Technology may not always make life easier, and many students learned that lesson after hiking to Shields Building during the past couple of days, only to camp out in line for sometimes more than an hour.

Computer problems in the bursar's office made a typically busy time in Shields a little more hectic. As a result, students packed the offices of both the registrar and bursar on Monday and Tuesday, many groaning about the long wait.

"It was mobbed in there," said Brian Connor (junior-management science information systems). Connor went to Shields to get his transcript on Monday.

In the registrar's line, Connor waited only about 15 minutes, but not before going through the the bursar's line and being told he was in the wrong place. Connor would like to see Shields provide students with more direction so they know where to go for specific services.

"(Waiting) wasn't that bad, but once I looked back, the line was pretty long," Connor said. "There were definitely people waiting longer."

Although the malfunction is fixed now and lines are moving faster, Roseann Sieminski, assistant bursar, said the computer breakdown was because of a hardware problem.

"It could've occurred anywhere or anytime," Sieminski said.

But as fate would have it, the computers went down in the bursar's office when many students were trying to get Stafford loan checks, register for classes or pay their semester bills, Sieminski said.

"We mail (semester) bills in November and give to December for students to pay them," Sieminski said. "A lot don't return them by mail -- if they did they wouldn't have to come up here."

As for the loan checks, some students could not wait for them to be mailed because they needed the money for books or rent, Sieminski said. But to avoid the hassle, Sieminski recommended waiting for checks to be mailed unless they are needed immediately.

Brian Walsh (senior-administration of justice) made two trips to Shields to sign his loan check. When he arrived there on Monday, he took one look and went back home.

"I literally couldn't get in the building -- it was filled to capacity," Walsh said.

But yesterday Walsh fared better. Although he said it was still crowded, he only waited 25 minutes in the bursar's line and about 15 more minutes in the registrar's line to get a transcript.

"It's my fourth year up here, so I'm used to seeing lines," Walsh said. "They're doing their best up there."

But Sieminski still sees room for improvement.

"This semester was just bad," Sieminski said. "The goal is to serve students immediately --unfortunately, we were not able to do that."

When the computer mishap was fixed yesterday, Sieminski said the office started getting students through in about five to 10 minutes.