NMC prepares online student registration for next spring

Testing is ongoing at the Northern Marianas College with the aim to offer its students an online registration service next spring semester.

“We’re doing a pilot for the online self-service registration, which will allow students to—once they meet all their prerequisites—register themselves,” said Manny Castro, NMC’s director of admissions.

He said the college is working hard to smooth out any kinks with the service, and that full implementation is planned for spring.

“[With the service], registration can happen [in students’] living rooms, or at Java Joe’s or here at campus,” he said.

Castro said he is working closely with Jonathan Liwag, the college’s director of information technology, and Dennis Marselo, its database administrator, in preparing the service as the prerequisites for classes that go into the system are provided through his office.

He said that students would essentially have a virtual individualized degree plan that would help them calculate the credits they need and apply for the classes to earn them.

“Let’s say the students has to take ED 111, [the service] will show, ‘Course taken this semester,’ or if a course is in progress, it’s going to show it’s in progress, [as well as] how many of the core requirements are going to be met [with the class], so you can really track how far you are in the process,” he said.

According to Liwag, testing of the service is ongoing amongst different group and areas of the college, especially upper division students like juniors and seniors.

He said training for the program was recently concluded last week for the college’s faculty and administrators, and added that the current piloting of the program is very important as they look to deploy the service next spring.

Castro described the service as a good transition for the college, as even though it will be new for NMC students, online registering is usually available to students in schools abroad.

“[The online service] will provide students with the information they need to plan their academic year successfully,” he said.

Riya Nathrani, a student who participated in testing the service, said she expects it will make registering more convenient for students

“It’s even better for students who have to work, or who have other responsibilities. They don’t need to wait hours in line [to register],” she said.

She described her experience with the service as “smooth and effective.”

“It was easy to see what class can go where in the schedule,” she said.