Associate Registrar Says Technology is always Changing in the Office

“I’m constantly being challenged, and because of these challenges, I have really been able to grow,” she says from her office in North College. “There’s always something new going on here.”

Labriola, associate registrar, came to the university in 1992 as an administrative assistant in the Office of the Registrar. From there, she moved into the Office of Graduate Student Services and returned to the Registrar’s Office in 1998. She was promoted to associate registrar in 2004.

The Office of the Registrar oversees all student records in support of enrollment, course registration, academic history, and transcript maintenance, among other student and faculty data services.

As the associate registrar, Labriola is responsible for overseeing many of the daily operations in the office. Her staff of four handles classroom assignments, enrollment verification, the grading process, the Honors Program and transcript production. She frequently meets with the student deans to discuss student records or run reports for them, and she’s also available to talk to any students who pop in her office with questions.

“Beth is a wonderful registrar who possess the right personality for the job,” says Registrar Anna van der Burg, who has worked with Labriola for six years. “Her knowledge of the University is a real asset to our Office and she is great to work with.”

Labriola is constantly working with technologies to better the processes for students, faculty and the office. In 2004, she helped design and implement the electronic grade entry system. Through this method, faculty enter grades electronically through their faculty portfolios instead of submitting them on paper for data entry.

“The process has minimized data errors, speeding up the amount of time it takes to get grades into the system and displayed to students,” she says. “Faculty no longer have to trudge over to North College or Public Safety after hours to submit their grades, and they can enter grades anywhere that there is internet access,” she says.

Labriola works closely with van der Burg, and Heather Alderfer, assistant registrar. They are all currently are working with Information Technology Services to implement a new pre-registration system, scheduled to be in use in April. This system, which evolved from faculty and student input, will replace the online registration system that was in place for the past 10 years.

Labriola is learning the new system inside and out so she can write the system’s training manual. This user-friendly document will be available to all students and faculty, online to download as a PDF. Once this system is complete, Labriola will immediately begin her next project – developing a system so students and alumni can request their transcripts online. Students currently need to download a form and fax it to the office, or deliver it in person.

“It’s just amazing how technology has changed the way our office operates directly,” Labriola says. “When I started here, everything was on paper, and now students and faculty can do everything from scheduling classes to entering grades through their electronic portfolios. It’s a very exciting time for our office and for the university.”

The electronic method also decreases the chance of error in data recording.

Although much of the Registrar’s Office work is done online, there is still one task that will always be done face to face: diploma distribution. Labriola and her staff oversee the printing of the diplomas and hand them out during Reunion & Commencement Weekend.

“It is so much fun to hand out the diplomas to students that I’ve been in contact with over the past four years,” she says.

Labriola says her work study job in college led her to want to follow a career path that involved students and record keeping. While studying communication and theater arts at Western Connecticut State University, she worked at the university’s Continuing Education Office. She graduated in 1991, and went on to receive a master’s of art in liberal studies from Wesleyan in 2002.

She also empathasizes with the incoming international exchange students. As a child, Labriola spent three years living in Saudi Arabia and Thailand, and in high school, she lived with a family in Turkey as an exchange student.