By Mike Abell
The college has broken precedent by changing the open enrollment schedule from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the hopes of avoiding previous server crashes due to cyber traffic.
The new time was also established for the convenience of students who might be at work, in class or otherwise.
When enrollment opened, over 1,200 students enrolled within the first 10 minutes and the general feedback from students had been positive, according to registrar, Leslie Quinn.
In the future, the college plans to keep the open enrollment time at 9 p.m., partly due to its success.
“It was really awesome. It really was [because we didn’t have] the traditional problems that we have seen in the past because of the load,” Quinn said. “You know, what used to happen was 8 a.m. would hit and all the faculty, staff and students would all simultaneously be trying to log into MyJCCC to do what they need to do. Faculty and staff needed to get in there to help students, students needed to get in there to enroll, and that strain on the system was a problem.”
Quinn said there were around 20 technical staff members on standby just in case the system crashed, but it ended up performing “beautifully.”
The admissions office also plans on introducing pre-enrollment for summer courses.
“Now the question is on the horizon. Should we also do that same thing for summer? We have never had a pre-enrollment period for summer, and it’s looking very favorable at this point,” said Quinn. “We are asking that question to lots of groups, trying to get feedback from faculty, staff and from the IT group that will be responsible for making sure the technology works. So far the feedback has been very positive […] they think it would help students if we did do that for summer.”
Alongside the innovations made in the enrollment process, the registration and transcript office on the second floor of the Student Center has also been redesigned to further assist students. The main goal of the office is to instruct and empower students so they can eventually enroll by themselves.
“Mostly we’re there to help [students] learn how to do it themselves, and that way the next time they need to add or drop a class they don’t need to come in. They know what to do,” said Quinn.
For enrollment assistance, go to the second floor of the Student Center or call 913-469-3803.
Contact Mike Abell, photo editor, at mabell@jccc.edu.