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More efficient scheduling.

More effective results.

Sarah Collins

Ad Astra Information Systems

Agenda

• Common scheduling approaches and challenges

• Business solutions for managing operational capacity,

efficiency and student success

• Case studies of North American colleges and

universities effectively using Astra solutions

• Ad Astra’s plans for launching a European office

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US Higher Education Market

Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education

Our Clients

• 490 Clients

– 800+ Campuses

– Serving over 3.5 million students

– 60+ Clients over 25,000 student enrollment

• 70% University (4 year)

• 25% Community College (2 year)

• 5% Proprietary (2 and 4 year)

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Scheduling Approaches

Reg

istr

atio

n M

od

elCurriculum Model

Fixed (Lock Step)

Elective (Course Choice)

Open (Competitive) – Class Level N/ARoll forward from last

like term

Open (Competitive) – Course LevelGenerate from scratch

(optimize)N/A

Prescribed (Institution Created Registrations)

Generate from scratch(optimize)

N/A

Status Quo Approaches to Scheduling

Course offerings based on

instructor aspirations or

guesses and misaligned with

student need

Class schedules rarely

realigned with changing

instructor resources or student

demand

The Common Need for all Approaches

Pre-Scheduling Analysis

Instructors request rooms for

location or technology rather

than matching room size to

section size

Students are not planning, causing

them to register for the wrong courses

in the wrong order

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Institutional / Student Success

Noel-Levitz Survey on Student Satisfaction

Notes: generally low student satisfaction in Executive

Summary and Biggest Challenges at their Institution:

• 4-Year Public - #1 issue is “Inability to get the courses I need with few

conflicts”

• 4-Year Private - #1 issue is “Inability to get the courses I need with

few conflicts”

• 2-Year Community College/Technical - #1 issue - “Classes aren’t

offered at times I’m available.” #2 issue - “Inability to get courses I

need with few conflicts”

Many Believe Their Institution Is Efficient and at Full Capacity

The Perception – “We’re Full”

• Hard to Find Classrooms When Instructors Need

Them

• Students Unable to Get Into the Courses They

Need to Graduate on Time

• No Available Space to Launch New Programs

• Classes Are Overcrowded

• Dormitories at Capacity

• The Most Popular Majors Turn Students Away

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National Data Shows Significant Excess Capacity

The Reality – Inefficiency and Underutilized Capacity

Average classroom utilization is 42%

Four-year public average is 44%

Four-year private average is 42%

Two-year average is 41%

Classrooms are only 60% full when in use

Sections enroll only 72% of max enrollment

Four-year public only 72% of max enrollment

Four-year private only 70% of max enrollment

Two-year only 73% of max enrollment

Underutilized Rooms

Underutilized Instructor Resources

Wasted Credits

Students repeating the same course two or more

times

Students taking more credits than necessary for a

degree

Only 26% of sections are 80-100% full

Source: Education Advisory Board interviews and analysis; Ad Astra Information Systems

Bottlenecks Limit Efficiency and Capacity

Typical Bottlenecks

Specific Size

Classrooms

Tech-

Enabled

Classrooms

Primetime

Classrooms

Gatekeeper

Courses

A bottleneck is defined as any room, time period, or section at greater than 80% utilization

The Problem Is Not Lack of Capacity but Specific Bottlenecks

Degree

Requirements

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Strategy, policy and software configuration must match intuitional goals and mission

and be based on data.

Applying Metrics

Common Approach

READY – FIRE - AIM

Our Approach: Data Informed Software

Implementation

Recommended Approach

READY – AIM - FIRE

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Pre-Scheduling

Analysis

Business Solutions

Scheduling

Outputs

Students

Academic

Plans

Academic

History

Metrics

Constraints

Historical

Demand

Academic

Plans

Program

Demand

Course

Demand

Pre-Scheduling Analysis Metrics

Area Business Problem Metric

Growth Capacity

How much can we grow?How quickly can we grow?When will we run out of space?

•Space Utilization•Seat Fill Rates•Standard Week•Enrollment Ratio•Balanced Course Ratio

Space Bottlenecks

Where are the problem areas?How do we build policy that is

relevant?What kind of space to build/renovate?

•Prime Time Utilization •% of Sections Scheduled in Prime Time •Utilization by Room Type

•Dominant Schedule Pattern s•% of Rooms Centrally Scheduled •% of Rooms w/ Min Tech Capabilities

Course/Student Demand AnalysisAre we offering enough classes/seats?Are we offering the right mix of classes?

•Historical Enrollment Analysis•Enrollment Trends•Predictive Program Analysis•Program Analysis

•Student Plan Analysis•Addition Candidates•Reduction Candidates

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0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Min

Max

Mean

Goal

Space Utilization

(standard week)

Comparative Metrics

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Min

Max

Mean

Goal

Class Addition Candidates

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Min

Max

Mean

Goal

Non-Dominate Meeting

Pattern Usage

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Min

Max

Mean

Goal

Enrollment Ratios

Student Planning

The Student Academic Planner is a tool that allows students to provide

insight into their intent.

View completed, in progress

and incomplete requirements.

What is their goal graduation date?

Do they plan to enroll in all

semesters, including summer?

Do they plan to take courses

full time or part time?

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Understanding Course Demand

Courses organized by

action needed

Data Filters

Class Supply

Class Demand

Demand Type

Historical TrendsMultiple Analysis Types

Student and Program

Analysis

Understanding Course Demand

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Pre-Scheduling

Analysis

Business Solutions

Scheduling

Event

Management

Sectioning

Instructor

Assignments

Timetabling

Simulated

Registration

Sectioning or Simulated Registration

Optimization Results

Sectioning: Section and

Student Schedule

Optimization

Simulated Registration:

Registration Modeling for

Conflicts

Views of master timetable

and student schedules

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TimetablingOptimization and Ad Hoc

Tools

Visual Representation

Global and Ad Hoc

Constraints

Optimization of

Time/Day/Space

TimetablingPost Optimization Bottleneck

/ Infeasible Management

Student Conflict Management

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Instructor Assignment

Courses/Campuses

Authorized to Teach

Availability Profiles

Term Type Association

Teaching Load

Pre-Scheduling

Analysis

Business Solutions

Scheduling

OutputsReports

Calendars

Data Exports

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ReportingAnalysis, List and

Dashboard Reporting

CalendarsPublic and Private Views

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• ATE: Data import/export hub

– Text, XML, Web Service, Direct Database

– Batch/Scheduled, Real-time

• API

Data Exports

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Western Kentucky UniversityFounded: 1906Located: Bowling Green, KYEnrollment: 21,000Offering: More than 170 undergraduate programs and 50 graduate programs

•Consolidating activities saved between $50,000 and $70,000 in pilot year

•Doubled savings by shutting down five academic buildings from mid-May to mid-August

•Used Optimizer to schedule remaining buildings

•University President implemented a 7:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. work day during the summer and closed all buildings at 3:00pm

•Facilities management receives a weekly report showing all activities to schedule air conditioning based on use

“We saved $185,000 in 2010 on utility and electrical costs alone. This doesn’t even include related costs such as janitorial and other

services.”

Johnson County Community CollegeFounded: 1969Located: Overland Park, KSEnrollment: 20,869Offering: More than 50 degree and certificate programs

“If we had a scheduling policy that had any teeth in it, we would be a more efficient campus. We’re already making great progress. The Strategic Scheduling Check-Up has given us the tools and data we need to create and enforce such a policy.”

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Data Informed Instructor Hiring Policy•Created a Faculty Hiring Rubric to gauge true need

•Rubric scores the potential need by its effect on accreditation, initiatives, strategic plan, internal burden and external demand

•External demand is based on sections needed divided by sections offered

•Requests must meet a minimum score before new hires are approved

Action Items•Eliminated unneeded courses to alleviate space challenges

•Toured campus to review the classroom inventory

• Address inequitable allocation and wasted space caused by departmental room ownership

•Increase enrollment capacities, by two seats per section, to meet demand and control costs

Mississippi State UniversityFounded: 1878Located: Mississippi State, MSEnrollment: 17,824Offering: Undergraduate and graduate degrees in 102 fields of study

“We put all the technology in the 100 and 200+ seat rooms thinking we were getting the most bang for our buck,” Stokes says. “We didn’t realize that we really needed it in our 30, 40 and 50 seat rooms.” As a result,

smaller classes that needed technology were taking up the large rooms.

“With our academic scheduling policy, we are working toward the understanding that all of the instructional space on the university campus belongs to the university— not just one

college or department. Having a policy such as this is vital for success, because you can’t overcome the problems associated

with building and room ownership issues without it.”

•Primary bottleneck identified was technology classrooms

•Average of 83.08 percent utilization in those rooms, leaving MSU virtually no room to grow

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Check-Up showed that Baylor had 38 percent usage of classrooms and 23 percent usage of other room types

“This was a wake-up call for some people. We learned that we were not doing a good job of spreading our classes

outside of our prime scheduling time,” says Ferguson. They also discovered what types of space were creating

bottlenecks, which would help guide renovation and aid future planning.”

•Utilization Task Force was formed to create an academic scheduling policy

•Developed policy to open departmentally owned spaces to general classes after the departments scheduled

•Enforced more centralized scheduling allowing spread for freshman and sophomore sections beyond prime time; gives juniors and seniors better access to courses needed to graduate

FOUNDED: 1845LOCATED: Waco, TexasENROLLMENT: 14,614OFFERING: 151 undergraduatedegree programs, 76 master’s programs,30 doctoral programs, juris doctor

Simple Math, Big Savings

Proprietary schools are achieving impressive efficiencies through optimization and voluntarily transformed business practices.

Enterprise DataManual

Schedule

Optimized

Schedule

Number of Terms per Year 10 10

Number of Campuses 1 1

Students 1273 1273

Sections per Term 194 152

Average Enrollment per Section 14.62 18.32

Academic Delivery Cost

Direct Instructor Cost per Section $2,400 $2,400

Direct Instructor Cost per Term $465,600 $364,800

Direct Instructor Cost per Year $4,656,000 $3,648,000

Instructor Cost Savings per Term $100,800

Instructor Cost Savings per Year $1,008,000

Section Elimination Factor 22%

Sections Eliminated 42

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Market Entrance Strategy

• Relocate dedicated employee by summer 2012

• Focus on learning: process and business

need research

• Identify 1-3 institutions that align closely with our existing solutions

• Partner on initial institutions’ success prior to aggressive market expansion

• Add technical resources from Netherlands

Serving

Optimizing

Centralizing

Automating

Student Success through

Improved access to

required coursesStudents

Allocating key resources to

maximize efficiency and

capacityInstitution

Systematically solving complex

and time consuming scheduling

tasks

Schedulers

Eliminating confusion and

double-bookings inherent in

manual scheduling systems

Schedulers/Institution

Level Impact Beneficiaries

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Disclaimer

All materials and information provided in this session is

intended only for the use of licensed Astra Schedule clients.

Intended recipients shall not sell, transfer, publish, disclose,

display or otherwise make any of this information available to

others.

Dissemination of any material or information obtained during

this Webinar is strictly prohibited.

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