Oberlin's grade pages on PRESTO will look a little different from this sample. Click on the image to see a larger version.
			Grades to Become Viewable Anytime Anywhere--on the Web By Betty Gabrielli
			DECEMBER 21, 1999--To borrow a phrase from Star Trek's Doctor McCoy, "It's dead, Jim, It's dead." Come January 14, 2000, paper grade reports at Oberlin will be a thing of the past as students will be encouraged to access their fall-semester grades on the World Wide Web. No more visits to the mailroom or palpitations of the heart as the grade-report envelopes are ripped open. Instead--by logging on to a new administrative web system called PRESTO --Oberlin students anywhere in the world will be able to enter their "T" number and PIN and see rolling across the screen those oh-so-meaningful little letters that affect grade-point averages and help determine graduate-school admission. Students without computer access while away from campus "may make alternative arrangements for receiving end-of-semester grades by visiting the Office of the Registrar prior to the end of final exams," says Ron Bowman, associate registrar. A student's grades will stay on PRESTO--Personal Records for Employees and Students at Oberlin--as long as the student is enrolled. (The acronym was chosen through a campuswide contest suggested by Kevin Weidenbaum, former director of client services for the Center for Information Technology. PRESTO also allows students to register for classes. Online registration started when students used PRESTO to sign up for classes last spring. "Providing Internet access to grades will ultimately benefit all involved as it will make immediately available a great deal of academic information--including grades for any given term," says Lori Gumpf, registrar. "Web registration and grade display--just two of the many features of BANNER [student-records software]--are intended to add flexibility and improve the efficiency of these processes for the students." Announcement of the new method of delivering grades appeared on the registrar's home page only a short time ago, so student reaction has been minimal. When asked a few days ago for her opinion of the change, Ann Neary, a sophomore from Indianapolis majoring in English and music, said, "I favor any process that makes accessing my grades more efficient." Citing problems students encountered registering for classes through PRESTO, however, she wondered whether students would perceive the new option as reliable. Toshio Mana, a fifth-year bass-performance major from Visalia, California, is enthusiastic about the change: "I'm glad to see we are simplifying access to personal records by gathering the information in one place". Mana says he is looking forward to viewing his grades on line. "PRESTO seems to be a kind of 'one-stop shopping'--I find that rather exciting."
			Please send comments, questions, and suggestions about Oberlin Online news and feature articles to Linda.Grashoff@oberlin.edu.