Schedule registration confirmations now electronic

In an effort to reduce costs and keep pace with technology, Sacramento State will not be mailing out student schedule conformations before the start of the semester as it has for the past 12 years. Instead, students will receive an e-mail reminder to check and verify their schedule via CasperWeb for any scheduling, class or room changes.

Since the online CasperWeb registration system was implemented in 1993, students have received a confirmation letter in the mail approximately two weeks before every semester. For spring and fall semesters in 2004, Sacramento State sent out nearly 50,000 confirmation letters, one to every registered student. With the change, the university will save an estimated $70,000 on paper, postage, and labor.

Less paper is coming into the campus as well. In the spring 2005 semester more than three-quarters of registration was done online through CasperWeb, and 96 percent of Sacramento State students currently have a SacLink e-mail address.

“This new method should make the whole process easier for both students and staff,” said Sacramento State Registrar Anita Hall. “Students will have instant access to their schedule at any time. A process that used to take three weeks will now take a lot less time,” she said. Hall says the change is part of a university-wide movement to convert traditional correspondence to “paperless communication.”

Using e-mail confirmations has more advantages than just time and cost-effective benefits for the University, Hall says. The “paper-friendly” change will also allow students to obtain an instant, current look at their class schedule.

With numerous university classes already using online forums and message boards, the transition for students should be a natural and smooth one. Students already use websites to instantly access their academic records and campus services, such as free Regional Transit and online textbook sales.

— Josh Huggett