances were the first departments to switch to Banner on July 1, 2006.

Thomas said there were several reasons behind the decision to adopt Banner at VCU, but essentially Banner was more cost-effective for the university than keeping the current IBM mainframe operating system.

Thomas said students who drop one class and sign up for another will not experience any delays when looking at course information on Blackboard.

“They’ll be able to get everything right away – the instructor’s information, the syllabus, you name it,” Thomas said.

Banner also offers students additional protection of their grades. Now, faculty members will enter students’ grades directly into the system without having to go to their teaching assistants or to records and registration.

One of Banner’s major advantages is the vendor updates its interface, Thomas said. This means Banner will be available online 24 hours a day, even during updates, unlike the previous system, which used to be unavailable during updates twice a month.

“That also affected our students in Qatar, of all places, where there is almost a 10-hour time difference,” Thomas said. “VCU wants to open up opportunities for all its students. Now the system is no longer a limitation.”

Thomas said students should not confuse Banner’s implementation with the recent eID password crackdown.

“It’s pure coincidence. EID is not the same thing as Banner,” Thomas said.

Thomas also said students should not worry about the new class schedule interface. He used CD and MP3 players to illustrate the difference between the old and new operating systems.

“Think in terms of architecture,” Thomas said. “CDs and MP3 players are designed to play music, but through different methods.”

Sophomore Shannon Monroe, 20, likes the student registration breakdown is determined by credit hour. While in the past registration dates were determined by class status, students registering for the fall semester will register according to how many credit hours they have completed. But, Monroe added, the Banner system is complicated.

“It’s good in a way, because not a lot of people are signing on at the same time,” Monroe said. “But it’s hard to find e-Services now.”

For more information about Banner, visit http://www.ts.vcu.edu.