Guest Viewpoint by Christopher A. Hernandez
Let’s start from the beginning, I graduated from Highlands High School in June 2011 and started college majoring in journalism that fall.
When you first register for college, all students must provide a record of immunizations. At the time, I was up to date with my records until 2015.
It has been two years, and, like most students I regularly check my account in ACES, which made registration seem easy. In December, I began to plan classes for the spring.
Before I began registering, I checked ACES for holds. There were no holds on my record, so I began searching for classes. After figuring out my schedule, I entered one course number and was notified there was an issue.
Apparently, there are holds and requirements that must be checked and cleared. I was told a requirement message was sent to my ACES account that stated I needed an immunization before enrolling for the spring semester.
The message was sent after Thanksgiving. I argued during my first semester I was told no immunization was needed until 2015. When I found I needed an immunization, it was close to Christmas vacation and I was unable to be seen by a doctor until January. The deadline for registration was Jan. 12, and I registered for only one class.
ACES is the only way I have to communicate with the college and my instructors. Students can receive information about happenings around the college and updates regarding registration though ACES, but it is not reliable.
On ACES, there are tabs where students can check for holds and requirement messages. If both can prevent a student from registering, then shouldn’t both alerts be under the same tab?
When ACES is receiving maintenance, students can’t log in to check emails or register for classes.
During the semester, there are times the ACES server is shutdown because of the mass of students attempting to use ACES at the same time. If personal information is required for registration, students need to be personally informed by phone, mail and ACES.
I understand that we, as students, have a responsibility to keep checking ACES for holds and requirement messages, but I would prefer to be informed personally by mail or phone if the issue involves me not being able to register.
Perhaps, Qless can also be used as an alert system to send important messages accounts or to turn in personal documents before important deadlines.
Maybe it’s time for an ACES update.