WebAdvisor presented problems for current juniors scheduling for their fall semester classes last Thursday.   

The registration window for individuals with junior status opened at 10 p.m. on Thursday night.  However, WebAdvisor froze after students logged on the system and the malfunction prevented them from submitting their registration. They were able to reach the window that listed all their courses.  When clicking submit, they received an error message and the screen went blank before automatically logging them off.    

The problems with WebAdvisor increased the pressures of scheduling as some students were unsure how they could register after the screen froze or if they would be blocked out of classes. Although the system typically slows down with the high number of students signing in at the same time when the registration period opens, people had never experienced the issues in the past that had occurred this time.  

Don Prezioso, director of administrative IT, explained the potential causes of the glitch in the system. 

“It was likely due to people who would start an operation (like registration or search for sections), who would then close the browser while it was in process. The system can normally handle this appropriately, but if it is happening at many times per second, it could have had trouble keeping up,” Prezioso said.

After experiencing these problems, some students contacted Safety Services.  IT restarted the system and resolved the issue 20 to 30 minutes after being notified of the situation.  During that time frame, students continued their attempts at logging back in and registering. 

“The best bet is still to keep trying. It appears that is what students did on Thursday, since as soon as the service was restarted hundreds of seats were registered each minute,” Prezioso said.

To prevent glitches in the system, the IT department has changed WebAdvisor’s settings. It will automatically restart in the morning which will help remove anything that can slow down the system or cause it to freeze.

If the problem occurs again in the future, Prezioso offered various suggestions for students. He indicated that they should try logging back on a few minutes later and determine if this resolves the problem.  During the day, students could submit a Technical Support Center Ticket.  After hours, he said that they can contact Safety Services on the night the registration window opens if they are experiencing issues with the system. Safety Services will then alert IT and they will take the appropriate action.