Tuesday, November 20, 2001

FrogNet overloaded
TCU considering other programs to solve problem
By Erin LaMourie
Staff Reporter

Junior accounting and finance major Whitney Merriman was unable to register for classes for three hours Nov. 9. When she finally was able to log on, all her classes were full. Merriman did not notify anyone of her difficulties.

She was not alone. Students are reporting fewer difficulties logging onto FrogNet this semester, but many problems may be going unreported, said Pat Miller, director of enrollment management.

Michael TenEyck, manager of administrative systems for Information Services, said FrogNet servers cannot handle the amount of people who try to get on the system during enrollment. Four hundred students are trying to log on at any give time during enrollment this semester, compared with 200 last fall.

As information services personnel work toward easing the delays, students have other options for enrollment, including going to the Registrar’s Office in Sadler Hall.
Server upgrades during the semester allowed 400 people to log on at any given time, Miller said. When that number of users created an increase in system crashes, TenEyck said, the number of potential users was reduced to 200.

Miller said about 50 students are scheduled to begin enrollment every half hour, which is about the same as last semester. He is unable to determine why so many students are using FrogNet at once but many students who have already registered seem to be logging on again to add or drop classes.

If students are having problems enrolling, they can enroll through the Registrar’s Office, he said.

“Many students stop by the (registrar’s) office to register,” Miller said. “We set up an extra computer and help them enroll.”

Merriman said she was unaware that she could call the Registrar’s Office and have them enroll her in classes if FrogNet was not working.

“It would have been good to know,” she said. “I could have gotten in the classes I wanted if I had done that.”

Information Services is searching for alternative programs to help solve the problem, but it will probably be a few weeks before FrogNet is fixed, TenEyck said.

FrogNet problems are not related to PeopleSoft, one of the programs used to create FrogNet, he said.

The problem is with Java Web server, TenEyck said. Information Services will test a new version of Java Web server as well as a program called Apache, which will not cost the university, he said.

“Even if we get a new program, we need to test it out first,” TenEyck said. “Hopefully (FrogNet) will be fixed before grades are posted over break.”

Miller said the Registrar’s Office is monitoring and responding to e-mail until midnight each night during enrollment. He said the office receives about 100 e-mails a day.

“We will respond (to e-mail) within 45 minutes and we will fix any problems,” he said. “Normally, if a student is having a problem, it is very specific to the student.”

TenEyck said students can help by planning their class schedule and alternate classes before they log on to FrogNet. If students are logged on to FrogNet but are inactive, the session will eventually be canceled so others can log on.

Erin LaMourie
e.m.lamourie@student.tcu.edu