A redesigned UH Web site will launch Tuesday complete with new navigation and enrollment features for students.
With the new site UH web developers have set a goal of attracting prospective students to UH, making it a more visitor-oriented site.
Earlier this month, Darcie Champagne, project manager and director of University Marketing, told The Daily Cougar that the Web site redesign has been going on for more than a year and has had input from more than 2,000 people.
It’s great that UH is making another attempt to increase enrollment, but instead of focusing their efforts toward creating a new Web site administrators should fix their attention to the PeopleSoft-related problems University students are having because of a lack of communication and slow employee response.
PeopleSoft 8.9 was implemented this semester and was designed to serve as a platform to allow students, faculty and staff to operate on the same software.
PeopleSoft was slated to give students an easy to use and efficient registration and enrollment program.
But some students have waited since the beginning of this semester to receive their financial aid.
Others have had password problems, dealt with program glitches and have had the misfortune of waiting on hold for long periods of time while waiting for their problems to be fixed.
For technology junior Beverly Doyle, problems with PeopleSoft have prevented her from completing the financial aid process.
"The PeopleSoft system won’t update, so it shows that I’m failing courses and that I have a bad (grade point average)," Doyle told The Daily Cougar. "I can’t even begin to start the financial aid process until they update the system."
How are students supposed to take advantage of new Web site features if they’re having problems with PeopleSoft, such as paying for tuition – something every student depends on for enrolling in classes?
Participants from the UH Web redevelopment initiative-strategy and planning sessions range from information technology web developers to UH faculty, student affairs and academic affairs members and deans from just about every college.
Administrators should reconsider the amount of time, money and effort they’re directing toward this new Web site and direct it toward making sure students are receiving financial aid and that students aren’t having enrollment and registration problems with PeopleSoft.
