Students will not be able to access MyCSULB starting 5 p.m today through May 15.
When the system is closed down, MyCSULB services, including class registration and payments, will be put on hold until the system goes back online. However, the university is extending payment and class drop deadlines for dates within the system shutdown period during the upgrade.
Instructors will also not be able to access their class rosters during the scheduled time.
According to Thomas Enders, associate vice president of Enrollment Services, the shutdown will provide upgrades, including the following that affect students: an enhanced homepage, easier navigation, an improved interface with more icons, an enhanced registration process and a re-vamped advising component.
Presentations on the new system will be available at the normal MyCSULB address during the shutdown period.
The system shutdown is part of a California State University systemwide upgrade.
As part of a CSU systemwide upgrade, the closure had to be scheduled nine months in advance because the upgrade needed the support of the Chancellor’s Office staff, as well as external vendors. Furthermore, only one system can be upgraded at a time. Enders said focus groups were held with students that gave initial support into the new system and feedback.
However, with the semester coming to a close, many students said they are concerned with how this upgrade will affect them at this point in the semester. CSULB student Neil Munoz said he is concerned about how he would register for classes or add or drop classes during this period.
“I just don’t understand why they would do this at the end of the semester,” Munoz said.
Enders said the university considered several options for the shutdown time, but said none were ideal.
“There’s no convenient time. We tried to mitigate any inconvenience to students and instructors,” Enders said. One time that was considered included doing the upgrade before the summer session, but Enders said this would have hurt the summer school session students.
“We don’t want this to negatively impact students,” Enders said.
Other students voiced their concerns that they will not be able to adjust to the new system. Eric Uzeta, a junior, said he was used to the old system and that he liked it because it was not complicated.
“I just hope that the new system is as easy to use as the old system was,” Uzeta said.
Enders said that other services that affect the current spring semester, such BeachBoard and the University Library Web site, will still be accessible. He also said MyCSULB will still be subject to its weekly maintenance window after the upgrade is completed.
Bradley Zint contributed to this report.
