As we register for classes in the spring, each of us should be reminded of how far this process has come in the last decade.
We must also realize how far ETSU still has to go.
That we no longer have to come to campus and stand in line at the registrar’s office is one of the great blessings we have as students in the year 2000. We could easily forget how convenient it really is to call by phone or bring up the Web site compared to what our predecessors went through.
The university can still take steps to make registration as painless as it can and should be.
There is no good reason that Goldlink should not be available by phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Other universities have round-the-clock telephone registration services and we should, too. It fails to add up that a university in such budget throes does not have its touchtone fee payment system up at all times.
Secondly, departments and colleges should make advisers more accessible and answers easier to find for students.
When making decisions that will affect the ability of a student to graduate, a university owes its paying customers whatever help and information they might need. Staff advisers should be better informed of requirements and hold extended office hours.
If a university is to promote the idea that the college years are of utmost importance to a person’s career, it ought to also promote actions that instill that belief in students. A top-flight registration process is one of those actions.
When students see extra effort on the part of the university, they are more likely to reciprocate.

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