SEVERAL PROBLEMS in the Loyola Schools manual registration (ManReg) process continued to emerge despite the new system created by the Registration Committee (RegCom) for the second semester.

Students experienced problems such as longer waiting time than usual and overloaded online server overloaded. Departments were also unable to address as much concerns as the new system would have needed them to.

The new ManReg system featured an online portal where students could input the problems encountered during online enlistment, such as lack of slots and schedule conflicts, among others. The system enabled the department secretaries to screen the problems prior to ManReg to make the necessary arrangements come ManReg day itself.

“We [want to] be able to relay the student concerns [to the secretaries] in advance so we could speed up the flow of the lines and how we’d solve them (enlistment problems) all,” a former RegCom member said.

System glitches

In an interview with The GUIDON, a former RegCom member who asked not to be named*, explained the difficulties encountered by RegCom with the new ManReg system.

“I feel on our part na hindi pa sobrang ready ‘yung [portal] (I feel on our part that the [portal] was not entirely ready [for ManReg]),” she said. “Masyadong mabigat for the information na kinukuha namin, kasi kailangan real time siya (The information we were getting was too heavy because we needed it to be in real time).”

She also clarified that despite the preparations they made, the volume of information they needed to accommodate still overwhelmed the new system.

“Nag-stress test kami, but ang laki talaga ng scope ng ManReg (We conducted a stress test, but the scope of ManReg was just too big),” she explained.

Meanwhile, for Philosophy Department Registration Head Noel Clemente, the new ManReg system is “a nice idea, but it could have been taken advantage of in a better way.”

“In theory, that would have made things faster kasi you could have filtered the students according to their concerns,” he said. “For instance, there are students who needed this particular subject, so you can group the students according to the subject they’re supposed to add [and speed up the ManReg process].”

However, the former RegCom member pointed out that the new system was only used on the first day of ManReg for sophomores, seniors, and superseniors on January 12. RegCom eventually brought back the old process of using pen and paper for the succeeding days of ManReg, while still referring to the online system for information.

“Noong Monday (January 15) for [the ManReg of] juniors and freshmen, mas napabilis s’ya nung sa pen and paper kasi [nabawasan] ‘yung lag time na waiting for the system to load, to update real time (On Monday, for the ManReg of juniors and freshmen, the system became faster using pen and paper because the lag time on waiting for the system to load and update real time was lessened),” she mentioned.

She also mentioned that RegCom was “not given enough resources by the OMIS [Office of Management Information Systems].” According to her, OMIS gave RegCom one laptop per venue, but these were not enough to sustain their operations.

‘Unnecessarily lengthy’

Following the return to the old paper and pen system, members of the students and faculty aired out sentiments regarding the outcomes of the new ManReg system.

Although it had little influence on the ManReg for Philosophy subjects, Clemente saw the new system as “ineffective in itself,” and that it could have been otherwise if “it was integrated into the [ManReg] system more properly.”

Psychology junior Fred Asistio also shared his views on the new system, deeming it “unnecessarily lengthy.”

“In the end, they still relied on the paper I wrote my problems in and not the online input, so I felt that the online portion was useless and made everything longer than necessary,” he explained.

Asistio said he went from being one of the first 15 people to arrive for Batch 1, to waiting for five hours to be accommodated. He was moved back in line after encountering a problem that involved one subject.

For diplomacy and international relations junior Bianca Velasco, the new system solved “more of knowing what problems RegCom will be facing for ManReg rather than lessening waiting time.”

Future fixes

Regardless of the outcomes of the new system, RegCom is still hopeful that it would still be used for future ManReg operations.

“[We have] plans in the future [that] we want to be able to use the app, of course maybe when we can handle it na,” the former RegCom member said.

For concrete plans, she mentioned that they are still in the process of scheduling a meeting with the Ateneo administration to discuss what they will do next.

“We’re currently analyzing the data from the second semester registration period, and we would like to present these to [the administration] so that we can properly evaluate and make a game plan for the next semester’s registration procedure,” she explained.

Aside from resources, she hoped to have a clearer communication between RegCom and the departments, since the participation of both are required to speed up the ManReg process.

Clemente echoed the same sentiments, emphasizing the need for a thorough explanation of the new ManReg protocol and “more coordination” between RegCom and the individual departments.

He also explained the importance of the students and departments being “sufficiently informed” regarding ManReg concerns.

“Just because you filled out the form, it will facilitate the process, but it does not guarantee you that you will get this particular class,” said Clemente.

As for the former RegCom member, students also need to do their part in preparation for ManReg, particularly advisement before the next semester starts.

“Go to the departments. Alamin [mo] kung ano ‘yung classes na kailangan mo i-take, sabihan mo if may gusto ka i-take na class (Go to departments. Know what classes you need to take and let them know if you want to take a class),” she said.