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RHIT Registration System. Overview and Initial Thoughts From your clients for 371-01: David Mutchler, RHIT CSSE Dept F-226, 812-877-8426 mutchler@rose-hulman.edu. Matt Boutell, RHIT CSSE Dept F-222, 812-877-8534 boutell@rose-hulman.edu. Task.
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RHIT Registration System Overview and Initial Thoughts From your clients for 371-01: David Mutchler, RHIT CSSE Dept F-226, 812-877-8426 mutchler@rose-hulman.edu Matt Boutell, RHIT CSSE Dept F-222, 812-877-8534 boutell@rose-hulman.edu
Task Original project idea, from Dr. Boutell: Create a program help RHIT’s Registrar (Jan Pink) schedule classes (times and room assignments). First concept: Dave Rader (Math dept) has some ideas about this as an optimization problem. Second concept: Or maybe even a preregistration system, like we’ve done in CSSE the past year, with Google surveys and email.
Discussion - 1 The following detailed points were then proposed by Dr. Mutchler: • One thing that I like about the proposed idea, especially if it is full-blown registration system, is that it has multiple clients who fill DIFFERENT roles, just like in real life: • Registrar for data access and protection and end-use • Faculty representing an advisor’s role, and also as more-technical surrogate for the Registrar • Mathematician (Dr. Rader) for the optimization problem (he would presumably play a strong role in suggesting an algorithm or package or …) • IAIT for deployment within Banner • Security expert (CSSE faculty) to ensure that the security needs are met • Current or former student to ensure that the system meets students’ needs
Discussion - 2 Additional points proposed by Dr. Mutchler: • Also, the system breaks into subcomponents naturally which will lend itself to a group-of-groups project, and the parts can have value even without the whole (so if only the optimization really gets done professionally, it is still of value). • Perhaps the challenge is finding a client who will be the “lead client” and take ownership of the system. Not the Registrar, I suspect – she cannot devote the time necessary. Maybe a former student could be lead client? • In the end, that became Dr. Mutchler and Dr. Boutell!
Discussion - 3 In a meeting with Dr. Boutell, Dr. Mutchler, and Dr. Rader: • Beneficiaries / benefits of a new registration system: • Registrar • Rooms • Department heads • Students • Examples of “twists” the system would need to handle: • Double majors • Freshmen / sophomores auto-registered • Pre-registration student preferences • Checking prerequisites
Discussion - 4 In a meeting with Dr. Boutell, Dr. Mutchler, and Dr. Rader, cntd: • How should we plan this as a junior CSSE project? • This year – “A system that lets students say what they would want to take if they could get it.” (Pre-registration.) • Also includes “Looking at current approaches for the whole registration process.” E.g., What are other schools doing? • Next year – “The start of a real registration system.” • This would involve Dr. Rader in discussing algorithms.
Discussion - 5 • Other interested parties: • Jan Pink (Lind), our Registrar: • Steve met with her in June, and she would like to see what we could do with both ideas, pre-registration and registration. • She provided examples of the input she gets now, from department heads, on spreadsheets, as the basis for each new term’s class schedule. • In August meeting with Dr. Mutchler and Dr. Boutell: • This could be a 3-year junior project overall – with Pre-registration as the main goal for this year. • The two clients, fall term, are both available 10th hour Friday, but not during the regular class hour. Thus, our move to that meeting time on Fridays.
Why? In 371: • One of your goals as a class will be to explore the feasibility of this system: • How much benefit is there really, and how can we measure that? • It’s a tricky subject. E.g., If all our rooms would be used up, no matter what system decided the class schedule, where’s the gain? • Included in a solution may be proposals for new procedures we don’t already do. E.g., hold classes at midnight! Or, put all of them online! • We also need to learn the alternatives available: • E.g., We may discover that there’s an open source system already available and we could adapt that to our needs! • Or, we could end up “reverse engineering” some product that exists.
Strategic Goals Addressed (1 of 2) Goal 1: Rose-Hulman will support and recognize excellence in teaching, learning, innovation, and intellectual growth - both in and out of the classroom • Teaching could be improved by better use of resources, which a new registration system could provide: • Consider, for example, the benefits of pre-registration – we could anticipate almost all conflicts for students to take their desired courses. (Maybe!) • Perhaps we could offer more electives, by providing required courses more efficiently. • One of your goals, starting with Milestone 1, will be to work these lists of “benefits” as “stakeholder needs.”
Strategic Goals Addressed (2 of 2) Goal 2: Rose-Hulman will give students a vision of the breadth of their possible futures and will prepare them to achieve these futures. Goal 3: Rose-Hulman will foster a culture of lifelong connection with all of our constituents. • Buried in the idea of pre-registration is the concept that students have this vision of what they want to do, and can use our school to make that happen. • So, how current students, and alums, could use registration tools toward this end – that’s a big deal!
What else is out there? • We have no idea! • That’s up to you to discover – • Each team needs to do research. • Milestone 1 has a place for you to describe what you’ve already done at that point. • Step 1 – try Googlingfor “college course registration software”…
Who else is out there? • Jan Pink – an obvious client • The class needs to coordinate how we contact her! • Dr. Rader – an obvious resource • Ditto • And, what he knows may not come into play till next year? • All the potential users you could talk to, including each other! • Could be many scenarios for how it might work… • Off-campus sources – • Some other school that’s already done this! • Alums!