Duke Student Government has charged a six-student committee comprising both undergraduate and graduate students with assessing the functionality of the new ACES.
The group will work closely with Kathy Pfeiffer, assistant vice provost and director of Student Information Services and Systems, to suggest improvements and test any new changes. The committee will meet approximately once every two weeks during the Fall and take a "systematic approach to ongoing feedback from students," Pfeiffer wrote in an e-mail to committee members Sept. 15.
After analyzing issues students have with ACES, the committee will create a priority list of recommendations. Changes may be implemented before registration for Spring 2009 classes, said DSG President Jordan Giordano, a senior. Pfeiffer, however, said the timeline for changes depends on their complexity and whether or not developers from PeopleSoft-the company that manages the new software-would need to be involved.
A lack of organized testing during a trial last Spring accounts for much of the problem, Pfeiffer said.
"When we had our focus group in April, we gave those students access for several weeks to continue to test and give us feedback," she said. "But it was not as formal as this process will be. It probably was a mistake that we didn't do anything in an organized fashion, which I wish we had."
Some changes have already been implemented-such as the return of the graphical calendar-but many students said more should be done in a timelier manner to solve additional issues.
"Most [student] input seems to be that ACES is hard to navigate," Pfeiffer said. "It would be a mistake to second-guess that input."
Committee member Matt Byrne, a sophomore, said excessive hyperlinking adds to this confusion. "The foremost problem I see with the new system is that it practically requires a map and a GPS system to navigate properly," he said. "I feel like I'm playing a completely un-fun version of 'Where's Waldo?' when I try to register for classes."
DSG Vice President for Academic Affairs Chelsea Goldstein, a junior and member of the committee, said major declaration is another problem on the new system.
"Sophomores are having so much trouble filling out their long-range plans that they are deferring major declaration, which is a huge problem," she said.
Although some students have commented positively on the new look of ACES, many said they find the interface clunky and overly complicated.
"In general, the site should be arranged for quick access and intuitive use, not simply to include the multitude of tools and features that the new ACES tries to present via nested links and menus," said committee member Nick Bottenus, a sophomore.
Student input will be important for the committee, Byrne said. "I have my own issues with the current system, but I imagine I've only run into a fraction of the problems that exist with it," he said. "As such, only with significant input from the student body can all of the problems be appropriately addressed."
As the DSG representative, Goldstein recommended students to serve on the committee. She said she chose students who had programming and site-building experience or had an active interest in making changes to the site.
Student suggestions can be sent to the committee through Goldstein, and the Academic Affairs section of the DSG Web site will be updated to reflect progress that is being made.
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