MySJSU bogged down as semester begin statewide

By: Allie Figures

Posted: 9/4/08

Logging into MySJSU has been a problem for students in recent weeks because of high user volume.

"Lately, students have not been able to sign onto the system," said Chezka Esposo, a junior pre-nursing major, who works as a receptionist at the Common Management Systems Office in Clark Hall.

The system, powered by PeopleSoft, is experiencing slow performance with thousands of students on campus trying to do the same thing at the same time, said Carrie Medders, a manager at the CMS Project Office.

But SJSU students are not the only ones; the entire CSU system is run off hardware based in Salt Lake City.

"With multiple campuses starting school, the capacity to perform transactions was heavily impacted," Medders said.

Veronica Sanchez, an undeclared sophomore, said some students are actually able to log into the MySJSU system, but the system immediately logs them out.

"It happens every time they try to log in," she said.

Kaycie Perez, a sophomore Spanish major, had problems logging in on the first day of school.

"I was trying to get on to find out where my class was," she said.

"Sometimes it can take 30 minutes to an hour to finally get in the system."

Perez advised that students not wait until the last minute when dealing with MySJSU.

"It can be really stressful," said Lauren Gray, a junior political science major.

"Sometimes it will just log you off without warning."

It is not just students having problems with MySJSU. Faculty members and staff have also experienced system errors.

"I have still not been able to log into my account," humanities professor Mary Conroy said. "I think it has something to do with my password."

Faculty members use MySJSU to access student grades, update class rosters, view academic advising information and to communicate with students, according to the system's Web site.

The University Help Desk, located on the first floor of Clark Hall, is the first place students go for help with their MySJSU accounts, said Cuong Luong, a senior computer engineering major who works at the help desk.

"We mostly deal with resetting passwords for SJSUOne," said Luong.

According to its Web site, SJSUOne is the system involved with campus wireless access and the activation of student e-mail accounts.

When students go to the Help Desk for assistance with MySJSU, the only solution Luong can give them is the e-mail and voicemail to the CMS Help Desk. But because of an overload of requests the response time now takes longer than the usual one or two business days.

"It's bothering me that I cannot check my message on MySJSU," said Lauren Welch, a communication disorders major. "I've sent (the Help Desk) an e-mail and I still haven't heard back."

Luong said many students are having problems logging in because their passwords are supposed to be reset every 90 days, according to its Web site. Trying to use an expired password several times results in the account becoming temporarily disabled.

"I didn't know I had my caps lock on, I tried to log in, and after a couple of times it locked me out," said Lauren Gray, a political science major.

Medders said the system generally works very well for students, staff and faculty.

"CSU is looking to improve the overall performance of the system," she said.