Make forms electronic
Is there anyway we can move towards electronic forms? Every time I need to make a change, I need to get my advisor and department head's signature (and possibly a professor's signature). This is not only inconvenient because I have to physically to track down everyone down every time. Inevitably this process takes weeks, when we have extremely short deadlines (for example the ASI/Minor deadline where the form is due the first day of the semester rather than Census day). Multiple forms I've submitted via paper regarding course substitutions, advisor changes, etc. have been lost, extremely delayed, or simply never processed. I just got an email that I form I submitted months ago was apparently never processed. Three contracts of mine in the past two years have been somehow "lost" when they were submitted to payroll, even though it was supposedly paper-clipped to other TA's contracts (which were processed immediately while mine remained lost for several weeks). This is a nightmare for students trying to meet paperwork deadlines and for administrators trying to process paperwork. The contracts which were "lost" took weeks to figure out, during which I wasn't paid, but due to limits on the number of hours I can log, I had to either go unpaid or backlog, which coincidentally also requires a physical signature on a paper submission. From my experience, this is an extremely broken system. There must be some low priority forms which can be signed and submitted electronically to the registrar/office of graduate studies, etc. Maybe other students have also had this incredibly time consuming and frustrating experience as well.

Talks are in the works of moving towards a more digitized form system with the registrar. This could greatly improve our efficiency and the ease of the process for students. With this being said, conversations have begun, but it will be awhile until a good solution and system is put in place. As we learn more, we will be sure to keep the student body updated!
Thanks,
Mines USG