Students frustrated over problems with MCC registration

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David Sanmiguel and his girlfriend Brittany Munnich take a break from the long lines while waiting to register for classes at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake. Thursday was the first day for current students to sign up for next semester's classes. (Travis Haughton – thaughton@nwherald.com)

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CRYSTAL LAKE – Jessica Rodden hopped out of line twice to change dirty diapers while waiting to register for classes at McHenry County College on Thursday.

She borrowed change from a woman she had just met, 23-year-old Cassandra Welch, so she could go to the vending machine to get snacks for her 2½- and 1-year-old sons.

“I thought we were going to get in and out,” Rodden said, two hours into her wait.

Registration was scheduled to start at 8 a.m. and could be completed online, over the phone, or in person at the school. But online registration went down for about three hours before anyone could get through, the school’s 46 phone lines immediately filled up, and the line at the school quickly grew.

“Many of our students are standing in line with a laptop and cell phone,” said Tony Miksa, vice president of academic and student affairs.

Their computer screens would get the message, “If you are viewing this page during Registration Hours, the Registration system is full, please try back in a few minutes. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

Stojan Radovanovic, a 19-year-old student from Cary, avoided the long lines by camping out at the college overnight. He and friend Keely Joyce, 17, arrived at the college about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday night. They set up chairs and covered up with blankets, and Radovanovic brought along a mystery book.

In the morning, Radovanovic was third in line and was able to register for the three classes he wanted: microbiology, organic chemistry and nutrition. He said those classes were required to transfer to University of Illinois Chicago, where he plans to attend after MCC.

Asked how the night in the cold went, he said, “it was worth every minute.”

For the fall semester, MCC saw a 26.7 percent increase in total headcount from last year, and a 29.4 percent increase in credit enrollment.

Officials said they expected those numbers to continue for the spring semester. By 6:30 p.m. Thursday, 2,650 students had registered for spring classes. MCC is offering 1,980 class sections. So far, 14 are full.

Contributing factors included the poor economy, the trend of more high school students choosing community college after they graduate, and the new Promise scholarship program, Interim President Kathleen Plinske said.

The first day of registration is always the peak, but spring semester registration lasts about two months, compared with the fall when it is spread out over about six months.

Administrators anticipated problems in the registration process, Plinske said.

“We know that our computer system has limited resources,” she said. “The servers were getting so many hits that they couldn’t keep up with the demand.”

Plinske said that the school had an ongoing effort to convert to a new system but said more than 40 years of historical data needed to be transferred.

“It just takes time,” Plinske said. “We’re not taking any longer than any other community college.”

To help ease the frustration of waiting in line for hours, Miksa said candy and 42 dozen doughnuts were distributed. Several dozen pizzas also came rolling through.

“It’s great to see that McHenry County College is the hottest ticket in town,” Plinske said. “You would expect that with a concert or Super Bowl tickets.”

MCC is putting together a team to address registration issues before the fall semester. Administrators are considering staggered registration and more registration locations, Plinske said.

Welch, who lent money to Rodden for her children’s snacks, said she had to call off work as an in-home caregiver, forcing her company to scramble to find someone to take her place.

“Now I’m out a whole day’s worth of pay,” she said. “It’s never been this bad. Ever.”

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