Students have mixed feelings on the new Banner system
April 18, 2023
Scheduling has finally started, and it marks the first time the university employs the use of the Banner/Onesis system. However, opinions on the new system seemed to be mixed on campus.
Several professors were reached out to share how they felt about the new system. Professor Jeff Long, who teaches East Asian history, had this to say, “It’s definitely so far not as hard as I thought it was going to be. From looking at the PDFs a couple of weeks ago, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but once I got on it, I started using it and to me, it’s more simplified than MyHusky. I’ve actually been surprised.”
However, he would elaborate on one of the biggest problems affecting staff members. “What’s missing is the content. I was worried myself, can I find the hold? Can I figure out how to release it? So that part wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be, but the problem is that to look for information, I still have to use MyHusky.”
Robert Fetterman, a media and journalism major, had similar sentiments about the Banner, saying, “I think kids will stress with it initially, but I think it’s something that needs to be done moving forward with all the other colleges.”
Meanwhile, Professor Dennis Frohlich, who teaches Media and Journalism, spoke about how the system change has been affecting staff, saying,
“It’s been a ton of work, and the reason has been that our major has some 40 some classes, and Lockhaven and Mansfield had different classes. So there were discussions almost two years ago now on, what do we like about our programs and what we should keep, and what we should change. Trying to get the whole integrated department on the same page,”
Some students, however, feel differently than staff members. Samantha Snell, a freshman ASL major, thought that the system change was “ridiculous.” She stated her reasoning was that new freshmen who had just learned the new systems coming into the fall “are now having to learn an entirely new system,” Snell said.
She finished by expressing her frustration with the system, stating, “Personally for me, they completely didn’t have my major there for a good three or four weeks.”
Dante Alucci, a sophomore, and another media and journalism major spoke of the prospect of having to learn the new system.
“I’m really not looking forward to that,” Alucci said. He elaborated, saying, “I just feel like I just learned how to navigate Bolt and MyHusky perfectly.”