Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Lisa Filbert Junior kinesiology major Cameron Murray registers for classes at a terminal in Lassen Hall. [Click to enlarge]

My Sac State, the highly anticipated website that replaced CasperWeb as the "fast, easy and secure" way to access records, is now receiving mixed reactions from the campus community.

The application, which was created by PeopleSoft, allows students to check messages from the school, add or drop classes, view their schedules and update contact information. The new interface also provides access to a variety of features that CasperWeb, the university's old records system, didn't - including the ability to accept and decline financial aid awards electronically, a wait list function and the introduction of "dual roles."

For example, student employees on campus have the ability to view information for either role. Under the student tab, they have access to all the things other students do. Under the employee tab, they can view past pay stubs, as well as summaries of benefits, health care, and savings plans. Yet in spite of all of these things in one location, students are still experiencing difficulty.

Despite increased functions, some students feel My Sac State is convenient, but not exactly user-friendly.

Aimee Curameng, senior film studies major, said navigating the website is confusing.

"It is well organized with plenty of informative links…(but) there are so many links that sometimes it's difficult to find something specific that you need," she said. "My Sac State makes my already too cluttered life more cluttered."

Overall, students appreciate having everything in one location, but have particular aspects they dislike as well.

"The only thing I didn't like…was the way I had to pick my classes," said Shaun Carvalho, senior liberal studies major. "It just seemed confusing to me."

Other students admit that their familiarity with CasperWeb has made the transition difficult.

"I felt like Casper was easier to navigate," said senior English major Shauna Krutch. "If I was looking for something, I knew where to find it."

Interim Associate Director of Administrative Computer Services Jeanette Norton said an easy solution for students is the help feature, which can be found in the upper left hand corner and directs users to a number of tutorials specific to the difficulties they're having.

"They are very useful," she said. "You can just walk through them very quickly."

She said the switch from the old system to the new system will take some time to work out.

"This is something new and we know that we have to give it a couple semesters," Norton said.

Before My Sac State launched, the school tested it out on a small group of students to gauge their reactions.

"They felt it was pretty intuitive," Norton said.

Systems Analyst Shiva Pillai said students also appreciated the message system that alerts them of fee deadlines and communications from professors.

In light of the new features, My Sac State is a system that takes some getting used to, Carvalho said.

"(The) first time I used it…I was lost," he said. "If I had to do it again next semester, it'd be easier."

One of the positive aspects of My Sac State is its availability. While CasperWeb was only open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays, My Sac State is accessible 24 hours a day.

"The only thing I like better about My Sac State is that it's accessible all the time," said junior graphic design major Ashley Parker.

Common Management Systems (CMS) has plans to expand upon My Sac State in the upcoming year, introducing new features as the system continues to improve. Some of them, such as a new degree audit, will be accessible to students.

"That's really the last rollout of this implementation," Norton said.

Still, there are parts of My Sac State that are behind the scenes that will allow the school to analyze information and run a variety of reports.

"When the system matures, we'll be able to do more trending," Norton said.

While the first phase of switching over to My Sac State is not yet complete, Norton said that it should be finalized by Oct. 29.

Natalye Childress Smith can be reached at ncsmith@statehornet.com.

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