In a time when amenities sway a student’s college choice as much as academic reputation, Binghamton University attendees already know they are forgoing some of the standards, like a free fitness center and a 24-hour dining hall.

But through one week of classes, a functional registration system, safe drinking water and enough water for showers have also become a little too much to ask.

The plumbing issues have been solved: The mechanical error that kept students from drinking campus water last weekend has been corrected and the water main break that forced the University to ask campus residents to temporarily refrain from showering has been repaired.

Still unsolved are the troubles of the BU Brain, part of the recently implemented Banner system, an online portal through which students register for classes and access their records.

When the University announced the switch to the Banner system last October, it was the culmination of a decade’s work. Over 20 offices were consulted in an effort to give BU a more a centralized, user-friendly system in place of the antiquated BUSI system.

Banner’s project leader, Jennifer Schorr, said at the time she expected the system ready this semester. (See “BUSI system to be ‘phased out,’” Oct. 5, 2007.)

It was a poor and costly estimation. Students have encountered numerous registration errors, adding unnecessary stress in an already hectic first week back — all because of an ambiguous “system resource issue” (see Page 5).

SunGard Higher Education, the company which manages Banner, had a part in last year’s digital turmoil — a company laptop containing students’ Social Security numbers was stolen, one of several University information leaks over the year. The Banner system is meant to prevent similar incidents in the future, with the implementation of B-numbers to identify students instead of Social Security numbers.

And Banner, when working properly, may prove a boon by simplifying the registration process and protecting sensitive information. But if the system wasn’t ready to be launched this fall, BUSI should have been retained for another semester, or even a year. Students would have offered unanimous thanks.

Perhaps in a rush to catch up to the rest of higher education, the University only set itself and its students back by complicating something so essential as class registration. At least students no longer have to worry they’ll go thirsty.