Despite the precautions, however, Gross and Kane both acknowledges that there will likely be setbacks.

“Online systems have some problems, usually in the early stages of their implementation. But I think everyone agrees that is the way to go,” Gross says.

“Every implementation is problematic, it’s never easy,” says Kane. “You know that under the best of circumstances, things will go wrong and the road will get a little bumpy. A registrar’s office always takes heat for these kinds of service disruptions. That’s to be expected. The important thing is not to get discouraged by them, to keep your eyes on the horizon, the broader picture, and the ultimate goals.”

With future adjustments, the new system could make way for online registration and course enrollment online, expediting the processes that Harvard students currently complete on paper and carbon copy forms.

But students will not likely notice any change within the next year, while the registrar’s office finalizes the new system, Kane says.

Exciting new features will have to wait until after the database is securely in place, he says.

Even then, Kane says, the impetus for change will have to come from University Hall, or the students.

“The registrar’s office doesn’t set the agenda,” he says. “I think online course enrollment is exciting and could work at Harvard, but if what we have now is simple and easy, maybe it’s not worth the effort.”

Undergraduate Council President Rohit Chopra ’04 can think of a few things that need some work.

“The new Registrar will need to lead FAS in addressing a number of pressing concerns: better scheduling of classrooms and exams, faster processing of grades and transcripts and more innovative ways to connect academic advisors to students during course selection leading the list,” Chopra says.

“Kane should also seriously consider investigating an overhaul of the academic calendar,” he adds.

In the meantime, though, Kane is shuttling between New Haven and Cambridge, helping to finish a project at Yale and moving into his new office at Harvard.

—Staff writer Rebecca D. O’Brien can be reached at robrien@fas.harvard.edu.