CaneLink addresses MyUM concerns, improves system

Course registration day is a stressful time for any student. Whether it’s anxiously waiting for registration time to roll around or playing the drop/add roulette, it’s a stint that brings about unnecessary tension to an already busy semester.

The university is planning to launch CaneLink – a new and improved version of MyUM as part of the integration of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.

“Recently, in the past couple of weeks, [ERP has] been doing focus groups of students to just get more … on how the system works … so they can fine-tune it,” said Justin Borroto, Chair of the IT Advisory board in Student Government (SG).

According to Borroto, CaneLink will address the concerns that SG has risen about registration in the past and will improve the efficiency of the MyUM system.

“This was IT’s solution to encompassing all of it and then getting on a standardized system that is easier to work with,” Borroto said.

One of the features that CaneLink will have is a shopping cart option, in which students will be able to plan out their courses ahead of time. Once their registration time comes, they will be able to register for all their courses in one click.

There is also no more waiting to see if someone drops a class, Borroto said. There will now be a waiting list for students who want to register for a course that is already full.

“If you’re the 26th person to want to register for a 25-seat class, as soon as somebody drops, you’ll automatically be able to get into the class,” Borroto said.

Students will also have the option to tell the system which class to drop if their first choice opens up.

The system will also allow students to map out a four-year plan, a feature that, according to Borroto, will not only benefit the students, but will allow academic departments to fill the need for certain popular courses.

“It’s very user friendly and it just makes a lot of sense,” Borroto said. “You don’t have to play that waiting game that people do all the time.”

Traci Ardren, senior associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, is looking forward to the new system.

“The faculty are already receiving … information about the new enterprise resource program, so I don’t think there’s going to be any problem,” Ardren said. “I know it’s a change, but from what I’ve seen of it so far, it’s pretty familiar looking and it seems very user friendly.”

Scott Ingold, functional team lead for the ERP team, shared similar sentiments.

“ … I am confident that all of the hard work going into this project will help to transform how the University of Miami functions,” Ingold said in a statement on the ERP website.

Students will be able to access CaneLink in March of 2013.