CSUN’s Dial-a-Class Registration Hailed as Innovative Success

In the past, it took hours of standing in long lines before Omekia Marshall, a Cal State Northridge sophomore, completed registering for classes.

But last week, Marshall picked up a telephone during an assigned time, dialed the number of the university’s new computer, punched in her personal identification number and registered for spring semester classes. The whole process took about five minutes.

“It was great,” said Marshall, a business major. “I got all the classes I wanted. Before, the least I’ve stood in line was four hours. It was awful.”

Between Jan. 2 and 16, the university enrolled 26,575 students--about 2,000 a day--for the semester beginning Jan. 27 using CSUN’s new touch-tone telephone registration system, said Registrar Eric Forbes.

The system, called TTR, not only enrolls students in classes but tells them when a class is closed or canceled and, on request, searches its database for an alternative. Students were allowed to call back to recheck their schedules, add or drop classes or search the system for open classes.

During the 13-day registration period (the lines were not open Sundays), the system’s 100 phone lines handled 119,215 telephone calls.

“It shows students are using the system to their advantage by calling back,” Forbes said.

By most accounts, the system’s debut was a success. There were few glitches, among them a 20-minute computer breakdown on the first day, officials said.

“It surpassed our most optimistic expectations,” said Lorraine Newlon, director of admissions and records. “It has taken students on the average about five minutes to register. This is going to make the lives of students a lot easier.”

The TTR system, pioneered six years ago by Brigham Young University, is now in use at more than 200 universities across the nation. At least 300 others are exploring the possibility, according to Robert W. Spencer, former dean of admissions at BYU.

In the California State University system, touch-tone registration is in use at the Long Beach, Hayward, San Luis Obispo and San Jose campuses. In addition to Cal State Northridge, San Diego State instituted TTR for the coming semester.

Cost is minimal, about $100,000 for the equipment, plus fees to Pacific Bell for the phone lines, Newlon said.

The CSUN system was set up to register 150 students each half hour, which it did efficiently, Newlon said. Few students were greeted by busy signals when they called in to register, she added.

“It was really easy,” said Rosemary Joselin, 21, a senior physical therapy major. “Your options are all right there.”

Although simplifying the registration process, touch-tone registration does not guarantee all students will get the classes they want, especially when fewer classes are being offered because of state budget constraints.

Dawn Arp, 19, a sophomore, said she got all the classes she wanted, but some are at night.

“I don’t especially like attending classes four nights a week,” she said. “But that wasn’t the system’s fault. It was really easy to register.”

“I had to change a few classes around,” said Nimesh Desai, 25, a senior engineering major. “But this made it much, much easier. Calling in was pretty simple. I never got a busy signal.”

In addition to benefiting students, touch-tone registration also helps faculty members.

Don Brownlee, an associate professor of speech communication, said the touch-tone registration gives faculty members immediate feedback about whether their classes are filling up, allowing them time to add or cancel classes in response to demand.

“Our department already knows how many seats are available in classes,” he said. “We’ve already posted where there are openings.”

CSUN officials installed the system in an effort to end frustrations with the long lines that had become common as students adjusted their schedules under a mail-in system called Computer Assisted Registration, or CAR.

Under that system, a week before a semester began, long lines formed on a day that was set aside for students who had not received classes they requested by mail to add or drop classes.

That day was called “CAR repair day” because students were fixing their broken schedules.

“It was very stressful,” said one student. “The new way is much, much better.”

At CSUN, Forbes said, “CAR repair day” has been abolished. “There’s no need to repair anything. Nothing is broken.”

Next semester, CSUN officials said they want to expand the TTR system into the first week of classes to allow students to drop classes. Newlon said other uses for the system also are being explored, including grade-reporting, student elections and campus surveys.