Registration for summer classes, which beings today, will be the first time students use the new five-digit course numbering system.The new course numbers are part of a series of changes taking place as a result of the Renovare Project, the new University mainframe system being installed and set for completion in two years.Beginning today, students will log onto "insideND" to register and search for summer and fall course offerings. They will have to enter the new course numbers in order to find their classes.Christopher Temple, an academic specialist in the registrar's office, said he does not expect any glitches with students using the new course numbers today."We don't anticipate any problems; we have been preparing for months," he said.Temple said the longer numbers are necessary for the new Renovare system, but he noted further changes will come gradually as the system continues to be upgraded."Sometimes you'll hear this [the new Renovare System] called the 'vanilla version' because the University is trying to implement the system with as few customizations as possible," Temple said.The daunting task of re-numbering each of the University's 9,000 courses began last summer and was successfully completed with the help of all academic departments, Temple said."It was a challenging project for everybody," Temple said. "I was impressed with how the academic departments stepped up."The first two digits of the new numbers, assigned by the registrar's office, will indicate the level and type of course. Previously, a letter suffix was used to indicate the type of course. Each academic department was responsible for assigning the last three digits, using whatever system they preferred. "Some departments used a numbering system similar to their old ones," Temple said. "Others used this as an opportunity to revamp their structure."Faculty complaints were scarce, as all departments came together to reconfigure their course numbering systems, Temple said. In fact, he noted that many departments welcomed the opportunity to create a new and better identification system."Some departments were running out of unique numbers to manage their teachings. It was a lot of work, but some were excited at the prospect of reconfiguring their whole organization."To make the transition as smooth as possible, "insideND" will feature a link on the Student Services page to a tool that will allow students who know a course's old number to find the matching new one, Temple said.Links to tutorials are also featured on the Web site to help students learn to navigate and take advantage of the new system.Temple admitted the new numbering system might be a difficult change at first. "A five figure course number can be complicated at first, but in time it will become second nature," Temple said. "It's just a matter of learning the new language."
Mmalone3@nd.edu
