1. Beyond Brochureware: Making an Online Class Schedule Work for Students
Jim Gaston, South Orange County Community College District

2. Blog
Please visit my blog at: digitaledu.blogspot.com

3. Presentation Overview
Definition
Background
SmartSchedule Project
Demonstration

4. Brochureware Definition:
Web sites or pages that are produced by taking an organization's printed brochure and translating it directly to the Web without regard to the medium's broader interactive possibilities.
Often occurs when an organization needs to “get it on the web” – quickly.
Byproduct of skewed priorities.
The goal is not to put the class schedule on the web.
The goal is to provide service to students.

5. Background South Orange County CCD Online Class Schedule
Two college district – Irvine Valley and Saddleback
35,000 students (headcount)
21,000 FTES
Strong commitment in District IT to provide direct student service through an architectural approach
Implemented an in-house developed portal in Aug 2000
Heavily used by all stakeholders in the institution
Over 140,000 users by March 2006
Online Class Schedule
Originally went online in early 1995
Major revision in 1997
It was time for a complete makeover…

6. SmartSchedule Project
Goal:
Create the very best online schedule possible
Timeline:
Began in February 2002
Design Team formed in March
Numerous focus groups reviewed prototype
Went online in July 2002 in time for Fall registration
Shopping Cart added in Fall 2004
Next major enhancement:
Integrated Educational Plan

7. Statistics Estimated visits to date: 6.5 million
Search engine used over 650,000 times
Over 1,400 comments received from feedback
12,646 students accessed the shopping cart in the first semester
(approximately 1/3 of student population)
More than 20,000 students carts in Spring 06
(More than half of student population)

8. Feedback Examples Excellent site. Good Job!
Very easy to use and read, Thanks!
The new schedule layout is great, a definite improvement over the old style. It presents all the information you need in a clear, easy to read format.
Nice design of the class schedule. It is very easy to read and follow. Thanks!
I thought the website was outstanding! It was extremely easy to navigate and I was able to find out EVERYTHING I needed to know about a class. I like that there is a link to the teacher's and the number of seats available is very helpful. I cannot say enough about all of the helpful, easy to use features. Thanks!
I'm impressed! Everything I wanted to know about the classes was right there. The "Topics Covered," Learning Objectives," and "Methods of Evaluating" answered all my questions. Thank you.
I had to look up unfettered praise before I chose it, but now I know I mean it... Great work with the schedule, Guys and Gals. Navigation seems easy and the information I'm seeking is readily available so that I can plan around my next semester of school.

9. Recommendations
View the online schedule as a strategic application, not a static document
Stay focused on what is important – service to students
Use a design team with a good mix of technical and functional expertise
Get lots of feedback during the design, but don’t “design by committee”
Continue to get feedback directly from students with an online collection mechanism

10. Demonstration
You can view SmartSchedule by clicking on “Class Schedule” at either of our colleges:

11. Questions? Feel free to contact me: Jim Gaston
Interim Director of Information Technology
South Orange County CCD
Blog: digitaledu.blogspot.com