UT Web for Students

Frequently Asked Questions

Here is a list of questions commonly asked by our users, with answers and explanations. If you don't see your question answered here, please send us email at WebAdmSystems@utnet.utoledo.edu. We review and update this FAQ list periodically.

General

Why is the system not available 24 hours a day?

UT Web for Students is a direct link to the University's enterprise server-based Student Information System (SIS). Each weeknight at about 11:55 pm all real-time links to SIS are taken down for nightly batch processing. Batch processing includes the daily system backups, printing of official transcripts, posting of financial aid to your account, posting of grades, and other tasks. The batch programs require exclusive control of the SIS files, and so no real-time access is allowed.

If you're curious as to how the system works and what all the different components are, please see our system information page.

Why is the system so slow whenever I use it?

Simply put, that's because everyone else is using it too. Over the past several years we've replaced and added servers to our infrastructure, and tuned the web servers for maximal throughput. Things should be a lot better now than they were in, say, 1999.

Historically the busiest times for the online systems are during early registration, the first week of classes, and the week grades are posted. On January 12, 2004 (the first day of classes for spring 2004), there were over 163,000 host transactions from the web. A single transaction represents one add/drop request, address change, credit card payment, or other similar inquiry/update function. There were over 1.5 million web server requests on that particular day, and 9.7 gigabytes of data were transferred from the web servers.

A graph of host traffic is available, showing the day-to-day traffic through the system since it went live in November, 1998.

What if I forget my PIN?

If you are a current student and have activated your UTAD account you may visit the login information page for instructions on resetting your PIN. If you forget your PIN and are not a current student you must go in person to the Registrar's Office in Rocket Hall and show your ID. This is necessary to insure that it is really you who is requesting that your PIN be reset. In some cases you can make other arrangements; call the Registrar's Office at 419.530.4844 or 419.530.4849 for details.

Why does the system time me out so quickly?

The login time for UT Web for Students is twenty minutes per page. If you're on a page and you select a link within that twenty minute period, you get another twenty minutes to review the next page, and so on. Most browsers' status bars will have a timer showing how much time is left on a page before your session expires. The time may appear to be less than that if you're looking through the schedule of classes, so be sure to have all the information you need handy before you begin.

We've increased the per-page timeout from eight to twenty minutes because of the number of complaints about the timeout. This carries with the added convenience added risk: Be sure to log out of the system when you are finished. Neither you nor we want third parties to have access to your information, and if you don't log out you run that risk.

Note that the increased timeout is no protection against accidentally double-clicking a link, or stopping a page load and reloading the page. If you do either of these things you will get the "Login expired" page. That page explains why these actions don't work well with our system.

Registration/Schedule

What are the add/drop/withdraw dates?

All important University dates, including dates of registration, classes, and exams, are available at http://www.utoledo.edu/calendars/.

When am I allowed to register? (Or: Why does the system tell me "Student ineligible to register on the web"?)

If you try to register and get the message "Student ineligible to register on the web," it is probably because you are registering before your priority timeslot. See the list of priority registration times.

You may be blocked from registering because of a hold. See the View Holds page from the Student Services menu for details on the registration hold and who to contact in order to get the hold cleared.

Tip: Check your holds at least a day or two prior to your registration priority time and get them cleared. Nothing's worse than trying to register for your classes only to find out you completely forgot about that parking ticket!

How do I find out who is teaching a particular class?

The Available Course Sections link (from the main UT Web for Students page) and the Course Sections pages (inside the Student Services area) contain the names of the instructors for each section, if known. If an instructor is not listed, it isn't in the Student Information System either. Contact the individual departments directly in that case.

Grades/Transcripts

When are (Fall/Spring/Summer) grades available?

Fall and spring grades are officially available the Wednesday following exam week, which is after the faculty grading period. . Summer grades are usually available the Thursday following the end of the particular session. Instructors submit grades via the web, so grades are often available on Web for Students prior to the end of the faculty grading period. However, students should not consider grades official until after the faculty grading period is over.

Why aren't all my grades listed?

If a grade is not listed then the instructor has not submitted it. Contact your instructor for further information.

Can I order an official transcript over the web?

Not yet, although that is something we will look into as part of our system enhancements. For information on requesting an official transcript, please visit the transcript page at the Registrar's Office.

Fees/Payment Information

I get a message saying "Billing information is not yet available"...why?

Since tuition rates for the summer and fall terms are not set by the Board of Trustees until after registration for those terms has begun, we cannot calculate your tuition or give you an account statement until those rates are set, usually in the late spring.