A beloved online feature of many Villanova students is back and ready for use: students can now once again see their class schedules, accompanied by the official photos of everyone in their classes.
Last year, a number of students were disappointed to discover that, in MyNova, they no longer had the ability to see who was in their classes. The reasons cited for this sudden and unexpected change were concerns over privacy and conflicts with the service supplier’s contract wording. But this was changed thanks to the efforts of the Student Government Association (SGA), spearheaded by the Speaker of the Senate, Andrew Kline.
SGA is committed to representing the undergraduate student body at the University and to speaking up to the administration for the interests and concerns of the student body. So, when a feature that such a large number of students saw as being useful to them was abruptly taken away from them without being given a say in the matter, SGA stepped in to be a voice for them.
“In many cases, our administrators and the staff are well aware of the students’ interests and ideas, but their assumption that the feature was not used and not necessary couldn’t have been more wrong,” Kline said. “I heard countless complaints about not being able to access ‘Class Schedule with Photos.’”
The fight to bring back the photo schedules began during the spring semester of 2023, with a round of emails to UnIT, the office of the registrar and even as high up as the Provost’s office. SGA was first met with denials from the registrar’s office, which detailed the privacy concerns and contact issues that contributed to the decision. However, Kline and SGA refused to back down, and continued emailing the administration throughout the summer in order to make the students’ voices heard.
“The purpose of SGA is to address issues like these when they arise, so it was a no-brainer for me to step in and try to rectify the situation,” Kline said. “There was nothing for us to lose, so ultimately it just came down to how hard SGA was willing to work.”
These summer communications made progress on the issue feel “quite slow,” for the SGA but still determined and unwilling to quit, they pressed on. Finally after “a few promising emails,” these schedules made their awaited return to MyNova just two days before the start of the current fall semester.
Students who had become accustomed to these schedules and were disappointed to see them go were pleasantly surprised to arrive back at school and realize the schedules with phots back.
“I love being able to see who is in my class and it allows me to easily connect with people I may not already know for study groups and help with work,” senior Ben Berlin said. “Yes, it may be weird to see everyone’s pictures, but they are going to see me in person anyway so I don’t really mind it.”
He is surely not the only student excited about the schedules’ return.
Ultimately, this change is a result of the determination and hard work of Kline and SGA, who emphasized their commitment to representing the student body this summer so that students can once again see who’s in their classes.
“Taking no for an answer wasn’t an option, so continuously asking questions and seeking change was the plan I pursued, and ultimately it worked out in the end,” Kline said.
