Where do we go from here? Strategic Scheduling Checkup: University of North Texas 2012

1. Where do we go from here? Strategic Scheduling Checkup: University of North Texas 2012 Presented by Keitha Robertson - UNT Jeff Lowry – Ad Astra

2. About UNT • UNT was founded in 1890 as Texas Normal College and Teachers’ Training Institute • Current Enrollments: approx. 36,000 at the Denton campus • 26th largest public university in the US

3. 157 buildings, 227 Classrooms, 293 Class labs • About 5,000 academic meeting patterns each term

4. UNT Mission and Vision UNT is a major public research university deeply committed to advancing educational excellence and preparing students to become thoughtful, engaged citizens of the world.This is accomplished through a broad and balanced array of programs where well-prepared students and dedicated scholars and artists collaborate with our local and global communities in the creation, integration, application and dissemination of knowledge. In this way, UNT creates an enriched and sustainable future for our students, state, nation and world.

5. What is a Strategic Scheduling Checkup? • Benchmark current scheduling practices • Examines course offerings time and space efficiencies and inefficiencies • Identifies cost savings and capacity/growth opportunity. • “Weaving in course offering analysis with space analysis provides a 360 degree view of schedule effectiveness” – aaiswebsite

6. Why we decided we needed a Checkup • Anecdotal examples of scheduling inefficiencies in course offerings, time schedules and room usage with no statistical data • Decentralized scheduling makes policies difficult to enforce • State reporting • Effective use of current rooms ties to future funding for new rooms

7. Why we decided we needed a Checkup • Largest lecture space on campus (over 500 seats) going offline in 2013 for a 2 year period during rebuilding of the student Union building • Desire to revamp scheduling processes and utilize the Astra Schedule Optimizer (iepolitics!) • Notice of upcoming reduction in classroom seating by over 900 seats

8. Course Offering Complexity What are some of the challenges that academic schedulers face?

9. Getting it done • NOT EASY! – but worth it • Need Executive buy-in to the concept • Getting the Provost engaged • Emphasizing Student Success Initiatives • Tying the goals of the checkup in with the strategic goals of the University • Enrollment growth initiatives • Quality of instruction • Demonstrating cost savings possibilities

10. UNT Strategic Checkup Goals • Visibility into academic space utilization and management opportunities, specifically can existing space support enrollment growth to 39,000 by 2020 (Fall 2011 data used) • Address current, reported scheduling challenges: • Limited classroom availability in primetime • Loss of two academic buildings (primarily labs) and one 500-seat auditorium in the Union going off-line in 2013 • Loss of about 900 seats in upcoming year due to change in cap calculations

11. UNT Strategic Checkup Goals Continued • Understand course offerings inefficiencies directly impacting budgets and capacity • Understand course offerings warning signals potentially impacting student access to required courses and graduation • Solution framework to leverage data from the SIS in future terms

12. Results Good News & Bad News

13. The Good • UNT does a really good job filling up classroom space • 77.7% - One of the highest rates Astra has measured though there is still room for improvement • Not as bottlenecked as anecdotal evidence was indicating • Few reduction and elimination candidates • New building coming online Fall 2011 with 20 classrooms eased the strain on classroom space • All classrooms and class labs are fitted with almost identical technology to enhance classroom effectiveness • Working policies in place

14. The Bad • Very high percentage of Overloaded courses • 55.4% • Student success may be impacted by not offering enough sections of high demand courses • High amount of waste factor in the scheduling block from non-standard meeting patterns

15. Course Offering Analysis – Seats Undergraduate Only

16. Course Offering Analysis – Sections Undergraduate Only

17. Course Offerings by Enrollment Ratio Tier Undergraduate Only

18. Course Offering Analysis Dashboards

19. Capacity Management Findings 3 • Seat fill ratios in Classrooms vary by capacity: • Classroom Seat Fill (Enroll) ratio comparison: Highest Measured (77.70%)

20. Capacity Management Findings 4 On-grid Meeting Pattern usage in Classrooms varies by Pattern:

21. Capacity Management Findings • There is High off-grid meeting pattern usage in Classrooms: 46.13% (75th percentile)of all usage and 37.88% effective primetime utilization for all Classrooms • There is a High off-grid “waste factor” 883 hours or 18.96% of all Classroom capacity is wasted (79th Percentile)

22. CapacityManagement Dashboards

23. UNT Strategy Options to Evaluate Course Offering Efficiency Strategies: • Evaluate Elimination Candidates for degree requirement impact • Select Reduction and Elimination Candidates (675 total candidates; 16.29 %of all sections) to remove from Fall 2012 schedule Course Offering Student Access Strategies: • Evaluate Addition Candidates for degree requirement impact • Optionally, implement Platinum Analytics (uncover key Addition Candidates to improve student completion rates) Capacity Bottlenecks Strategies: • Enrollment Ratio (10.59% potential capacity) • Optimize Rooms (10.66% potential capacity) • Meeting Patterns (13.96% potential capacity) • Prime Ratio (15.14%potential capacity)

24. UNT Potential Next Steps From the Checkup • Develop a schedule review team and process • Senior leadership representation • Academic department representation • Focused on leveraging and sharing schedule analysis • Develop data-driven scheduling policies • Course offering efficiency and effectiveness • Meeting pattern and room assignment efficiency • Integrate schedule review team with academic planning • Curriculum planning • Academic space planning • Student success initiatives

25. Where we plan to go from here? • Continued Analysis of the data • Task Force is being selected to move forward with the initiative • Headed by Vice Provost for Enrollment Management - Dr. Troy Johnson • Provost and VP for Academic Affairs – Dr. Warren Burggren is initiating communications to encourage college department cooperation • Chaired by Associate Dean of Graduate School – Dr. Victor Prybutok • Representation from Deans Council, Registrar’s Office, budgeting, Institutional Research, and Space Management • Change in business policies and enforcement • Optimizer • Platinum Analytics

26. Questions?