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REGISTRATION IN THE 21st CENTURY
CUMREC
May 14, 2002
Kenneth L. Servis
University of Southern California
Registration Background
Early computer systems used punch cards (1960’s) and optical scan (1970’s)
IBM introduced Touch-Tone/voice response to CUMREC in 1969
BYU presented on Touch-Tone telephone registration at CUMREC in 1984
Touch-Tone Limitations
Select by section Sequential selection Entire schedule not available Section availability by trial Permission by trial No visualization
Web Based Registration
Option 1: Replicate Touch-Tone– step-by-step one course at a time
Option 2: Incorporate a Schedule Builder– incorporate calendaring– build entire schedule first– register all courses simultaneously– holistic approach
Student Focus Groups
Worked with Student Senate Groups included:
– students– programmers– Web developers
Developed desired feature list
Desired Features
Curriculum information– links to course descriptions and syllabi
Schedule Information– links to schedule of classes– day, time, location, instructor, seats available
Degree information– link to degree audit– courses completed/needed– major/minor requirements
Desired Features
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
SIS backend legacy system– on-line 8:30 am-10:00 pm M-F
Front end database server– on-line 24/7
Web Farm– manages communication between client and
server
Web Registration System Architecture
StudentInformation
System
PyramidDatabase Camel Web
Application Cluster
Microsoft ADO
USC Synchronization
Protocol
Data Flow
SIS pushes class data to database server– each active term updated at least once an hour
SIS pushes student enrollment data to database server in real-time– individual student data up to the minute
Timing Constraints
Schedule planning can occur 24/7– planning prior to registration appointment times
Registration changes can only occur 8:30 am - 10 pm M-F– enrollment cannot change outside these hours
Login
– https://camel.usc.edu/webreg/Login.asp System uses SSL security HTML Web Registration Instructions Flash Web Registration Tutorial
Login
Student enters student ID number Student enters 6 digit PIN (******) Display of holds and restrictions
– office phone no. and location Display of registration appointment time
Web Process Overview
Step1: Select courses to schedule Step 2: Build a schedule with selected
courses Step 3: Register for courses on the schedule
Web Screen Presentation
Top Frame: Displays department list, course list, class list or schedule
Middle Frame: Displays the “Course Bin,” courses selected for scheduling
Bottom Frame: Displays system responses and messages
Select Courses to Schedule
From Course List, click “ADD” by course name
From Section List: click “ADD” by section number
Build a Schedule
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
Auto Schedule– With all courses in course bin click “Auto
Schedule”– View options– Select desired option, click “Make this my
Schedule”
Scheduler Builder
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
Need optimizer software for a tree search Tried commercial software: OPL language Performance: 4 min, 300Mb RAM Revised version: 4 sec Better but not good enough
Solution Implemented
Limit solution search space Courses given priority order: A>B>C 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
Courses may have linked lectures, labs, discussions, and quizzes
Groups are allowed combinations of linked sections
For all courses, form allowed groups Eliminate groups with time conflicts with
time blocks
Build Schedules
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
After 100 successful schedules, stop
Tree Search
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
Search time Max = 10 sec. Search Solutions Max = 1000 All valid solutions may not be found.
Programming tools
Visual basic: VB SCRIPT Active Server Pages: ASP Component Object Modules: COM
– on server in PYTHON.
Register
Click “ Commit Changes”– system verifies availability and checks
permissions (holds, prereqs, etc.) Click “Proceed to Register”
– Changes made in SIS and database server updated
Communication Strategies
Information sessions for advisors Stealth launch, August 2001 with home
page quicklink Notification of availability to students
emailed October 2001 Comprehensive list of Frequently Asked
Questions
Communication Strategies (cont.)
December 2002 emailed all users to verify registered course list
Prior to end of drop/add notified those with course in schedule bin but not registered
April 2002, auto confirm all drop/add transactions real time by email
Future Plans
Final Exam schedule Links to Catalogue Course Description Link to Student Course Guide Multiple Term Planner
Acknowledgement
Thomas F. Hauck
Director of New Technology
Student Information Systems
University of Southern California
(213) 740-1992
Francisco Chang
System Analyst
Office of Academic Records and Registrar
University of Southern California
(213) 821-5514