RHIT Registration System

1. 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

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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!

5. 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

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.”

10. 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!

11. 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”…

12. 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!