Problems logging on to the University Records System Access Web
site complicated an already frustrating process for some students
enrolling in spring-quarter classes last week.
Upon attempting to log on to URSA late last week, some students
reported receiving a message stating that the maximum number of
students were already logged on to the server. While some students
were able to access the site within a few minutes of their initial
attempts, others said they had to wait several hours to get into
the system.
According to the Registrar’s office, the university had
been having trouble with its servers on Friday, but no one could be
reached for further comment.
The server problems meant some students ran the risk of not
being able to enroll in their desired classes during their
scheduled enrollment time.
First-year biology student Nirmal Patel said problems with URSA
were an exasperating addition to the enrollment process.
“It’s hard enough to get all the classes you want
because there’s so many students trying to get into the same
classes, so they fill up really fast,” Patel said. “To
have computer problems on top of that is just ridiculous. I
don’t want my schedule to be messed up just because of
URSA.”
First-year undeclared student Megan Farmer said trouble
accessing the system almost caused her to miss her enrollment
time.
“I wasn’t able to log on before I had class, and by
the time I got to a computer again, my enrollment period was almost
over,” Farmer said. “It would have been really
frustrating to miss my priority pass.”
Some students expressed frustration at the additional time they
had to spend trying to log on.
“Even though I finally was able to enroll in classes, it
was really annoying because I had to keep trying until (URSA) would
let me log in. It took way longer than it should have and was
really a waste of my time,” Patel said.
Farmer also said that the system was noticeably slower compared
to other quarters.
“Usually, things load pretty fast on URSA, but it seemed
like it was taking forever for everything to go through,” she
said.
Because the problem seemed to be worst during peak hours, some
students had more success accessing the site during off hours.
First-year history student Cameron Lee said he didn’t have
any problems with URSA because he enrolled in the morning.
Most students who were affected had enrollment passes last week,
but other students simply trying to plan their course schedules
were also impacted.
“I couldn’t log on to URSA to see when my enrollment
time was or how full classes already were,” said Matt Lemen,
a second-year history student.
Though URSA is always inaccessible between 1 a.m. and 6 p.m. on
Sundays, students who visited the site Sunday morning received a
specific message stating that the server was down for
maintenance.