A Radford University student anxiously sits at his desk, glancing at his watch and taking notes during his teacher's lecture. His professor ends class, and the student races out the door. He runs by his friends talking outside the building. There is no time to talk now, because he has to register for his next semester's classes. Committed to the task, he throws his bag down and sits at his desk in his dorm room. He opens his binder and his advisor-approved proposed schedule. He picks up the phone, and with great anticipation dials Radford's telephone registration system. Busy. He decides to try back later. He does not have a choice.

A busy signal on Radford's "All Campus Computer Entry Services System" is hardly uncommon. Considering the fact that there are almost nine thousand students, it is easy to understand why there might be a problem in connecting with Radford's phone service. At present, the registration system leaves a student with much to be desired.

The student, like so many others, has gone through an arduous process of creating a tentative schedule, having it approved by his advisor, and then taking the suggested schedule back to phone it in. The student then discovers the flaw in what should be a flawless technology. The first students allowed to register are those who have the most credit hours. There is a fifteen-minute time limit on the phone line while registering for classes. In some situations, there are only two or three classes available that are mandatory for all students to take. With a few thousand students calling to add a class that can only accommodate thirty people, the students are often left helpless. If a desired class has been filled, there should be a backup plan, but is there? No! A backup plan is needed. With only fifteen minutes, there is little time for last-minute decisions. If there is a mess-up, or the fifteen minutes are over with, a student only has two more chances at the phone registration. If the student has not paid his phone bill, or owes money to any other department on campus, a block is put over his ability to register. Discovering that there is a block takes up one of the three given phone calls.

I believe there is an obvious solution to the problem. The Internet. The use of the Internet is a viable solution because it can more efficiently perform the task of a registration program. On the Internet, the same passwords and restrictions can apply. Students would be able to access the registration program on a 24-hour basis. A block could be displayed with no further loss of opportunity to register. Instead of listening for the available classes, an Internet-based program could use a search application to find available classes, and display them on the screen. All transactions on the system can be updated instantly, keeping the students fully aware of classes full and vacant. A student could see a working schedule of the confirmed classes. Another convenience of the system would be that anyone with a computer could sign up from their rooms. For those without knowledge of computers, the staff presently working with telephone troubleshooting could be stationed in Radford's computer labs to aid those not familiar with the Internet. Most importantly, the availability of the system would be much more efficient than that of the single phone line. An average web page on the Internet can support thirty or more visitors simultaneously.

The use of the Internet in registering for classes would be more efficient than the use of the present telephone system. The convenience and ease-of-use involved with an interactive web page is far more time-efficient, simplified, and productive than our current system. There are many flaws with our phone system, but with the use of technology, those flaws can disappear in a nanosecond on the Internet!