By Cynthia Moberly, Staff Writer
A detailed calendar, a list of class grades, and an overview of your expenses and financial aid are all supposed features of the new “portal,” but if you’re like me, you had to ask for help in finding your class schedule online this semester. What seemed to be an investment in an easy-to-use system has flopped majorly among students and professors alike.
Sophomore Destiny Cole said that she liked how the student portal seemed geared towards what students want access to online, but it hasn’t necessarily been more accessible.
“I think it has great potential, but it’s very confusing,” Cole said. “It would have been a lot easier if they had not made the transition midway through the academic year.”
Students have been generally unsatisfied with their inability to find information about bills, and tuition has been a significant issue.
Clair Budd, the chair for the department of Christian Studies and Philosophy, said that we have to keep in mind that since the system is new, there’s going to be a learning curve. According to Budd, he, and likely other faculty members, have had little to no formal training on how to properly use the new system. Some professors are simply refusing to use it this semester, seemingly due to being uncomfortable with incorporating its use into the classroom.
“I would hope that as we continue in this early phase of implementation, that adjustments will be made that provide the same sort of functionality which was available before the conversion to the new system,” Budd said.
Although current frustrations seem to end in “getting used to it,” after learning about everything the new “portal” has to offer, we can be hopeful about effectively using this system in the future.