University of The Bahamas (UB) is scheduled to commence their 2017 fall school term with incoming freshman and returning students and today is the first day of classes.

UB anticipates close to 1,700 freshman students, hopefully more, be enrolled this year.

Typically, UB’s freshman acceptance has been estimated to be between 1,500 and 1,600 students, peaking at 1,700 students who have applied and received acceptance.

As of last Friday, there were over 1,000 freshman students (and counting) already registered.  The aggregate number of students that attend UB is between 4,800 to 5,000 students.

Freshman orientation began last Monday with online registration opening at 6 p.m. the following day, Tuesday.  Returning students were able to register online back in April, to ensure the security of the classes they need for the fall semester.

Students who registered online also had the option of paying their tuition in full.  Scholarship students or students that needed ‘deferred’ payments were required to pay in person.

The Bahama Journal was afforded the opportunity to speak with a number of students recently, freshman and returning regarding their thoughts on the online registration process.

Incoming Freshman Antoniez Higgs who tried to register online experienced some challenges, he said, “There was a glitch with the computer so I couldn’t get into some of classes so I had to go into records to register manually.”

Tyler Bethel, another incoming freshman, told The Bahama Journal he experienced challenges also, but was able to receive assistance from a tech in the computer lab.

He said, “It was just a hassle.  My schedule was mixed up.  I was told I shouldn’t be in some of classes, so I had to go to records to try and figure it out.  Also, when I tried to register online, it didn’t work, so I had to go to the computer room to get help. I had no idea what I was doing.”

On Campus part-time worker and returning student Kayshauna Dean said, “Lines and waiting times was still long. I was able to register online before my sophomore year ended and had no problems using the online registration, but in terms of payments, I wasn’t able to pay full online. I had to defer my payment and pay in person.”

Incoming freshman twin sisters from Central Eleuthera High School, Kristianne and Krystalanne Thompson both had some difficulties registering online.

Kristianne said, “The registration process was a little difficult because I couldn’t get on my account at the beginning; the system wasn’t working.  To come here physically, you had to keep walking to different places to get what you need. I did get help though, through by an IT person, but I still didn’t fully understand.”

Krystalanne has to take college prep courses first and had to seek help from her cousin, who is a returning student.

She said, “I needed assistance and my cousin Natino, he had to help me with my registration.”

After taking some time off from his studies (before online registration was introduced to the university), returning student Natino Thompson had this to say about online registration.

“Obviously, there are kinks to work out because it’s a new system that they have implemented. I’m grateful that they have improved, but the university still has a long way to go, to be honest.”

Speaking with Vice President of Administrative Services Marcella Elliott-Ferguson, she informed that the registration process is essentially a three step process.

She said, “First, the student would meet with their advisor and their advisor would give them their contract of study. Once that advising process is finished, the second step is called course reservation. Students can reserve their courses online, similar to purchasing an item online; the courses can be stored in their ‘cart’ until they are ready for the third stage, which is payment. Once the registration is finished, persons can pay all upfront online.”

Overall, the mission of UB’s online registration is to make it as easy as possible for students.

Dr. Elliott-Ferguson said, “We want to create a safe environment for students. Servicing our students is one of our goals and mission.”