By Gima Baz

At the beginning of every semester, AUB students used to gather in their respective departments waiting in crowded rooms or stuffy hallways, nagging assistants to fix their schedules with courses they want. As of summer 2001, the long unnecessary wait was finally over. AUB switched to online registration, via the Student Information System (AUBSIS) AUB is the only university in Lebanon that enables students to personally register for courses via the Internet while comfortably sitting at home. Students of the Lebanese American University (LAU) can register online except, they need their advisor and can only register from the university. Theoretically the system is ideal. Practically, web registration has gaps in certain areas. The major source of problems during web registration was the courses themselves. No matter how good the system is, if the courses made available weren't properly coordinated then students could not very well register--which is what happened to most AUB students. Limited capacities in most courses, limited choice of departmental electives, and time conflicts between major courses had students heading back to their departments and then waiting to see whether or not capacity could be opened within their two days of registration. The purpose of making registration easier for students was defeated. The economics department's answer was for students to wait and see what would happen in the "Drop and Add" period. The answers in other departments weren't always satisfactory. The biology department was more helpful. "We cannot deny we have a problem in our courses, but we spent more than three hours fixing students' schedules to their satisfaction," says Amal Kassis, advisor of some Biology students. Unlimited capacities were opened for students in the required courses, but the fact remains that a class of 98 students is hardly what we consider a solution. Web registration in itself is a very successful, efficient, and time-saving new system that has been launched by AUB. But the ever existing problem of bad coordination of courses that lies behind the system defeats it purpose.