WSU computer science major Rennel Sangria stood before the WSUSA Senate Monday, presenting a plan to redevelop the Weber State registration page.

He said he had been given an assignment to take a business or non-profit website and improve it.

“The first thing that came to my mind that needed improvement was the Weber registration page,” Sangria said.

For instance, the system allows students to register for two classes at the same time. Sangria said his proposal would give students an error message in order to prevent students from holding seats.

Sangria plans for the system to be more user-friendly, allowing the student to plan semesters or even years in advance.

Sangria said there are too many windows a student must click through to register, mentioning students have to look at CatTracks and the course number in different windows on their computer. Sangria’s design would incorporate the CatTracks system into the registration page so students can plan their degrees in advance.

He said this will also help department heads since they will have more advance knowledge of which courses are in demand.

Sangria told the Senate the benefits would include faster graduation rates and higher class availability. Sangria claimed some students currently register for more than one class in the same time slot and then drop one once they decide which class to take.

“This hogs spots in the class,” he said.

Sangria also claimed in the new system students would no longer register for classes they don’t need due to confusion.

Some of the other improvements suggested include a warning system if a student schedules classes at the Ogden and Davis campuses within 10 minutes of each other. Sangria said some students just register for the classes they need and don’t pay attention to which campus the class is located at.

This system would warn students that they might not have enough time to get to their class.

Sangria would also seek to improve the wait list system by adding text alerts when the class opens up. Currently a student gets an email and has 24 hours to respond or lose their spot.

“Not everyone checks their email all the time,” Sangria said. “The text message would be more immediate.”

Student senators flooded Sangria with questions about the project.

Senate Vice President Jeff Henry said it was a worthwhile and important project and assigned an ad-hoc committee to follow up on the project.

Sangria asked the Senate for help with surveys and obtaining student feedback to see what they think of the idea.

Assistant Professor Yong Zhang of the computer science department estimates the project would cost between $70,000 and $140,000 to complete. He has been working with Sangria on the project and said he thinks it would be worth the cost.

“It would make a really smooth registration system,” Zhang said.

Note: This article has been updated to correct Zhang’s estimate of the project and to include Zhang’s full name and title.