STUDENTS CAN PLAN SCHEDULE BY PHONE

Enrolling in classes would be only a telephone call away under a plan to be implemented this fall at Southeast Missouri State University.

Ken Dobbins, vice president for finance and administration at Southeast, said the university hopes to purchase the necessary equipment to have telephone enrollment on line by October for students seeking to pre-register for the 1994 spring semester.

The hardware and software are expected to cost in the range of $60,000 to $65,000, he said Wednesday.

Dobbins said the university already has a good computer registration system. "You have to have that first before you can go to an on-line telephone registration system," he explained.

Under the plan, students would receive instructions on the new system and a worksheet with the class schedule.

Students would then be able to call from any touch-tone phone and register for classes, Dobbins said.

"The telephone registration system is basically a PC (personal computer) that sits in front of the mainframe (computer) and voice responses digitized so that when a person uses a touch-tone telephone and does certain functions it will respond back to you," he explained.

In the future, it's envisioned that most students will end up registering for classes by telephone rather than doing it in person as is now done, Dobbins said. That could lead to the elimination of some temporary jobs in the university's enrollment center, Dobbins said. But, he said, some staff will always be needed to handle those students who want to register in person.

"We really don't know the impact (on personnel) until we actually do it," he said.

Current plans call for having about 20 telephone lines open for students to call in and register for classes.

The number of lines, said Dobbins, depends on the type of equipment purchased. The university hopes to seek vendor proposals this spring.

Telephone enrollment would make enrollment more convenient for students. Among other things, it would allow expanded hours for enrollment.

"We do know that it has been very, very successful at many universities throughout the country," said Dobbins.

"It really is going to assist our students tremendously," said Dobbins, noting that students will be able to register for classes without leaving their homes.

SueAnn Strom, vice president of student affairs, said the telephone enrollment system should help both the university and the students.

"I think it is a more effective way of serving students and getting students registered," she said. "It usually does cut down on lines and frustration. Students get a faster feedback on selection of classes.

"Typically, from an administrative point of view, it helps you monitor what your demands are for classes or courses," said Strom.

"It makes our system of record keeping much more sophisticated and we are more effective in putting out the classes that the students need," she said.

Strom said telephone registration is used with success at many colleges. Strom's previous employer, Mankato State University in Minnesota, implemented such a registration system last year. She said the system was well received by students there.

Dobbins said telephone enrollment is just one application that can be made of such technology.

For example, it's likely that students in the future would be able to access computerized records to get information about financial aid and whether their student-loan checks were ready for pickup. Students also might be able to call up their grades.

"This is just a first step," Dobbins said of the telephone enrollment system. "It is a first step in giving access to more and more individuals the data that is on the mainframe."

The move to telephone enrollment has raised one issue that has yet to be addressed how to provide academic advising for those students using such a system.

Dobbins said there are a number of hard questions that university officials and staff will have to address. He said there's a question about "who needs academic advising and how are we going to do it in a manner that doesn't outweigh the benefits of telephone registration."

He said input is being sought from the university deans, academic advisers and others. Dobbins said it's hoped the issue can be resolved this spring.

"We are looking for everybody's input so we can make sure that it is done in the best manner possible," he said.