Ever wanted to plan your course schedule for all eight semesters of college in one day? Thanks to our new Self-Service platform, this opportunity is a reality.
Neumann made the transition from Web Advisor to Self-Service during the winter break so that students and faculty could adapt to the new system and be prepared to utilize it for spring semester advising.
“You can now play with your schedule however you see fit and can think of the bigger picture when planning your courses. Self-Service allows the benefits of planning ahead and makes sure students graduate on time,” stated Research Assistant Susan Long.
Long finds that the program is easy to navigate and understand. She has seen the program's success as her daughter graduated in four years with two degrees because of planning through Self-Service.
Students agree that the new system is an asset to course planning.
“Everything is accessible like the old system we had. I was nervous at first, but it was easy to understand,” shared Junior Casandra Nguyen.
“I used it with my counselor and did not think it was too complicated in registering” stated Freshman Joe Beale.
In fact, according to Junior Lauren Retkovis, it is very easy to use.
Faculty are also praising the new system.
“It's more user-friendly and intuitive, so it's not hard to learn as you go” shared English Professor Jim Kain.
Education Professor, Dr. Janelle Abnett stated “I love the planning aspect of the program and find that feature to be supportive for students. It allows them to know how many credits they need to finish on time. This empowers them to be involved in planning their college course experience.”
While using the system is a breeze, it took a lot of challenging work behind the scenes to make the platform a success.
The team had to pull out all the courses, make sure everything was current/accurate, and ensure course progression. Every time a course had diverse options, those choices had to be programmed. There also were many training sessions to get everyone acclimated to the new system.
Since it is a new program there are some changes. Courses now need to be approved by advisors before students can make the final selection of their schedule.
After students plan their schedule, they will press the button that says “request review.” This will send an email to the advisor, who will then review the courses and give approval. Once the advisor approves, students will receive an email letting them know they can go in and add sections.
If students have a green flag in their portal that means everything is good to go, but if students see a red flag there could be an issue. In that instance, Long advised students to reach out to their advisor to make sure the classes were approved or to check if any other issues may be causing the problem, such as a hold on their account.
For students to be able to register, the advisor must click “advisement complete.” This is what opens the gate and lets students confirm their schedule according to Long.
Since advisors need to make approval, it raises the question if students have enough of a say in their course load.
Long and various professors feel that the new system gives students more freedom because they can plan ahead, and students still have the ability to pick their classes. In professors' eyes, the approval helps students to stay on track.
Kain shared “The pre-approval process seems like a good idea. It should help us avoid advising and registration mistakes. It allows advisors to guide the students in the right direction, but still gives students a lot of choices in designing their schedules.”
English and French professor, Dr. Claudia Kovach shared a similar sentiment, stating “Having students more involved in the advising process is probably better for the students in the long run. Faculty approval, however, protects the students from making potential mistakes, I think.”
In fact, according to Abnett this process of approval is nothing new for the Education department. “We never let students register themselves,” she explained “They always had to gain approval before they could select their courses. I find it important to have those checks and balances to keep everyone on track.”
For those who need more info about Self-Service, there are resource handouts and videos located in the My NU portal. Dr. Kathleen Barnes also plans to send out workshop dates soon to explain how to navigate the system, according to Long.
Faculty and students seem optimistic that the new system will ensure a smooth and stress-free advising season.
Erin Donovan
