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30 October 2007
Posted in
Tertiary
{{update}}If you want to know what the Mac Friendly section is all about, check out this page. You can also add provide information about your experiences by completing this form.
It has been some time since we received a submission related to a tertiary institution. The submission that follows started with a complaint about Massey University's online enrolment system, which currently isn't Mac Friendly at all. However the NZMac.com user who submitted the details, was asked to provide some extra information related to Massey as a whole. This results in Massey University having mixed results in terms of their Mac Friendly nature, and therefore, currently rated 'Poor', for the reasons that follow.The initial submission focused on the online enrolment system. The user commented...
I received an email from Massey University. ..."You can enrol online now or download the forms at http://enrol.massey.ac.nz."... No sign of a Windows PC only message in the email or before I log in.
On the web enrolment page after I try to log in, I get the following message.
"WebEnrol Hardware and Software Requirements
WebEnrol is designed to run on a PC using Internet Explorer 5, 6 or 7. You will not be able to use WebEnrol on a MacIntosh computer or other browsers. Please call 0800 MASSEY (0800 627 739) for information about the other enrolment options.
Please Click Here to go to the Enrolment home page, or Click Here to go to MyMassey."I think that having a system that only works on Windows machines is poor. They have limited the browser support to IE 5/6/7 for Windows only. They haven't even given support for other Windows browsers let alone Mac ones. I tried 5 different browsers on my Mac and obviously they all had the same problem. Funnily enough, IE 5.2 on Mac OS X didn't properly display the pages that worked fine with the rest of the browsers.
Using the Debug menu in Safari, I disguised myself as "Windows MSIE 6.0" and I gained access. The sight displayed almost as it should.
On another note, I tried using the site with one of the Massey PCs and found it too difficult to use anyway.
So in response to the "You can enrol online now"... No I can't. But luckily I can ..."download the forms".
The user goes on to comment...
Seeing as how they have Macs on the Palmerston North campus I am surprised that they do not provide support for them. Then again, I think that the whole WebEnrol system is pretty poor so what is to be expected.
Note the positive news that Massey University does have Macs on campus. It should also be noted that the Mac Friendly submission should not simply be about one aspect of University life. Therefore the user was asked to provide some additional information related to Macs and sent through the following...
The Palmerston North campus is certainly an improvement on the Albany campus which had no Macs available what so ever. The Library is strictly Windows but once you enter the science blocks, there are a few Mac labs scattered about. What I have seen range from quite new iMacs to older G3 towers, all running Tiger. The computers run fine but some of the older programs that run on Classic are not the easiest to open, especially HyperCard stacks. The Macs have a larger range of applications than do a lot of the PCs which is a bonus though it would be nice if they contained the iWork suite of applications in addition to MS Office.
The wireless internet about the campus is not the easiest to configure due to having to fiddle with certificates (not much help from Massey on that front) but does work well once set up.
Therefore, given the mixed nature of the report, Massey University should effectively be listed in the Hall of Shame for their online enrolment system....but rated at least 'Good' for their apparent Mac labs and ability to use Macs on campus. At this stage then, the overall result levels out at a rating of 'Poor'
Phil comments - Most of you know that I work for Massey University. The comments above are from a user of the site who provided their contacts details to me. They do not have to have their details published and they have chosen not to. As an employee of the University and on seeking advice, I have not added any comments of my own related to the University or my experience as a Mac user on campus. Anyone wishing to add or make contact to this Mac Friendly submission is welcome to use the contact form linked to at the beginning of the story.
[Update 1] Massey has apparently launched a new Mac Friendly enrolment system, but how well it works will need to be confirmed by a user submission.