SIS, the student information system at RPI, is a powerful tool for both faculty and studentswhen it is online.
Students are able to access their grades and financial aid information, register for classes, or get other pieces of valuable information by clicking a few links. Students have come to rely on this system, especially during the time before classes begin. It’s important that students are able to access SIS for many reasons including last minute schedule changes, checking the location of a class, checking class numbers for book buying, or even for a reminder of what classes they signed up for—November registration was a long time ago.
Getting on SIS lately has been a challenge due to maintenance and upgrades. It was down during finals week when students were anxious to check their grades. It was also down for a few days near the end of winter break, when people were just starting to think about the upcoming semester.
With all the time that SIS has been down for improvements, you would expect a pretty reliable system. Unfortunately, this is not the case, as many frustrated students would quickly tell you.
The Rensselaer Plan states that computing “is integral to teaching, learning, and research,” and makes upgrading of computing on campus a priority. While the Administration has been aggressively implementing other parts of The Rensselaer Plan, they now need to get behind this statement and work harder with the CIO to make SIS a dependable tool for student use.
