By Nova Veraley V. Grafe
THE ONLINE ENROLMENT implemented at the beginning of the second semester was generally effective and helpful but should still be improved, some Silliman University students said.
Jojie Ann Partosa, a senior business management student said the online enrollment is advantageous and a student-friendly system.
“As long as your clearance and grades are ready, and of course the payment according to the payment’s scheme is also okay then, there will be no problems.” Partosa added.
For sophomore medical technology student, Krystle Micah Salde, she preferred the new system versus the manual enrolment process because it is easier.
“I don’t have to hassle myself lining up in our department just to get enrolled and its really beneficial especially to the students who don’t live in the city.” Salde said.
However, there are still many students who encountered problems in the online enrollment process. One of their difficulties is that some teachers do not submit grades on time. This hinders students from enrolling online since the online process requires grades for subjects with pre-required units.
Vice President for Development, Jane Annette Belarmino, said that with a few exceptions, most teachers were able to submit the grades on schedule.
Another problem that some students complained about is the tedious process of paying through bank. Students have to wait a day or two before their payments are recognized and are declared “Okay to enroll.”
“Ideally, when the students pay in the banks, the banks are supposed to automatically inform us. But because of the bank’s protocol to balance their books on a daily basis, the transmission of the report to the university is delayed for 24 hours,” Belarmino said.
University Treasurer, Carol Bartolata, said that the university is doing negotiations with the banks so that the entry of bank transactions among students will be on a “real time” basis.
“Whatever lapses we have, we will do what we can to improve the system.” Bartolata said.
As for SU Student Government Vice-president, Jeff Palad, he rated the online enrollment system seven out of a 1-10 scale, with 10 being the highest for its effectiveness.
“It’s a good change for Silliman University but since it’s a new change, you can’t avoid minor mistakes. It’s not perfect but there’s a room for improvements. In the long run, it is beneficial to students,” he said.
