2008 Woodie Awards
All Hail: MyNEU fails to measure up
Issue date: 9/13/07 Section: Editorial
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As the creator of the Facebook group "myNEU can suck myNUT," I think I am an expert in the field of myNEU's trials and tribulations and its disappointments and downfalls. It doesn't take much to become such a virtuoso - all you have to do is try to log on to the myNEU portal or use any of its services, and you'll know what I'm talking about.
Essentially, myNEU is an archaic program that can handle about 43 of Northeastern's 14,000 undergraduate population (not to mention graduate students and professors) at one time. This often makes it difficult - nay, impossible! - to check e-mail, register for classes or pay bills through the platform. More important matters, like seeing how many meals you have left or double-checking the HuskyCable Channel Guide, are also often out of the question.
As I said, I'm not the only expert. Several other takes on myNEU's insufficiency have been recorded on the Facebook group's wall. "MyNE-POO" and "Luminis Crapform" sum up many students' attitudes. One group officer says he prefers myENEMA to myNEU. And without any mass invites or advertising, the group peaked with about 600 members during the spring semester last year before students lost interest, left the group and sought therapy for the mass amounts of stress the program had caused them.
True, there are ways to circumvent several of myNEU's worst issues. You can have email automatically forwarded from your myNEU account to an external address. You can pick up that old thing called a "phone" and use Northeastern's equally excruciating dial-pad service to sign up for classes. People have even directed me to multi-page manuals on IMAPping and POPping, whatever that means.
But remember those bills you can't pay online because myNEU won't let you log on? Last time I checked, Northeastern was charging $43,000 a head a year for a fine education. Couldn't we get a side of fine online services with that?
In short, no. On April 26, a Student Government Association (SGA) member wrote on the Facebook wall of my anti-myNEU angst outlet saying: "The Student Government Association has been in, and still is in communication with Information Services regarding the myNEU issues. Earlier this year, we proposed some modifications to the myNEU Portal to make it easier for students to find things easier. We also recommended that the e-mail system be improved. Another recommendation was that they work to improve the stability and capacity of the site. … Many people at Northeastern are aware of the myNEU issues and that students are not happy."
Since then, myNEU has continued to play its take on "Duck, Duck, Goose" called "Logged In, Logged In, Timed Out." You may still pop a blood vessel in your head if you try to use myNEU during course registration periods, and the entire platform recently crashed for more than a day, nixing all accessibility to its major services. Everybody at Northeastern knows that myNEU sucks, but nobody with any power is doing anything about it.
The SGA member invited anybody with complaints to bring them to the attention of student government by attending Senate meetings, or e-mailing them at sga@neu.edu. So, although I feel like it's a bit too obvious to point out, here I am, bringing it to everybody's attention: myNEU is terrible and needs to change. If you feel the same, let SGA know.
But you'd be better off attending a meeting. Something tells me their e-mails are a little fickle.
- Maggie Cassidy is a sophomore journalism major and member of The News staff.
Essentially, myNEU is an archaic program that can handle about 43 of Northeastern's 14,000 undergraduate population (not to mention graduate students and professors) at one time. This often makes it difficult - nay, impossible! - to check e-mail, register for classes or pay bills through the platform. More important matters, like seeing how many meals you have left or double-checking the HuskyCable Channel Guide, are also often out of the question.
As I said, I'm not the only expert. Several other takes on myNEU's insufficiency have been recorded on the Facebook group's wall. "MyNE-POO" and "Luminis Crapform" sum up many students' attitudes. One group officer says he prefers myENEMA to myNEU. And without any mass invites or advertising, the group peaked with about 600 members during the spring semester last year before students lost interest, left the group and sought therapy for the mass amounts of stress the program had caused them.
True, there are ways to circumvent several of myNEU's worst issues. You can have email automatically forwarded from your myNEU account to an external address. You can pick up that old thing called a "phone" and use Northeastern's equally excruciating dial-pad service to sign up for classes. People have even directed me to multi-page manuals on IMAPping and POPping, whatever that means.
But remember those bills you can't pay online because myNEU won't let you log on? Last time I checked, Northeastern was charging $43,000 a head a year for a fine education. Couldn't we get a side of fine online services with that?
In short, no. On April 26, a Student Government Association (SGA) member wrote on the Facebook wall of my anti-myNEU angst outlet saying: "The Student Government Association has been in, and still is in communication with Information Services regarding the myNEU issues. Earlier this year, we proposed some modifications to the myNEU Portal to make it easier for students to find things easier. We also recommended that the e-mail system be improved. Another recommendation was that they work to improve the stability and capacity of the site. … Many people at Northeastern are aware of the myNEU issues and that students are not happy."
Since then, myNEU has continued to play its take on "Duck, Duck, Goose" called "Logged In, Logged In, Timed Out." You may still pop a blood vessel in your head if you try to use myNEU during course registration periods, and the entire platform recently crashed for more than a day, nixing all accessibility to its major services. Everybody at Northeastern knows that myNEU sucks, but nobody with any power is doing anything about it.
The SGA member invited anybody with complaints to bring them to the attention of student government by attending Senate meetings, or e-mailing them at sga@neu.edu. So, although I feel like it's a bit too obvious to point out, here I am, bringing it to everybody's attention: myNEU is terrible and needs to change. If you feel the same, let SGA know.
But you'd be better off attending a meeting. Something tells me their e-mails are a little fickle.
- Maggie Cassidy is a sophomore journalism major and member of The News staff.
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