The ACCESS.SMU update over the summer will provide manyadditions to the system, but the PeopleSoft program makes the wholesystem seem more like INACCESSIBLE.SMU. Ed Board feels two majorchanges are needed to make the system more user-friendly, kind oflike the old ACCESS.

First, the greeting is now directed at the student, faculty orstaff’s identification number rather than their name. Wedon’t go by 1234-5678 with our friends or colleagues, andit’s a little unfortunate that at a university this size, wecan’t go out of our way to make people feel like people andnot just numbers. It may seem like a superficial change, butaren’t SMU students worth the recognition?

Second, the horizontal menu seems to be a stumbling block. Didthe page load? Where is the additional content? It seems likewhoever designed it was the guy who formerly filled in the bracketson the NCAA playoff schedules.

Oh, and who is this learner and what services are they trying tofind on our ACCESS.SMU accounts?

Ed Board knows that this menu is the work of PeopleSoft and thatour own Information Technology staff would not play such an eviljoke on us. However, when the new update is available, we wouldlike to see a vertical menu. In fact, we encourage the community tonot only provide feedback to SMU but also to PeopleSoft.

On the flip side, there are praiseworthy aspects of the newACCESS.SMU that are worth positive feedback. The new features thatare rolling out this year, including degree progress reports onlineand faculty and staff financial information, will make life aroundSMU run a little more smoothly and give students, faculty and staffa little more independence.

As long as the campus community continues to provideconstructive feedback about the new system, Learner 1234-5678(formerly Ed Board) remains confident that the current problemswill eventually be a thing of the past.