Office of the Registrar records

The Office of the Registrar is responsible for many things - it maintains academic records for current and former students and it also plans, processes, and monitors all registration activities. The office is also responsible for the systems that show courses, final exams schedule, classroom schedules, add/drop activities, withdrawals by students, change of grades, records AP and transfer credits, provide a list of courses, and generate transcripts for the students. Students and faculty members get their ID cards from the Registrars office. The office also mails diplomas, provides academic and management information and reports, and acts as a resource of information for the students and faculty.

Around 1964, RIT decided to adopt a new identification system in which students’ ID cards would be laminated with their photographs. RIT hired a company to undertake this for the Institute; however, their finished product was too brittle and broke easily. For the next school year, RIT hired another company and over the years, the identification card system has changed, with the addition of, color coding and more interesting designs. As of 2012, RIT has their own equipment and produces cards for students, staff and faculty.

Mr. Daniel Vilenski was appointed Registrar for RIT in 1982. Upon his arrival, he discovered only two computers in the Registrar’s Office. Students often had to stand in long lines to register for their courses, sometimes for hours. Vilenski presented the idea of using a touch-tone registration system in the mid-eighties. RIT eventually went to a newer system and the Office of the Registrar has continued to change their procedures as technology changes.