OneStart v. “2.oh.no”

UITS recently unveiled its plans to implement OneStart Version 2.0, a more streamlined version of the oft-derided Web interface, for this coming fall. But UITS has a history of unveiling unfinished systems. \nA glitch in the original OneStart resulted in a loss of $6.6 million in tuition, not to mention the ever-inconvenient original-OnCourse/OnCourseCL duo, we’re inclined to hang on to OneStart 1.0 at least until all the bugs are worked out – which we expect to be version 2.0.4 or so. \nWe’re all Blue Screen of Death/Page Not Found-fearing people. And there’s nothing more loathsome than scheduling classes only to find you didn’t actually register because the “Add Class” function is void if you don’t click “complete transaction.” This writer in particular is no stranger to 8:00 a.m. classes, despite selecting the class at 11:15 a.m. in Ballantine. Needless to say, we have to be suspicious when a new version of something dreadful rides in on the promise of improved usability made by the same people who think submitting a schedule twice is intuitive. \nOneStart has been designed under the assumption that technology will necessarily improve one’s quality of life. Sometimes that’s true, as evidenced by the efficiency of word processing – especially built-in spell checkers – and “the world’s best five second video” of a “chipmunk” (actually a prairie dog). But beyond those essentials, increasing the automation of our daily lives isn’t implicitly user-friendly. Before online scheduling became the standard, students flocked to Assembly Hall to plan their semesters. It sounds like an utter inconvenience at first, especially considering the battle royales that probably occurred to enroll in popular classes, but at least they actually met their professors before the first day of class. Now we just search through a list, ignoring anything before 10:10 a.m., and sign up for classes with professors we might hate, all while paying pretty pennies for unbearable classes in convenient time slots. \nOne of the publicized new features for OneStart 2.0 is similar to Google’s search algorithm that lists the most popular destinations first. During class registration periods, links such as “Drop/Add Classes,” or “Class Schedule” will be prominently displayed, due to the high number of users selecting that feature. \nAt other times, “Pay Bursar Bill” will probably be the top hit. This will certainly be helpful when withdrawing from that seminar course and you have to trim down your schedule, inevitably searching for that eight-weeks bowling course.\nThere’s plenty to be said for convenience, and OneStart definitely has its uses – the most common of which is to swindle students out of their financial aid each month – but there’s also plenty to fear from the impending launch of OneStart 2.0. UITS has their work cut out for them, but if extensive testing to make sure everything is perfect means delaying the release another semester (or even another year), that will be time well spent. The only thing worse than two tandem systems stepping all over each other is a single system that doesn’t work.