It’s common to hear people complaining about the websites TCC students must use.
Over the past year, myTCC replaced CampusCruiser, and the library’s website was changed. The thought behind it is a good one, and it is clear the administration is thinking of the students, but something like this seems like a low priority when myTCC, WebAdvisor and the campus email are still such a mess.
MyTCC is nicer looking than CampusCruiser to be sure, but it isn’t any more concise. WebAdvisor is still a separate entity and still hard to navigate.
On top of that, myTCC’s email is still separate from myTCC. All three websites require someone to log in although the password is the same for each, which is frustrating for students and staff. There are links to both on myTCC, but tacking the sites together this way does not fix the underlying problem.
The new Class Planner tool, which helps students organize their entire schedule, is a convenient feature, but it does what students have always managed to do on their own.
The library’s new website also looks pretty, but it doesn’t add much. It was designed to function more like Google, bringing up everything related to the search criteria.
This is fine if students want to find everything the library has to offer on a broad subject. However, the search engine is not conducive to finding a single book, article or film.
To narrow down results, students still have to use the advanced search options to sift through search results.
The old search engine is still available, fortunately, so students can toggle between the two. But all that does is underscore how unnecessary the change seems to be.
It is clear the administration is trying to meet students’ requests for more modern-looking websites. Officials addressed those requests with cosmetic changes to their existing websites, which is the best they could do, given the situation.
TCC has spent years buying software piecemeal from various vendors as needed. The resulting patchwork makes it difficult to make major changes.
The only option would be to throw everything out and start over, and a brand new system would require lots of time and money to complete.
That said, a massive, time-consuming, expensive overhaul may not be a bad idea.
TCC’s physical campuses always undergo construction when the administration deems it necessary.
With so much of students’ coursework moving online, why shouldn’t TCC’s websites do the same?
