Photo: Federico Feroldi
From 21 March to 12 April students and teachers cannot add or modify details on subjects and results in the educational information systems of Wageningen UR. The old systems AIR, SPA, and STAW will be replaced in this period with WISE (Wageningen Information system for Students and Educational Staff).
The system will be temporarily unavailable because millions of data must be transferred to WISE. It was deliberately chosen to do this in the middle of the fifth period, because this is a time where generally little adjustments are made, according to the Student Service Center. Most students will therefore not be affected, the centre expects. They can still view existing data during the transition period.
WISE is an umbrella system for students, teachers, student advisers and examination and admissions committees. ‘The current system is technically outdated and vulnerable in maintenance and management. It is also practical to have all the data in one system’, says Ingrid Hijman, head of Student Service Center.
For students the benefit of WISE – accessible after 12 April through MyPortal – is that all the information is available in one place. Furthermore, there are no large user benefits to the new system, says Hijman. Instruction videos will be made for all the actions that students will have to perform in the system. Also student teams will be set up who can answer questions and provide assistance during busy periods.
Students were involved during the design of the system. Among other things this has resulted in a new possibility to make a study plan in the system. Now many students are still doing this in a self-made Excel file or on paper.