Registration

2010 Users' Conference Session Tracks

Sessions at the 2010 Users' Conference will focus on four different topics: Events, Academics, Technology and General Information. These tracks are designed to guide users to sessions in which they may be interested. In addition, each track will have a blend of sessions focused solely on Astra Schedule, Platinum Analytics or Strategic Services. Due to changing demand, we will not be offering sessions dedicated to Astra Schedule 5.2 or 6.0. Instead, we will focus on theory and benefits using VII, and we will reference 6.0 when appropriate. We will have two sessions that focus specifically on the differences in 6.0 and VII. In addition, please feel welcome to make an appointment with your account manager to discuss your current version of Astra Schedule.

Note: Attendees will not be locked into one track or version. Please feel welcome to attend any session offered, regardess of track or version.

Product Codes:

AS: Astra Schedule

PA: Platinum Analytics

SS: Strategic Services

Opening Session

Topic

Welcome and Introductions

Strategic Scheduling Check-Up Town Hall Meeting and Giveaway - Client presenters: Becky Jolly, Senior Associate Registrar, Miami University; Lin Knudson, Dean, Academic Support Division, Johnson County Community College; Debby Hill, Associate Registrar, University of Southern Mississippi; Sarah Petsis, former Director of Scheduling, Jackson Community College

Astra Schedule Suite Demonstration and Overview

 

Academics Track

Product	Session Topic
AS	Optimizing Your Academic Room Assignments: The key to matching sections to rooms successfully is accurate section need identification. How well you configure preferences and settings will determine the quality of your schedule. The Optimizer is a powerful tool that can be used to schedule your sections in bulk. Join us to learn how you can most effectively apply preferences to achieve an ideal schedule.
AS	Progressive Optimization and Scenario Modeling: This session will focus on more advanced optimization processes. We will explore a layered optimization approach and sandbox functionality to achieve more sophisticated goals. Client presenters: Adam Lutzow, Academic Scheduling Coordinator and Liz Adams, Academic Scheduling Assistant, Portland State University
AS	Ace Your Exams: Conflict-Free Exam Scheduling: In Astra Schedule VII users will be able to set preferences for and schedule exams using a standard translation table or through an optional timetabling module. In this session, planned functionality and components will be discussed as well as the process required to schedule exams using both methods.
AS	Not Just a Pretty New Face: How the New User Interface Will Make Scheduling Easier: In the new screens available in 7.4+, there are new ways to use Astra Schedule to support academic scheduling. The new list pages and the Available Rooms Tool improvements will greatly enhance the ability to find appropriate space on a section-by-section basis on both the section meeting screen and in the Optimizer.
AS	Case Study: University of Iowa Streamlines Scheduling Process: After surviving a massive 2008 flood and being forced to reschedule hundreds of classes and activities, the University of Iowa established a subcommittee, the Classroom Advisory Committee (CAC), to investigate current scheduling practices utilized by the Office of the Registrar, Classroom Scheduling and the campus as a whole. Join us to learn more about the committee's objectives, desired outcomes and successes. Client presenter: Renee Houser, Assistant Registrar, University of Iowa
AS	Security for Numerous Users Using Regions and Roles: How to set up room file regions and security user roles to schedule academic sections for a decentralized atmosphere. Client presenters: Nicci Price, Unit Supervisor, and Janessa Walls, Director, Academic Support & Facilities Resources, Texas Tech University
SS	Strategic Victories: One Year After the Strategic Scheduling Check-Up: Learn how JCCC has successfully implemented new policies regarding course demand, faculty hiring and increased efficiency across campus. We will also review the cost saving associated with the recommendations derived from the Strategic Scheduling Check-Up. Client presenter: Lin Knudson, Dean, Academic Support Division, Johnson County Community College
SS	Preparing Your Data for a Strategic Scheduling Check-Up: The Strategic Scheduling Check-Up relies heavily on the data provided by institutions. Learn how to ensure that your data is ready from schools that have already completed a Check-Up. Client presenter: Michelle Vezina, Assistant Registrar, Xavier University
SS	Enforcing the Rules: Using Your Strategic Scheduling Check-Up to Create an Academic Scheduling Policy: The Strategic Scheduling Check-Up provides valuable, reliable data that can be used to create and enforce an academic scheduling policy. Learn how Baylor University is using its findings to implement better scheduling policies and practices across campus. Client presenter: Lois Ferguson, Facility Allocation and Event Manager, Baylor University
SS	Measuring the Impact of Schedule Creation on Academic Budgets: Higher education is not immune to the negative effects of the recent downturn in the economy. Some schools are experiencing unprecedented cuts in funding, while simultaneously experiencing a surge in enrollment. This means that many schools will need to serve more students than ever...with fewer resources than ever. Administrators and funding sources are looking for data-driven strategies that will help them to develop policies that allow them to successfully navigate these challenging times. Client presenter: Lin Knudson, Dean, Academic Support Division, Johnson County Community College
PA	Moving from the Reactive to the Proactive: Course Offering through Platinum Analytics: Miami University's self-study of the entering fall class of 2010 - what they need to take for degree successes based on the student's major. Allowing divisions and departments to plan academic years, not just a semester at a time. Cutting out the low enrollment courses, offering the over-demanded courses - especially in the GEN EDs, giving the university a tool that helps guide efficient and effective decisions to semester course offerings. Client presenter: Becky Jolly, Senior Assiciate Registrar, Miami University
PA	Retention through Better Course Access: Innovative institutions are breaking new ground with course demand analysis to improve course availability, student success and retention. Learn how colleges and universities have used this analysis to make high impact changes to their roll-forward schedules, offering a schedule that better fits their student populations. In addition, this session will provide an introduction to tools in Platinum Analytics which optimize section generation and pre-registration to create an ideal schedule for students or simulate the competitive, open registration process.
PA	Course Demand Forecasting with the Academic Planner: The Academic Planner allows students and advisors to map out an academic career path dynamically through degree rules. The Planner also adds subjective preference on a student-by-student bases to Platinum Analytics course demand analysis. Learn how these these tools work together to assist in the creation of efficient and student-friendly schedules.
PA/SS	Optional Breakfast Round Table: How to Get Organizational Support and Funding for Strategic Projects: You see the benefit of strategic scheduling solutions, but how do you get your key stakeholders to see it, too? Join us for a breakfast round table discussion to learn how other schools have successfully procured and obtained project buy in for strategic services and Platinum Analytics.

 

Events Track

Product	Session Topic
AS	Campus-wide Event Management: There are many ways to accomplish event scheduling in Astra Schedule. This session will cover them all - using a request for as a non-scheduler, scheduling stratight off the calendar and using the Events Wizard, to name a few. We will also cover managing more complex events with unique setup and teardown requirements, pre and post meetings, etc. Client presenter: Joan Smith, Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Academic Affairs, Carl Sandburg College
AS	Generating Invoices and Quotes for Event Management: This session will be an overview of the Accounting features available with Astra Schedule. This session will cover the basic configuration necessary and tools available to event scheduling users.
AS	Providing Customized Views for Easier Access: Learn how to create portal pages for multiple user groups and share calendar fulters with other users. See the Search for Available Rooms Tool and calendar views in action. Client presenter: Mike Scalise, Computer Programmer/Analyst, Nazareth College of Rochester
AS	Managing All Your Resources in One System: Join us to learn how to integrate Equipment and Services into your scheduling process. Will will explore initial setup, configuration and rollout strategies.
AS	Customizing Workflow for Your Business Processes: This session will cover several areas related to the new Astra Workflow Engine in Astra Schedule 7.4. Topics such as custom usage types, changes to the approval and notification process and a technical overview of how all the pieces are integrated using an XML workflow definition.
AS	Panel Discussion: Event Think Tank: This year, we held two Event Think Tanks to discuss the needs and desires of event users. Join us to see what we've added to the roadmap based on the feedback we received. We will discuss what's coming in events, including a user interface overhaul, unified point of entry for requesting and scheduling events, multi-edit capabilities and event cloning. Client presenters: Patty Priester, Campus Events Coordinator, Grove City College; Neal Davis, Student Union Event Coordinator, Northwest Missouri State University; Jeff Hoyer, Director of Operations, Johnson County Community College; Stewart Becnel, Director/Technical/Manager, Loyola University New Orleans. NOTE: This session will be offered twice.

Technical Track

Product	Session Topic
AS	Panel Discussion: Astra Schedule Testing Partnerships: We have developed many partnerships for alpha testing, acceptance testing and interface testing. Hear some of our testing partners describe the testing processes and relay their experiences.
AS	Keeping it Secure: Security and LDAP: Security touches on every aspect of an application, and properly configured security settings can avoid user frustration and enhance their experience. In this session, we will explain the security architecture of Astra Schedule VII, suggest things to consider when setting up security and walk through setting up users with various privileges so you can increase the value of the application to your school. We will also walk through integrating Astra Schedule security with your network security using LDAP. Client presenter: Tim Snellenberger, Tech-Coordinator, Central Michigan University
AS	Installing and Maintaining VII/Server Infrastructure: Join us to review technical specifications for the Astra Schedule VII install and learn how to maintain the application server. Client presenter: Mike Scalise, Computer Programmer/Analyst, Nazareth College of Rochester
AS	Integrating with Other Systems through ATE 2.0 and API Technology: The Astra Transformation Engine (ATE) is the mechanism by which Astra interfaces with other systems, typically Student Information Systems. This session will explore the ATE mechanism, offering a brief introduction to the architecture, a discussion of currently supported interfaces, an overview of the design philosophy and approach to extending support to other systems, a technical discussion of the different interface operating modes (Batch, Realtime, etc.) and a preview of new functionality in the 7.4 release. In addition, the Astra API (new to Astra Schedule 7.4) will be introduced and we will discuss the various pieces of the Astra Schedule solution and how they interact with the IT environment. The intended audience is technicians who configure and support interface jobs.
AS	Building a Strong Foundation: Astra Schedule VII Architecture Overview: This session covers the technical aspects of the design of Astra Schedule.
AS	Automated Testing Initiative: Ad Astra is increasingly relying on automation to augment the manual testing of our QA department. Learn about how this initiative impacts Astra Schedule and plans for the near future, including client testing tools for your data in your test environment.
AS	Behind the Scenes: Best Practices in Administration: We will discuss tips on utilizing system reports and creating custom reports to manage your data and users. In addition, We will review best practices for troubleshooting policy violations and data anomalies using the features available in Astra Schedule. Client presenter: Pam Shane, Programmer, Franciscan University of Steubenville

General Information Track

Product	Session Topic
AS	Product Comparison: Astra Schedule 6.0 vs. VII: Astra Schedule is not an upgrade from 6.0, but a completely re-engineered product. Many features from 6.0 have been redesigned for better efficiency in VII. In addition, VII provides a wealth of features not previously available in older versions. This session will provide users with a look into which features are different in Astra Schedule 6.0 and VII. NOTE: This session will be offered twice.
AS	Is it Time to Update Your System? Moving to VII: Is your institution ready to move to Astra Schedule VII? Astra Schedule VII is an entirely web-bsed application using state-of-the-art programming language and data architecture completely different from previous versions. As such, it requires a significantly different hardware configuration and implementation approach. We will cover purchasing the services, scoping your project, ensuring that your data is prepared for the conversion, installation and configuration. This will be an insightful and informative session that will help you decide if your campuse is ready to move to VII. NOTE: This session will be offered twice.
AS	Tips and Tricks: Editing Crystal Reports: Astra Schedule utilizes Crystal Reports for all custom reporting. Join us to learn tips and tricks for customizing reports for your institution's use with Astra Schedule. This is not intended to be a full Crystal Reports training session. For full training, please contact Crystal Reports.
AS	Getting the Information You Need: Reporting in Astra Schedule: Astra Schedule offers a wide array of delivered reports, including event, academic, space utilization and administrative reports. This session will cover how to add reports and setup report subscriptions. In addition, we will discuss how to read and use the information provided in key reports.
AS	Using the New Customer Support Portal: We have completely reworked our support site to make it easier for you to find the information you need to get the most out of Astra Schedule. In addition to a simpler interface, we have added a powerful new self-service knowledge base, enhanced capability to enter and track case information, an easier way to download files and other features that will make you a support portal expert.