UF’s online system for class registration will be getting a new name and upgrade.
ISIS will become one.uf within the next few months, wrote UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes, in an email. Currently, students can use a beta version of the new website to find courses more easily.
“We’ve spent the last two years preparing for the implementation of a new student system that will have many more capabilities than we currently have,” Sikes said. “The name change is just one phase of this implementation.”
ISIS, which is more than 30 years old, needed an upgrade, she said. Students can use ISIS to add and drop courses, order transcripts and view their degree audit.
“As you can imagine, the name ISIS can be found in a lot of places in print and online,” she said.
The acronym “ISIS” can also refer to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a terrorist organization started in 2013.
Raleigh Bevill, a UF English junior, said the UF website’s name change is a good idea. He said his mother was confused when she saw the website’s name on his laptop.
“She thought I was on a terrorist website,” the 21-year-old said. “I don’t even know what (the name) stands for.”
He said in addition to changing the name, UF should make the system easier to use for class registration. He said he would like to be able to read class descriptions and teacher information before registering for a course.
“If you could see that beforehand, it would be way better,” Bevill said.
Rebekah Clow, a UF telecommunication sophomore, said she always types the ISIS website name quickly in case someone is watching.
“It was always in the back of my mind that people would think that was strange,” the 20-year-old said. “Just the word ISIS offends some people.”
She said using the website can be hard for incoming freshmen to become accustomed to. When Clow was a freshman, she said she had to see an academic adviser to learn how to navigate the site.
“There’s a bit of a learning curve,” Clow said. “Hopefully the upgrade will help.”
She said the new name, one.uf, would be easier to find online. She said UF should update the name of the site to avoid offending parents and students.
“I kind of anticipated it was coming,” she said. “I understand why they need to be sensitive about that.”
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter k_newberg.
