Daylight-saving time causes server glitches, delays registration

Spring semester class registration for juniors and seniors was canceled on Sunday morning when problems caused the Boston University computer servers that were handling registration to shut down, Information Services and Technology officials said.

The Office of the University Registrar announced on its website that it will postpone registration for undergraduate students by a week. The site is expected to update Monday with details about the schedule changes, according to the website.

“There will be new dates and times, but the order will be the same,” said Debbie Macalintal, the assistant registrar.

Jay Boucher, director of systems operations at IST, said the servers faced a problem related to daylight-saving time. The problem with these servers, he said, is more complex and systematic than it sounds.

“The issue stems from daylight-saving time,” Boucher said. “Some of the servers require us to change the clock. It’s a very well-worn procedure, but this time it didn’t work.”

Boucher said that BU technicians are currently working with senior-level engineers from IBM, the company that developed the registration servers.

Some juniors and seniors said that while they were initially worried when they signed on to register, they are not frustrated by the schedule changes.

“I wasn’t really worried. When it gets fixed, everyone will just [register]” said Delacia Davis, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences.

CAS junior Bryann Gutierrez said that she felt relieved to have an extra week to pick her classes.

“I was actually kind of happy about registration being postponed because I’m still not sure which classes I want to take next semester and now I have at least another week to decide,” Gutierrez said.

Hannah Davis, a junior in the College of Communication, said that she also felt relieved to have an extra week to finalize her schedule.

“This extra week will give study abroad kids more time to hear back and will stop people from registering and then having to unregister,” she said.

David Miller, a CAS junior, said that the technical difficulties did not interfere with his plans, as he expects to study abroad next semester in Auckland, New Zealand.

“I really don’t care either way,” he said. “As long as I get to register at the same time as anyone else it doesn’t matter.”