Petition To Reinstate The Web Timetable

We, the undersigned, respectfully request that the UW-Madison Office of The
Registrar reinstate the Web (HTML-based) Timetable. The Student Center
(ISIS-based) timetable is inadequate for serving the student body for the
following reasons.

First and foremost, ISIS is neither a stable nor efficient enough system to host
the timetable. The length of taken to process a simple request such as opening
a department’s listings is substantially longer than that of the Web Timetable.
Loading times while browsing the timetable via the Student Center are roughly
four to fourteen times longer than the Web Timetable. Nor is the Student
Center as reliable as a simple HTML-based timetable as proven by frequent
outages during of the system during SOAR and semester registration.

Second, the nature of the ISIS system necessitates that only one browser
session be open at a time. The result of this is that neither multiple browser
windows nor tabs of the timetable can be used. Not only does this mean that
more time is spent browsing for classes, it means that students will be less likely
to find classes in which they desire to enroll. By making it impossible to simply
open new tabs/windows of the timetable, comparison between departments and
sections becomes very difficult and time-intensive and the ability to easily
browse through the timetable is lost.

Finally, by way of using ISIS, simple browser functions such as "back" or
"bookmark" are useless and although featuring "wish lists", it is often more
difficult to browse the timetable and compile lists of desired classes due to the
inconsistent navigation interface and limited information presented. Between a
lack of consistent navigation and adequate course information, use of the
Student Center timetable causes the process of enrollment to become much
more labored and time-intensive for students.

Given that the Registrar continues to publish the PDF/Print Timetable, we
request that the Web (HTML) Timetable also be continued. The Web Timetable
was an elegant, simple, consistent, and stable way to provide course
information to students and its replacement has caused trouble and concern for
the undersigned and other students of the University of Wisconsin - Madison.
We, the undersigned, feel that, by eliminating the Web Timetable, the Office of
The Registrar has done a disservice to the students of the University.