The following e-mail was sent to the TC-DDD List on May 31, 2006:
TO: Deans, Directors and Department Heads
FROM: Terry Bock, Associate Vice President, Academic Health Center
Craig Swan, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education
RE Use of Enterprise-Level Scheduling System for Departmental Classrooms
We write concerning the use of Resource 25 (or "R25") for scheduling
Twin Cities departmental classrooms. We have been using Resource 25
software as part of a suite of automated scheduling systems to
support 300 general purpose/central classrooms on the Twin Cities
campus. This initiative will now expand the use of the Resource 25
software to the 270 additional UMTC campus rooms designated as
departmental classrooms (Use Code 120 in the U of M Space System).
It is part of a larger Administrative Service and Productivity
project that addresses scheduling of space more generally.
The initiative to expand R25 as the standard tool for scheduling Twin
Cities campus instructional space began three years ago with a pilot
program involving departments from AHC, CLA, GC and CEHD.
Subsequently, 32 departments in 12 colleges have implemented R25 for
their departmental classrooms.
The use of R25 to schedule space has been endorsed by a number of
groups as a model project demonstrating the ability of a single
enterprise system to reduce duplication of administrative processes
and their associated support structure.
Under this initiative, The Office of Classroom Management (OCM) will
administer the system and will:
- fund the departmental R25 software licenses
- provide necessary training to departmental users
- support R25 operations in a terminal server environment for Mac and PC
users
- enter and maintain the departmental room data base within the R25
structure
- implement the initiative by start of Fall semester, 2006
Departments will:
- designate users for training (approx 4 hours) in Summer 2006
- provide departmental classroom and space characteristics data via
the OCM website
- implement R25 for scheduling departmental classrooms by start of
Fall Semester 2006
Departments retain autonomy and responsibility for scheduling their
own departmental rooms. R25 allows departments to monitor their room
assignment efficiency using a common space utilization measurement
system. Departments are encouraged to use R25 for other types of
instructional space (for example, CBS is now using R25 to schedule
its labs). A number of reports in R 25 will provide important
information about room usage that can be used in future planning.
Other benefits of using Resource25 include the system's on-line
interface with PeopleSoft that eliminates the need for the department
to "double-enter" scheduling data. It also expedites the flow of
important course scheduling information to systems, staff and
students, and prevents double-booking of department space. R25
generated Departmental Web Viewers visually display room activity in
graphic or tabular form, and allow for a quick search of a room's
availability. In response to user requests, and as a new added
feature for participants, OCM will implement increased web viewer
functionality in the near future. Additionally, R25-driven digital
signage is also under investigation by OCM.
Specific implementation details will be provided to department
scheduling contacts by email. Additional information is located on
the OCM website Departmental Resource25 Support Page,
from Bob Quinney at 4-2399, or by email addressed to R25-Support@umn.edu.
cc: Frank Cerra, Senior Vice President for Health Sciences
E. Thomas Sullivan, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
Kathy Brown, Vice President and Chief of Staff
