A new program used by Ohio University support staff to create class schedules has sparked debate about whether it is actually more efficient than the system it replaced.
The goal of the project was to save time for everybody
said Debra Benton, Ohio University registrar. The program, Ad Astra, will allow departments to enter their schedules directly into the system, replacing a time-intensive paper process that differed in each department, Benton said.
Training began in February and all departments are using the program to schedule spring classes, Benton said.
I can't believe there is an overall saving of time said Marvin Fletcher, assistant chair of the History Department. He said that he is now spending about 20 hours scheduling, far more than in the previous system. The software is clunky to put it mildly.
Support staff in each department perform bookkeeping, assist in faculty travel arrangements, facilitate faculty hiring, work with graduate students on dossiers and provide day-to-day support for faculty, said Daphne Metts, English Department administrator.
A document listing 18 inefficiencies that have increased the time spent by departments scheduling noted the new program wasn't able to schedule bulk classes.
Thus
28 sections of a research course have to be entered 28 times
according to the document.
Agreed
but once 28 sections are entered they are rolled to the next like quarter. So
this should be an issue only when a new course is added
according to a July 20 responsive document from the Registrar's office.
Other complaints included an incomplete listing of courses, slow response time and a complicated process for cross-listing courses.
The registrar's response said four enhancement requests would be submitted to Ad Astra, and there would be an additional inquiry about the program's slow response time.
The only performance issues we've had were because of hardware problems, said Ted Listher, CEO of Kansas City, Missouri based Ad Astra. More than 600 campuses are currently using Ad Astra, Listher said, and the program has been in use since 1994.
Support staff opinions on the software vary.
It saves time in the big picture because you only have one person inputting data
said Ann Bennett, department administrator for the Sociology and Anthropology departments. She said she personally hasn't had a problem with the program, but said that might be because of the relatively few clustered and cross-listed classes scheduled by Sociology and Anthropology departments.
(Ad Astra) is not very helpful to departments from a support staff standpoint
Metts said, adding that the program has added a day and a half to the scheduling process for at least one staff member.
Benton and three other employees who work in the registrar's office, along with two information technology personnel, are attending an Ad Astra users conference in Kansas City, Missouri this week.
