CCS user workshops

The Scheduling team provides monthly CCS user workshops in which we connect with the departmental schedulers and review relevant topics. These workshops are held over Zoom on the second Tuesday of the month from 11:00–11:30 a.m. (15–20 minute presentation with time for discussion). 

To attend a workshop, simply add the class schedule production calendar to your Google Calendar:

• Add to U of M Google calendar
• Add to general Google calendar

A Zoom meeting link and materials will be added to the calendar event closer to the day of the workshop. 

Upcoming topics

• May 12 - Room Characteristics
• June 9 - 25Live
• July - No CCS workshop

If there is an upcoming topic you would like to discuss, please feel free to send your questions/concerns to ocmsched@umn.edu. Also, if there is a topic you would like to discuss in future workshops, please let us know.

Fall 2026 (1269) classroom assignments

At this time, we are continuing to work on getting classrooms assigned for fall. Classroom availability for large lecture halls is very limited. We may not be able to accommodate enrollment capacity increases or meeting pattern changes for certain times of the day. Please check with ocmsched@umn.edu before making any changes.  

As a reminder, OCM only works to find general purpose classrooms for classes that are lecture or discussion sections with a blank Facility ID in CCS. If a class is typically held in a specific departmentally-owned classroom, please assign those classrooms to those classes in 25Live.

If the Facility ID field is populated, OCM will not actively look for a classroom for your class. This includes populating it with a virtual space, such as:

• ROOM000TBA (room to be assigned) - the CCS scheduler will be adding a departmental or other room to a class section or meeting pattern.
• NORMREQD (no room required) - no room is required for the class section and/or meeting pattern.
• ONLINEONLY (online only) - the class section or meeting pattern of the class will be conducted completely online, so no classroom is needed.
• REMOTE (remote instruction) - the class section or meeting pattern of the class will be conducted remotely, so no classroom is needed.
• AHC000TBA (AHC room to be assigned) - no GPC is needed.
• LAB000TBA (lab section - room to be assigned) - no GPC is needed.
• NO000PRINT - the class section has the “schedule print” box unchecked, and a GPC will not be required.

If a class has one of these virtual rooms assigned and it now needs a classroom, contact ocmsched@umn.edu.

Fall 2026 (1269) scheduling in progress

CCS is currently closed for fall 2026 so that classroom assignments can be made by OCM. CCS will re-open on March 27, 2026 for emergent changes before registration begins on April 9, 2026.

25Live is available during this time for departmental classroom assignments. Please continue to assign departmentally owned rooms to academic classes that will take place in those spaces by March 9, 2026. This will give OCM a better understanding of the actual need for OCM-owned general purpose classrooms.

From March 12–26, OCM will be assigning GPC classrooms in mass quantities. We ask that our departmental schedulers refrain from logging in to assign departmental classrooms to academic classes in 25Live during that time.

25Live tip

If you need to make an update to a class in PeopleSoft, make sure you are not also editing the class in 25Live at the same time. Why? Unfortunately, the update from PeopleSoft will be blocked as 25Live thinks you are in the process of updating the class, and all other attempts to update the class will be blocked. 

So, what can you do if this happens? Get out of the class in 25Live and make another small change to the class in PeopleSoft/CCS to trigger the actual update. Example: Add 1 to the enrollment capacity and save. Once you see the update in 25Live, go back into PeopleSoft and change it back to the correct enrollment.

25Live access for departmental room managers

If you are continuing to receive notifications to complete 25Live training, you have not successfully completed the training yet. All users who had access in Astra to manage departmentally-owned rooms must complete 25Live training to retain access. You have until September 30, 2025 to complete this online training. We will begin removing access in early October. If you have any questions, email ocmsched@umn.edu.

25Live tips and reminders

To find a single course in 25Live, from the dashboard, click on the Go To Search button, select Events, and enter the course you want to see with the term code (example: HIST 1463 1259), and Search. All offerings of that class will appear.

Classroom managers will soon get an email whenever someone requests the use of your room.

At this time, GPC classroom requests for academic classes should still be emailed into ocmsched@umn.edu, like was done previously with Astra. Any GPC classroom requests for academic classes in 25Live will be denied, and you will be asked to re-send the request via email to ocmsched@umn.edu.

We continue to have drop-in Zoom sessions for departmental room managers to connect with OCM and other room managers to address questions you may have or learn from questions asked by your peers. You can find the drop-in sessions on our scheduling calendar (typically Tues and/or Thurs). To attend simply add the class schedule production calendar to your Google Calendar and join the Zoom:

• Add to U of M Google calendar
• Add to general Google calendar

25Live update

25Live has officially replaced Astra as our room scheduling software!

• Training for 25Live is available for departmental room managers and is required to maintain and/or gain access to 25Live. 
• Astra has become view-only.
• Help guides can be found on the 25Live website, under Training and Support.

We are hosting drop-in Zoom sessions for departmental room managers to connect with OCM and other room managers to address questions you may have or learn from questions asked by your peers.

These sessions are conducted over Zoom on Tuesday morning from 10-11 a.m., and Thursday afternoons from 1-2 p.m., and are scheduled through July 17. If nobody shows up within the first 15 minutes of any drop-in session, we will cancel that session.

Like our CCS workshops, you can find the drop-in sessions on our scheduling calendar. To attend simply add the class schedule production calendar to your Google Calendar:

• Add to U of M Google calendar
• Add to general Google calendar

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact ocmsched@umn.edu.

CCS user workshops

Please join us for our monthly CCS user workshops. These workshops allow us to connect with our departmental schedulers and review relevant topics.

These workshops are conducted over Zoom on the second Tuesday of the month from 11:00-11:30 a.m. (15–20 minute presentation with time for discussion). 

To attend a workshop, simply add the class schedule production calendar to your Google Calendar:

• Add to U of M Google calendar
• Add to general Google calendar

A Zoom meeting link and materials will be added to the calendar event closer to the day of the workshop. 

Upcoming topics 

• July 8th - 25Live 
• Aug 12th - Start of Term Reminders

25Live update

25Live will replace Astra as the University’s class and room scheduling system on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. 

There are a few things we’d like to make you aware of as we prepare for this change:

• Events scheduled in your departmentally managed rooms in Astra will not be moving over into 25Live. Any event scheduled in Astra happening on June 17th or later, will need to be re-entered in 25Live. 
• How can you find your scheduled events in Astra? 
• Go to the Events tab in Astra
• In filters:
• Set start date to June 17th, 2025
• Select the rooms you schedule to find a list of scheduled events in those rooms.
• Export to Excel to have your list.
• Training for 25Live is available. This training is online and required to maintain access to 25Live. 
• Astra will become view-only at the end of the day on Friday, June 13. This is to ensure a smooth data transition. 
• If you have any internal materials (e.g., webpages, handbooks) that refer to Astra, please ensure they are updated to reflect 25Live. Upon launch, z.umn.edu/25live will be the replacement link. Current Astra z-links will be redirected. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact ocmsched@umn.edu. 

25Live update

25Live will replace Astra as the University’s class and room scheduling system on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. 

There are a few things we’d like to make you aware of as we prepare for this change:

• Events scheduled in your departmentally managed rooms in Astra will not be moving over into 25Live. Any event scheduled in Astra happening on June 17th or later, will need to be re-entered in 25Live. 
• How can you find your scheduled events in Astra? 
• Go to the Events tab in Astra
• In filters:
• Set start date to June 17th, 2025
• Select the rooms you schedule to find a list of scheduled events in those rooms.
• Export to Excel to have your list.
• OCM (and other high-volume event schedulers) have already started moving their events into 25Live.
• New Astra access is no longer being granted and Astra training modules have been retired.
• Training for 25Live will be available the last week of May. This training will be online and required to maintain access to 25Live. You will be automatically enrolled in this training and receive more detailed information shortly before it is available.
• Astra will become view-only at the end of the day on Friday, June 13. This is to ensure a smooth data transition. 
• If you have any internal materials (e.g., webpages, handbooks) that refer to Astra, please ensure they are updated to reflect 25Live. Upon launch, z.umn.edu/25live will be the replacement link. Current Astra z-links will be redirected. 

You can find more information on the project webpage, including screenshots of frequently-used pages in 25Live. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact ocmsched@umn.edu. 

CCS user workshops

Please join us for our monthly CCS user workshops. These workshops allow us to connect with our departmental schedulers and review relevant topics.

These workshops are conducted over Zoom on the second Tuesday of the month from 11:00-11:30 a.m. (15–20 minute presentation with time for discussion). 

To attend a workshop, simply add the class schedule production calendar to your Google Calendar:

• Add to U of M Google calendar
• Add to general Google calendar

A Zoom meeting link and materials will be added to the calendar event closer to the day of the workshop. 

Upcoming topics

• June 10th - 25Live
• July 8th - 25Live

25Live update

We are gearing up for the go-live of 25Live on June 17, 2025. As a reminder, 25Live will become the University’s classroom assignment software, replacing our current software, Astra. Here are some key updates on what is coming up. 

Training for 25Live:

• Online training will be available in the Training Hub about a month before go live.
• Training is required if you currently have access to assign departmental rooms to an academic class or set up meetings in departmentally owned spaces in Astra. You will be automatically enrolled and receive email instructions on how to complete the training in May.
• Training is NOT required for people who will request rooms for meetings or classes.

Through June 13:

• Academic Schedulers: continue using Astra to assign departmental rooms to classes for Summer 25, Fall 25, and Spring 26.
• Events Schedulers: continue to schedule events occurring in your departmentally owned spaces. Keep track of events that will be scheduled for July 1 onward, and use those events as practice in 25Live after go-live.

Starting June 14:

• Astra will be available view-only.

Starting  June 17:

• All academic and event room scheduling will be done in 25Live.

Astra to be replaced with 25Live

In case you missed the news last month, Astra is being replaced with CollegeNET’s 25Live product. Highlights of the new product include:

• An updated, multi-campus academic and room scheduling platform
• Improved workflow management, calendars, and customization options
• Smarter event forms and streamlined event pricing
• Increased what-if scenario planning
• Advanced administrative tools

The project will officially kick off with the vendor in late July 2024 and is expected to launch in June 2025. Communications, including comprehensive training plans, will continue throughout the project with current Astra users to ensure a smooth transition. 

Astra will continue to be the University’s class and room scheduling system until 25Live launches.