This summer has seen the continuation of issues with MyCampus, with many returning students unable to enroll for courses or even register as students. A staff member involved with MyCampus, who spoke to us on condition of anonymity, said the chaos seen last year is set to repeat itself as structural problems with the software persist.
This is the kind of issue which can’t be fixed with a few software changes or even rigorous testing by the Student Lifestyle Project [the team responsible for directing MyCampus]. You can’t move from a system like WebSurf which was purposefully designed to meet Glasgow’s needs to an off-the-shelf alternative and expect to have an easy time. So in my opinion it seems likely that this chaos with registering and enrolling students is likely to continue.
David Newall, the university manager responsible for MyCampus, sent an email to all students on Thursday August 2nd, saying:
Unfortunately, we experienced difficulties with the system yesterday, which meant that some students who tried to register were unable to. We believe we have identified and resolved the problems, but are not allowing access to the system until we are confident the difficulties will not recur.
I know that some students have been concerned that courses they would like to take may be booked up during the time when they are unable to access MyCampus. Please be assured that this is not the case. No students are currently enrolling on courses and, when the system is ready for you to access, we will let all students know at the same time by sending out Account Access Notifications.
Last year’s fiasco saw less than half of postgraduates properly enrolled by October, vitriolic and detailed staff feedback, a social media backlash by students (such as memes) and a promise by university management that MyCampus would be unrecognisably improved by now.
It is understood that in recent months staff training has been increased and a number of changes to the user interface have been made. Time will tell if these alterations will avert a repetition of last year’s persistent and disruptive problems which led to a chaotic start to the academic year for many students and staff.
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