REGISTRATION IN THE 21st CENTURY CUMREC May 14, 2002 Kenneth L. Servis University of Southern California

Registration Background n Early computer systems used punch cards (1960’s) and optical scan (1970’s) n IBM introduced Touch-Tone/voice response to CUMREC in 1969 n BYU presented on Touch-Tone telephone registration at CUMREC in 1984

Touch-Tone Limitations n Select by section n Sequential selection n Entire schedule not available n Section availability by trial n Permission by trial n No visualization

Web Based Registration n Option 1: Replicate Touch-Tone – step-by-step one course at a time n Option 2: Incorporate a Schedule Builder – incorporate calendaring – build entire schedule first – register all courses simultaneously – holistic approach

Student Focus Groups n Worked with Student Senate n Groups included: – students – programmers – Web developers n Developed desired feature list

Desired Features n Curriculum information – links to course descriptions and syllabi n Schedule Information – links to schedule of classes – day, time, location, instructor, seats available n Degree information – link to degree audit – courses completed/needed – major/minor requirements

Desired Features n Schedule Builder – include registered courses – working drafts saved – available 24/7 – schedule by course, not section – time blocks honored – display output in calendar format

Conceptual Overview n SIS backend legacy system – on-line 8:30 am-10:00 pm M-F n Front end database server – on-line 24/7 n Web Farm – manages communication between client and server

Web Registration System Architecture Student Information System Pyramid Database Camel Web Application Cluster Microsoft ADO USC Synchronization Protocol

Data Flow n SIS pushes class data to database server – each active term updated at least once an hour n SIS pushes student enrollment data to database server in real-time – individual student data up to the minute

Timing Constraints n Schedule planning can occur 24/7 – planning prior to registration appointment times n Registration changes can only occur 8:30 am - 10 pm M-F – enrollment cannot change outside these hours

Login – n System uses SSL security n HTML Web Registration Instructions Flash Web Registration Tutorial

Login n Student enters student ID number n Student enters 6 digit PIN (******) n Display of holds and restrictions – office phone no. and location n Display of registration appointment time

Web Process Overview n Step1: Select courses to schedule n Step 2: Build a schedule with selected courses n Step 3: Register for courses on the schedule

Web Screen Presentation n Top Frame: Displays department list, course list, class list or schedule n Middle Frame: Displays the “Course Bin,” courses selected for scheduling n Bottom Frame: Displays system responses and messages

Select Courses to Schedule n From Course List, click “ADD” by course name n From Section List: click “ADD” by section number

Build a Schedule n Step-by-step – Click “schedule” by section in course bin – If conflicts occur, course must be removed from course bin and another selected – remove from schedule using “Unschedule”

Build a Schedule n Auto Schedule – With all courses in course bin click “Auto Schedule” – View options – Select desired option, click “Make this my Schedule”

Scheduler Builder n Problem: Take a list of courses with multiple sections, find the conflict-free schedules, return these in a visual format that can be used for registration

Commercial Solutions n Need optimizer software for a tree search n Tried commercial software: OPL language n Performance: 4 min, 300Mb RAM n Revised version: 4 sec n Better but not good enough

Solution Implemented n Limit solution search space n Courses given priority order: A>B>C n All solutions must have A, then B before C if B does not conflict with A, then C if C does not conflict with selected A+B, etc.

Course Groups n Courses may have linked lectures, labs, discussions, and quizzes n Groups are allowed combinations of linked sections n For all courses, form allowed groups n Eliminate groups with time conflicts with time blocks

Build Schedules n Random pick group for course A, then random pick group for course B ( if okay, save), if not okay discard and pick another from group for course B. If okay, random pick group for course C, etc. Return, random pick new, different group for course A n After 100 successful schedules, stop

Tree Search n Random pick course from group A, then search each group for course B in order. For each group for course B, search in order for groups for course C. Then back to next B, etc.

Search Time n Search time Max = 10 sec. n Search Solutions Max = 1000 n All valid solutions may not be found.

Programming tools n Visual basic: VB SCRIPT n Active Server Pages: ASP n Component Object Modules: COM – on server in PYTHON.

Register n Click “ Commit Changes” – system verifies availability and checks permissions (holds, prereqs, etc.) n Click “Proceed to Register” – Changes made in SIS and database server updated

Communication Strategies n Information sessions for advisors n Stealth launch, August 2001 with home page quicklink n Notification of availability to students ed October 2001 n Comprehensive list of Frequently Asked Questions

Communication Strategies (cont.) n December ed all users to verify registered course list n Prior to end of drop/add notified those with course in schedule bin but not registered n April 2002, auto confirm all drop/add transactions real time by

Future Plans n Final Exam schedule n Links to Catalogue Course Description n Link to Student Course Guide n Multiple Term Planner

Acknowledgement Thomas F. Hauck Director of New Technology Student Information Systems University of Southern California (213) Francisco Chang System Analyst Office of Academic Records and Registrar University of Southern California (213)