By: Laura Brent ’18, Staff Writer
With the numerous changes in the academic programs, Lebanon Valley College will be releasing a new version of AccessLVC in the next few weeks that will change this semester’s registration process.
In the past, students have registered for classes one semester at a time. This year, students will register for both the fall 2017 and spring 2018 semesters on a new user-friendly version of AccessLVC.
The Assistant Dean and Registrar Jeremy Maisto explains that the new registration process was sparked by the new general education program, Constellation LVC.
“We talked about a lot of different options,” Maisto said. “Each option had their challenges and this one does as well; but, we thought this option was the best because students could fully map out for the year.”
This is the first year that Constellation LVC has taken place, and it has affected how the current freshmen class registers for general education classes. The upperclassmen will continue to follow the old general education track.
Next year, a new program within Constellation LVC will take place called Connective Experience. Students will take three 3-credit courses plus one 1-credit course (for a total of 10-credits). Students are required to take all four courses in the same academic year as a sophomore or junior.
“The new curriculum is very integrated,” Maisto said. “The challenge we realized from a registration perspective is if we kept the old model when students are registering in the fall, they might run into problems in the spring.”
The new AccessLVC also offers the ability to plan courses for the future. Essentially, there will be a “planning” feature and a “register” feature. This will allow students to plan their classes as far ahead as they desire. This can help students who want to study abroad or plan out when courses are offered during their time here at LVC.
“I’m hopeful people will appreciate being able to plan out the entire year,” Maisto said.
Additionally, the degree audit will be much more simplified with checkmarks and colors to make reading it much easier. There will also be a feature where students can send comments to their adviser within the degree audit.
The MBA students used the new version of AccessLVC in November to try out the new registration process. Maisto describes the MBA registration as a success, and it has had positive feedback so far.
“The new AccessLVC is very clean, modern and contemporary,” Nicole Berkhimer, MBA student, said. “The usability is seamless and it’s nice that there is an opportunity to plan ahead within the system.”
Students should be on the look-out for emails over the next couple of weeks explaining how the new AccessLVC will work along with a series of tutorial videos.
Registration for both the fall and spring semester will take place March 30 – April 6.
ljb003@lvc.edu