University Business - July/August 2012 - (Page 72)

COMMUNITY COLLEGES Floor PlanS The Green Factor While the goal of more efficient scheduling might be to maximize class times, the contribution to campus sustainability efforts shouldn’t be overlooked. Campus leaders are just starting to realize their scheduling software can be leveraged in this manner. “We tried, rather successfully,” says Bahret. “During weekends and evenings in summer we try to focus events in certain buildings to better use the HVAC.” Tactics include placing classes in athletic facilities or the convention center since those spaces are already being used. Ensuring that classes are clustered in the same building, rather than spread across campus in the summer and winter can reduce heating and cooling bills. Roberts has heard one of the universities in Kentucky saved over $900,000 on utility bills by consolidating classes to a single building and moving as many offices as possible to a central area. “That was a very interesting idea,” he says. “Especially in the summertime, we want to schedule better for saving costs.” Colleges are looking into interfacing scheduling software with building HVAC systems so air-conditioning can automatically turn on before and turn off after an event takes place. At LCC, campus leaders are working to understand building offsets to determine how long before an event the air conditioning should turn on. “We’re hoping to tighten it up,” says Bahret. They are also prioritizing the use of a LEED gold building on campus that has a passive cooling system. Where integration isn’t possible, he supplies a spreadsheet to the HVAC tech who can program the system by hand to coordinate with usage. An easier interface that is already being used is to synchronize the schedule with the lighting system. The lighting for the track and soccer facilities at Lane, which are regularly rented out, is controlled through an interface with CollegeNET. “The system can also control the doors locking and unlocking,” says Bahret. “We try to maximize as much of the tool as we can so people don’t have to run around doing that.” Student Scheduling Gone are the days of standing in long lines waiting to register as an ever-expanding list of closed classes crawls by on a CCTV monitor. Modern students expect to register online, probably from home, and at any hour of the day. Building a livable schedule is hard enough for a residential student. It’s even more difficult for community college students who contend with work and family commitments, as well as a commute to campus. Enter student-facing scheduling software to make life easier. At Linn Benton Community College (Ore.), advisors would spend a great deal of time handwriting schedules with students as they tried to build a day that would suit their needs, explains Danny Aynes, director of enrollment services/registrar. Last year, the institution adopted the College Scheduler system, which allows students to build their schedules independently online. Students can select the classes they need to take, then block off times for activities such as work or athletic practice. The system returns a suggested schedule, which can be further manipulated. When the student is satisfied, the system generates a schedule complete with course numbers, at which point the student logs into Banner and registers, Aynes says. While students find the system quick and easy to use, administrators are benefiting, as well. Aynes has been able to create reports showing the classes students want along with desired break times. “Most schools roll the schedule from term to term. This finally gives us data about what they are looking for and what they want to take,” says Aynes. “This will allow us to build a better schedule and get away from that old process.” Don’t Forget the People While campus leaders might initially adopt a scheduling system to maximize space utilization, they often realize the impact of the system is more far reaching. “Our goal through all of this process is to improve our retention rates,” says Honeycutt. “I think we can do that through a better schedule that allows students to take classes when they need them.” However, campus leaders shouldn’t be too quick to trust all the decisions to a machine. “Sometimes people think scheduling software will solve all their problems, but it won’t since there are people involved,” cautions Brehm. “But it can help provide consistency. Resources Ad Astra, www.aais.com Asure Software, www.asuresoftware.com CELCAT, www.celcat.com CollegeNET, www.corp.collegenet.com College Scheduler LLC, www.collegescheduler.com EMS Event Management Systems from Dean Evans & Associates, www.dea.com PeopleCube, www.peoplecube.com TimeTabler from Infosilem, www.infosilem.com 72 | July/August 2012 Online Only Space Management and the Satellite Campus www.universitybusiness.com/satellite-campus-space universitybusiness.com http://www.aais.com http://www.asuresoftware.com http://www.celcat.com http://www.corp.collegenet.com http://www.collegescheduler.com http://www.dea.com http://www.peoplecube.com http://www.universitybusiness.com/satellite-campus-space http://www.infosilem.com http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - July/August 2012

University Business - July/August 2012
Contents
Editor’s Note
Ad Index
College Index
Behind the News
Viewpoint
Admissions
Models of Efficiency
Floor Plans
Consulting Guide
Limited Liability
Touch to Begin
A Sound Investment
Voluntary Retirement
Human Resources
Money Matters
What’s New
End Note

University Business - July/August 2012