The Griffin: volume 52, issue 02 - Sept. 25, 1981

              (continued on Page 9) by Meena Chidambaram and Debbie Rice A few years ago, people couldn't get information from a computer quickly, and when they did it was likely that the data was inaccurate or outdated. Conditions, however, have improved. Dr. Phyllis Sholtys, director of planning and research; Nevin R. Beaver, director of the Computer Center; Joel Cohen, assistant director for academic computing; and Robert Rice, assistant director for administrative systems, all agree that by September 1982 the computer business will have improved tremendously. The present Computer Center on the second floor of the Health Science Center moved into its new, remodeled quarters in the Main-Eastwood complex on Sept. 12. The Registrar's office will also have an easier time. Dropping and adding courses will be done faster. There will be no need for long lines or for verification afterwards. The registrar will be able to up-' date student class schedules immediately, and a variety of other reports could also be done in minutes. The registrar will also be able to maintain extensive academic histories on each stu'dent to provide facts for mandated state and "federal reports. The registrar will be able to provide transcripts for students quickly things would bectfme accurate and up-to-the-minute instantly. Fewer errors will result. "Another improvement would be that the department heads would know exactly how much money they have to work with," said Beaver. "Each department would have their budgets printed out more often so everyone knows how much money they have at the moment. Managers sheuld be better able to control their expenses.""One of the main reasons for this move is to get closer to the maiority of our users — academic and administrative," Beaver said. "We now have modern offices and a beautiful facility that the whole Canisius community can be proud of." There will be much more accurate student information accessible to the administrator once the new system is set up. All an administrator would have to do is to type out the student's name on the closest terminal and all necessary information would be displayed on the screen. The Bursar's office will be tremendously helped by this new VAX system. Once installed, hours could be saved for the student and employees as well. Rice remarked, "One of the things I hate to see is students standing in a line to pay bills." Bursar's wouldn't need their collection tubs, anymore. They can just enter everything into the terminal and Whereas in the old system, one would have to send a request to the computer center, the people in the computer center would then process the information and send it back. This system could take days. ting errors. Once the needed information is typed on the screen in a split second the answer would be displayed. Interactive computing will allow the development of new interactive applications, difficult to implement in the batch environment. Computer Aided Instruction, where a student may be drilled by a computer terminal, is a prime example of this.. "Also, by using terminals, the student would be getting trained for the real world," said Cohen. Terminals are available to corn- Cohen said that the Computer Center will have 29 terminals for student use in the Spring semestec Working on a terminal is faster and more efficient and also saves printer paper. By working on the terminal, a student could prepare his program, edit it, have immediate feedback, and also run it on the screen. When the program is completed to the student's satisfaction, he can have it printed out just once in its final form. Rice also mentioned that the main reasons for moving were to be closer to the other offices, for easier student accessibility, more space availability, and for reorganization. Joel Cohen, assistant director of academic computing, and Nevin J. Beaver, director of the Computer Center, discuss the new complex. The new Computer Center located at the Main-Eastwood Complex, complete with five major administrative computer systems. the grikfin/bih Murphy Typing on a screen is much faster and more efficient since the typist can spot his typing errors immediately after they have been made. This saves time in correc- In the old system, Beaver explained, there_was a lot of keypunching, which is a slow and frustrating process. Once the Computer Center gets the new VAX 11/780 computer, all the administrative offices will have their own terminals — where the desired information can just be typed out (instead of keypunching). The five systems are the Student Systems (Admissions, Registration, and Student Affairs), Financial-Budget System, Personnel System, Financial Aid and Alumni Development System. "The college is purchasing its new software from Patrick O'Day Associates', of Louisville, Kentucky for three of these major systems," Rice said, adding that "the other two systems, Financial Aid and Alumni, will be reprogrammed by Canisius data processing personnel to interface with these other systems." With the use of these systems, the administrators will be able to better serve the students and alumni. These new systems using video terminals will be able to enter, update, and display information within their own departments, in addition to requesting reports from the computer center. puter science students this semester as part of a "shakedown" period before all academic users are transferred to "the new computer this Spring. Rice added that five new major administrative computer systems are scheduled to be installed over the next six months. "By a new computer system," Dr. Sholtys stated, "we mean new software — new programs." THE GRIFFIN/BUI Murphy C.0j. Student Enrollment Reaches Ail-Time High full-time faculty to full-time students will remain 1 to 18. Therefore, the average class size should be unaffected by the increase in student number. liyS&uraxi .TKTSKh&S |uj9 yMlttgBBtimtt? VOLUME Lll, NUMBER 2 Canisius College FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1981 ' «- MXm — lf||j " |p bNm ■ In addition, a new officer, Michele Kattman, has been added to the Career Counseling Department.Fr. Edmund J. Ryan, vice president of Academic Affairs, outside the Bagen Administration building, discusses student enrollment here. Significant to the increase in students is the college's expanded computer science program. This year, Canisius students can major in that field for the first time. Currently, 248 students are enrolled in the department, of which approximately 105 are majoring. A new computer is being installed in the recently renovated Main- Eastwood Facility, and will serve in addition to the old Burroughs system located in the Health Science Center. identical to last year. Director of Admissions, Penelope H. Lips, estimates that the number of applications for admission from freshman day students will reach the 1800 mark this year. This indicates a 6.8% increase from last year. However, she said that the actual number of acceptances tends to remain constant because the school is equipped to handle a certain number of students. She also pointed out that actual admissions statistics have not yet been fully correlated or published. This year the college has undergone several changes to accommodate the increase in the size of the student body. Among them is the addition of seventeen new members to the full-time faculty. This represents a net increase of nine. Thus, the ratio of It was announced on THursday, August 27, during student orientation exercises in the Koessler Athletic Center that the class of 1985 is the largest class in the history of the school. However, this is misleading because the actual number of students is nearly Fr. Ryan believes that the enrollment has reached near capacity. by Paul Dennee The total student enrollment at Canisius College reached an alltime high this semester. According to a Memorandum dated September 14, 1981, from Fr. Edmund G. Ryan, Executive Vice- President for Academic Affairs, the total sfudent enrollment had increased to 4,396 by September 10. The value represents a 10.6% increase from that date two years ago. - THE GRIFFTN/Dawn Littleton Computer Center 'Programs' Well