If you’re like most Ohio State students, you have quickly come to realize that dropping classes, making schedule changes, checking out your grades or locating one of your off-campus classmates can be like cutting through electrical tape with child-proof scissors.For those people who are tired of waiting in the endless lines, and listening to elevator music while on hold, the OSU website might be the solution.The website, www.osu.edu, links prospective students, undergraduate students, graduate students and alumni to the information they both want and need, according to Ted Hattemer, web coordinator for University Relations.Updated on a daily basis, Hattemer believes the services that the website has to offer, such as obtaining advising reports, course availability, adding/dropping classes and the directory/search, keeps students interested in what the website has to offer.In August, the website frequented 5,155,268 visits from students, and 290,561 visits from alumni. “Our numbers show the majority of students who are using the web site,” Hattemer said.According to Nicole Chapman, a senior psychology major, the website not only offers convenience, but also saves time. “Because I work and have a family, I barely have enough time to see my advisor when I have questions or concerns,” Chapman said. “From home I can do almost everything on the website.” In order to keep OSU’s web site competitive with other Big Ten University websites, OSU is striving to keep the site’s technology up to date. Features such as crisp, bright compressed photos and a constant circulation of information helps to keep the website up to technological standards, Hattemer said. Although such features and services exist on the website, some students, like John Ragin, a sophomore actuarial science major, are concerned about maintaining privacy on the website when accessing personal information, such as grades. “I sometimes use the website, but when I need to look at my grades or transcripts, I usually go see an advisor because I don’t want everyone to have access to my information,” Ragin said. Hattemer realizes that students might have concerns when it comes to using the website, yet he insists that student privacy is maintained. “Because there is a log-in process, with a user name and password, the website is as secure or insecure as B.R.U.T.U.S.,” he said. Beyond maintaining a secure web site, plans for the future include narrowing the focus of the site even more to the needs and desires of its users.