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I am somewhat surprised issues of scripting and trading even exist in the registration system. Staggering enrollment times over a few days, with new waves every

I am somewhat surprised issues of scripting and trading even exist in the registration system. Staggering enrollment times over a few days, with new waves every 20 minutes or so, mostly solves scripting issues since you are only competing with a fraction of the student body now. Giving courses waitlists once they are full, instead of allowing people to just directly register once a spot frees up, makes trading impossible since if you could trade you could have just registered for the course anyways. I understand that the registration system is probably old and tied up in tons of just as old management software, but if the university really cared the solutions should be there.

loeg 2y ago
So, for context, UW's registration system runs on, like, a single 1980s VAX.
- lupire 2y ago
  I didn't know VAX had web APIs. Do you know that software can be used to build a wrapper layer around other software?
  - twodave 2y ago
    It's much easier to build a gateway API for a legacy system than to extend it. Not disagreeing with you. Honestly, though, software systems for academic institutions are ridiculously complicated, because they are essentially a student portal, a school, a sales organization, a rules engine, etc. etc. all wrapped up into one and interconnected in ways that aren't obvious on the surface.
- confidentlyinc 2y ago
  That is confidently incorrect
- dpedu 2y ago
  The school I attended in 2010 had a system like this as well. Awful backend with a simple, but still awful, web interface to talk to it. There was rumor you could telnet in and use an actual text interface, but I never saw it. The system was replaced a few years later with an Oracle PeopleSoft implementation. Everybody hated it more.
campbel 2y ago
I went to school about 20 years ago and we had staggered online registrations. Surprised the best solutions haven't propagated further.
- wil421 2y ago
  Pretty much every schools uses staggered registrations to allow upper class men or even athletes the ability to get classes they need.
buildbot 2y ago
When I went there it was staggered, which causes this desire for spot trading - seniors register first, so if you are an freshman/sophomore/junior, you beg a senior to register a spot in a class you want then coordinate them deregistering just before you register for the class. This automated that and at scale could be a big issue.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
potato3732842 2y ago
Punishing people is easy. Changing process is hard, especially when you're a dysfunctional bureaucracy.

loeg 2y ago

So, for context, UW's registration system runs on, like, a single 1980s VAX.

lupire 2y ago
I didn't know VAX had web APIs. Do you know that software can be used to build a wrapper layer around other software?
- twodave 2y ago
  It's much easier to build a gateway API for a legacy system than to extend it. Not disagreeing with you. Honestly, though, software systems for academic institutions are ridiculously complicated, because they are essentially a student portal, a school, a sales organization, a rules engine, etc. etc. all wrapped up into one and interconnected in ways that aren't obvious on the surface.
confidentlyinc 2y ago
That is confidently incorrect
dpedu 2y ago
The school I attended in 2010 had a system like this as well. Awful backend with a simple, but still awful, web interface to talk to it. There was rumor you could telnet in and use an actual text interface, but I never saw it. The system was replaced a few years later with an Oracle PeopleSoft implementation. Everybody hated it more.

campbel 2y ago

I went to school about 20 years ago and we had staggered online registrations. Surprised the best solutions haven't propagated further.

wil421 2y ago
Pretty much every schools uses staggered registrations to allow upper class men or even athletes the ability to get classes they need.

buildbot 2y ago

When I went there it was staggered, which causes this desire for spot trading - seniors register first, so if you are an freshman/sophomore/junior, you beg a senior to register a spot in a class you want then coordinate them deregistering just before you register for the class. This automated that and at scale could be a big issue.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

potato3732842 2y ago

Punishing people is easy. Changing process is hard, especially when you're a dysfunctional bureaucracy.