Theres’ some remodeling being done on the inside, too
By Amy Geiszler-Jones
While WSU’s Web site got a new look this week, some features inside the site are being updated as well.
University computing staff are continuing to develop online functions for students, faculty and staff, most of which are meant to save time and be more efficient by eliminating a lot of paperwork passed between offices.
The Shocker One Stop program, an online service area on the WSU Web site introduced in November, is the place for faculty, staff and students to find new online features.
Some new features for faculty are:
- Online
grade reporting. This is the first semester instructors can record final
grades on the Web by logging on and simply clicking on a button to a
corresponding grade on the class roster. Previously instructors have
gotten printouts and had to circle grades, which were then mailed to
the registrar’s office.
- Class rosters. Available since the beginning of this spring semester, this feature allows faculty to download lists of students in their classes to the Excel application. About half the faculty did that this semester, says Jim Rogers, associate director of university computing. Again, this eliminates the three- to four-day process of waiting for printouts to be generated and shuffled between the registrar’s office and departments following registration.
This semester a feature was added for students to check the status of financial aid applications. Students also can complete the federal application online.
As faculty and staff convert to the new wichita.edu e-mail extension from the twsuvm and wsuhub servers, employees can update their e-mail addresses, stored in the university’s central system, through Shocker One Stop. They also can update address changes.
Upcoming features for departments include an application that will eliminate the monumental task of compiling the schedule of courses each semester. The process now is done manually on paper by departments and colleges who send the paperwork to the registrar’s office for data entry.
For the next schedule, which will be for spring 2002, departments and colleges will be able to enter schedule information online. The new function will also provide historical data on a class, such as the number of students who’ve enrolled each semester and the last time the course was offered.
This feature, to be available in the fall, will allow departments to tailor schedules to past demands, says Gary Ott, executive director of university computing.
Another feature being developed is course enrollment. This will function much like the current phone registration and will be released when the spring 2002 schedule is distributed.
