FAYETTEVILLE -- The name stood out to Hillary Tapp when she enrolled in classes for the first time this fall at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
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Like every student since 2004, she logged onto a computer-information system known as ISIS to register for classes.
"The first time I heard it I was like, 'Well, that's quite a name,'" said Tapp, 23.
The system's full name is the Integrated Student Information System. But its acronym has come to share a name with what's often referred to as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria -- although news reports, too, rely on the shortened version ISIS when describing the group's brutal activities that have killed thousands of people.
Come January, UA students will log into UAConnect to set their course schedule, a name change that a university spokesman said was finalized well in advance of the Nov. 13 Paris terrorist attacks attributed to the ISIS terrorist group.
The name change comes as the university prepares for a major upgrade in 2017 to streamline how UA students access information they need, spokesman Steve Voorhies said.
He said the name change originated from the ISIS User Management group, which he said includes Dave Dawson, the university's registrar. Final approval came from UA's top administrators, including interim Chancellor Dan Ferritor, Voorhies said.
"UAConnect describes what it is," Ferritor said. "ISIS doesn't mean anything, except right now it's got some pretty negative meanings."
Ferritor did not know the full name of UA's ISIS. Neither did student Blake Emerson, 20.
"I've never really understood the ISIS," Emerson said.
But, like other students, he said the name of the information system was far from a pressing issue.
"I mean, I never really thought anything bad about it," Emerson said of the old name.
If the name had stayed the same, "I wouldn't think anything of it," Emerson said. "But I'm definitely OK with them changing it."
Ferritor said the name change has been in the works for several months, predating his start as interim chancellor in August.
Tapp said she understood ISIS was an acronym.
"It didn't really bother me," Tapp said of the name, although she approved of the university's renaming choice.
"UAConnect gives a more general idea of what to expect whenever you actually open the program, so I think it's a great idea," Tapp said.
Metro on 11/20/2015