Banner ready for fall registration
Banner will be ready to go April 11 and the new system is expected to greatly reduce student frustration when registering, said Utah State Univeristy Associate Registrar Heidi Beck.
At Tuesday’s Associated Students of USU Executive Council meeting, Beck explained some of new features Banner, which will replace the QUAD, will provide to students.
Banner will provide 24-hour access, will not use student’s social security numbers and will allow students to search for classes by course, professor, time or even by depth or breadth classification, she said.
“Banner is pretty exciting, especially for you as students,” Beck said.
Training sessions will be offered to familiarize students with the new system from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 5 and 8 in Room TSC 335. Sessions will be taught every half hour.
“Students will be training students. Faculty will be training faculty.”
Registration will begin for graduate students at 12 a.m. April 11.
A bill that would increase ASUSU funds to the School of Graduate Studies presented by Graduate Studies Vice President A.J. Rounds was discussed, but will not be voted on until discussion of the ASUSU budget takes place.
The bill would increase funds from $7,000 to $35,000 by allocating 25 percent of student fees paid by graduate students back to the graduate program. The funds are badly needed to help retain and recruit students, Rounds said, and will be used primarily to help graduate students travel to present their research.
Currently, Rounds said, graduate students receive less than one percent of the ASUSU budget. The prestige of the university as a whole suffers because of the lack of support to its graduate students, he said.
“Our numbers of grad students are up, but applications are down and it’s a downward spiral,” Rounds said. “It’s simply because we don’t have the benefits other universities have.”
Chad Warnick, Agriculture senator, said graduate students receive the same benefits other students do from student fees, and it would be unfair for graduate students to pick and choose which fees go where. Warnick also questioned which programs would have their budgets cut to allocate the new money.
“Where would you recommend that $30,000 be removed from?” he asked.
“The only reason [graduate students] should be allowed to do that is because their needs are so different and their needs are so not being met,” Rounds said. “They’re putting a lot into the system and not getting a lot out.”
ASUSU President Les Essig also announced applications are available in his office for two state positions – Utah Student Association student lobbyist and student regent.
Any interested students are encouraged to apply.
Discussion over whether the new student identification numbers, to be used with Banner, should be printed on student ID cards also took place. The majority of council members felt the printed numbers could present a security risk for students and their identity.
In other news, Essig said the Love Sacs will not be returned to the Juniper Lounge.
“It’s sad that a privilege was lost for everyone because a couple people were careless,” he said.
Feedback about the student lounges from students is being requested, including what students want the lounges to look like and how students plan to utilize them.
-bnelson@cc.usu.edu