By: Paul Alberici, Lion’s Eye Staff Editor, paa5102@psu.edu (updated by the Lion’s Eye Web Staff)
The online registration service for Penn State students is getting a brand new upgrade that will be known as “Lions Path.” This new system will be replacing, “eLion,” the long-standing registration system.
This new system is actually called “PeopleSoft” and its project name is “Lions Path.” This new system will operate somewhat differently from e-Lion. It makes registering for classes feel almost like online shopping because registering students use something like a “shopping cart,” and at check out students have their class choices.
Lions Path will also eliminate a lot of the paper aspects for students. The processes of “change of major” and entrance into certain programs will now take place in this new system. Payment status, semester classification, and unsatisfactory academic status will be changing with the implementation of the new system. This system is not just for Brandywine, it is University-wide, meaning that there will be some changes in class times and scheduling.
“Most of the changes should be more user-friendly to the student, but there are other advantages to using a vendor-provided system,” Registrar Joanna McGowan said. “The vendor will provide system upgrades and the campuses within the University will operate together . . . allowing more integration.”
“All campuses will now have common course times,” McGowan said. “So Brandywine’s course scheduling times will be a little different.”
This new system will be fully implemented for the Fall 2016 registration, so that when students are registering for Fall 2016 this Spring, they will be using the new system. However, registration for Summer 2016 will still be with the old e-Lion system.
As with all change, those acclimated to the old system will be learning this new way along with all the new students. This puts them both on the same level of expertise–absolutely zero. However, the new students have an advantage this time because they will be learning along with everyone else.
“I am told that there will be support for all students,” McGowan said. “Current students will need the most support because they will be using two systems; incoming students will just learn on the new system the same way current students learned eLion.”
This new system will update an outdated system.
“Our current computer system is home-grown and over 30 years old,” McGowan said. “It was no longer able to keep up with student, staff/faculty, and technology needs, and it is no longer practical to constantly manually implement work arounds and updates.”
It remains to be seen how effective this new registration system will be, however it looks like it will be bringing some much needed updates to registration.