Astra Schedule offline for planned maintenance 10/5-10/10/2016

Astra Schedule will be offline for scheduled maintenance starting on Wednesday, October 5th at 5:00 p.m. through Monday, October 10th at 7:00 a.m. All Astra users will use the link ‘z.umn.edu/astra’ to access the software after the maintenance is complete on Monday, October 10th.

Activity report listings of all scheduled classes and events held from October 6-9, 2016 are available for reference while Astra Schedule is offline. View scheduled room activity.

How you can prepare:

• The new link z.umn.edu/astra can be used right away.
• Delete all old Astra bookmarks in your web browser.
• Create a new Astra bookmark for z.umn.edu/astra.
• If your department has links to Astra on their webpage, update them to point to z.umn.edu/astra.
• If your department distributes activity calendars by URL or by embedding in your website, notify ocmsoftwarehelp@umn.edu to obtain a new URL for your calendar.
• Submit all your room requests for the week prior to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 5th.

You may see up-to-date status on the outage on the OIT System Status site. If you have questions, please contact ocmsoftwarehelp@umn.edu.

Unexpected power outage causes classroom disruptions

On Monday, October 5, 2015, there was a power outage on the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis campus that caused classroom projection systems to malfunction. It's estimated that this outage affected approximately 50 classrooms in over a dozen buildings, including:

• Akerman
• Armory
• Blegen
• Burton
• Cooke
• Carlson
• Ford
• Humphrey
• Lind
• Murphy
• Rapson 

The Office of Classroom Management has successfully reset the projection equipment and will continue to resolve the few remaining issues. Working in conjunction with U of M's Facilities Management team, investigations have begun to try and determine how to minimize the impact of unplanned disruptions in the future. We apologize for the inconvenience and any negative impact to you, your students or classes.

Please contact OCM at 612-625-1086 if you encounter any issues with your classroom functionality.   

New Upgrade go-live date expected in next few weeks

In order to resolve issues found in testing, the PeopleSoft Upgrade is shifting from mid-February to a later date and is now estimated to launch in March or April. Exact dates are expected in the next few weeks. Many factors are being considered to determine timing, including payroll periods, student registration, grant processes and more. Depending on what is decided, the implementation will affect some areas more than others. Learn more about the Upgrade.

Welcome to spring semester 2015!

Recent classroom renovations and upgrades
Winter break provided the Office of Classroom Management an opportunity to access classrooms and complete projects while they weren't consistently being used. Technology life-cycle upgrades are underway in Folwell Hall and will continue through the spring semester. Keller 3-115 also received a technology upgrade which improved the student experience by utilizing large-screen display monitors.

Tate Laboratory of Physics on the East Bank will go offline for two years following spring 2015 final exam week. Tate currently has nine classrooms, including five lecture halls that each seat more than 100 students. The Office of Classroom Management is partnering with the Academic Health Center and other departments to accommodate some of the classes that would have met in Tate, with the majority of Physics and Astronomy department classes moving to the West Bank during construction.

These course shifts will have a ripple effect, moving course sections across the entire Minneapolis campus classroom inventory.

How to locate your classroom assignment
Room assignments for spring 2015 classes are available on the One Stop Class Schedule.

Please note: Room assignments are subject to change prior to the start of term. While this usually only affects a small number of classes, verify your classroom assignment before the first class meeting. If you have specific questions about your room assignment, contact your department scheduling coordinator.

Classroom technology instructions and videos
The classroom technology instructions for each building provide a list of equipment and additional features, as well as a representative image of the instructor station in each classroom. Orientation is available upon request for those who want to learn more about the technology features. For any questions, contact OCM Classroom Support.

2015 PeopleSoft Upgrade
There will be a significant upgrade of the University of Minnesota’s financial, human resources, and student systems. Outreach for faculty and instructors will continue in the spring semester. Please review the Upgrade website to find information about how these changes will affect you.

OCM News Blog
Stay informed about general purpose classrooms and student study spaces by visiting the OCM news blog. The blog provides news and information updates throughout the semester and is accessible via the OCM website.

Contact us
OCM is available to help with any questions, concerns, or comments regarding general purpose classrooms or central student study spaces. Contact us via the Classroom Support Hotline at 612-625-1086 or classrm@umn.edu.

Staff are available for calls related to classroom and scheduling Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Messages left at the hotline are monitored by an on-call manager after hours.

University partners with Ad Astra to host summit on July 23

The University of Minnesota will partner with Ad Astra to host a regional Astra Schedule Summit on July 23, 2014 on the Twin Cities campus. More details are available on the North Central Region Ad Astra Google site.

Spring meeting and event requests

Spring 2014 weekend meeting and event requests have begun processing, and weekday evening and daytime requests will begin next week. Scheduling priority is first given to academic courses in general purpose classrooms and then to academic-related activities. Spaces for special events are not guaranteed, other than those for credited academic classes and their final exams.

General meeting and event requests are scheduled prior to the start of the semester. Requests will be processed in the order in which they are received. Event reservations for upcoming semesters will be held in the request queue and subsequently processed in the order in which they are received. Weekend and evening requests are filled before weekday requests. Most prime time requests are not processed until the first week of the semester.

Scheduling will assign each reservation to the most appropriate space available. Requests for specific rooms or spaces will be honored when possible. Scheduling reserves the right to re-assign space and identify suitable alternative space when necessary.

Fall 2013 General Purpose Classroom Satisfaction and Planning Survey

The Office of Classroom Management (OCM) invites you to provide feedback about current and future classrooms so we can provide you with the highest quality learning environments possible. Your survey scores and comments help inform our planning for renovations and equipment changes. OCM makes significant technology changes and renewal updates in more than 60 classrooms each year, and we value your input. Your voluntary participation in a short, seven-question survey is very much appreciated, and your responses will be confidential. Please complete the survey by Friday, December 20. We encourage you to submit a separate survey for each classroom for which you would like to offer feedback. Please click here to complete the survey. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact us at 612-625-1086 or classrm@umn.edu.

Scheduling U presentations

Scheduling U, which took place November 4-8, included several workshops. If you were unable to attend, or would like a fresher, you can view the presentation for each session below.

Scheduling news and notes

Find out about all the new buzz in scheduling! Discussions will include process improvements, final exam batch scheduling, Astra Schedule, upcoming classrooms projects, policy and procedure changes, the new Liberal Education (LE) distribution tool, and more.

Speakers: Sarah Kussow, Nate Meath 

• Scheduling News and Notes.pdf

What's up with ESUP?

The University is upgrading its PeopleSoft systems and reexamining all associated business processes. What does this mean for schedulers? Come to this session to get the scoop and a preview of some changes on the way.

Speakers: Heather Micek, Kate Sophia, John Vollum

• What's up with ESUP.pdf

How to make Astra Schedule work for you

You may already know how to use Astra Schedule to request an event or to view a calendar, but there is a lot more that it can do for you. Learn how to navigate the new system-wide scheduling tool to find information faster by using filters, saving searches, and running ad hoc reports to make class scheduling easier.  

Speakers: Gary Andersen, Renae Faunce, Nancy Killian

Moderator: Christine Mounts

• How to make Astra Schedule work for you.pdf

Back to the basics

If you are new to academic scheduling or simply looking for a crash course, this session will provide all the information you need on scheduling processes, policies, and procedures. Topics covered will include the academic schedule production cycle, ECAS, final exam scheduling, how to navigate the class scheduling distribution summary, getting the room you need, and Q & A with the Student Records training and support team.

Speakers: Gary Andersen, Renae Faunce, Nancy Killian, Sarah Kussow, Robert Wilson

• Back to the Basics Part 1.pdf

  Back to the Basics Part 2 ECS Tips and Tricks.pdf

  
  

Viewing classroom availability in Astra Schedule

When using Astra Schedule, schedulers should rely on the request forms to view classroom availability. Using the grid calendars is no longer necessary to request a classroom. You can now request space and see availability in the same place.

To view the schedule of a specific general purpose classroom, use the General Purpose Classroom Search. Choose the building you are interested in, then select the room name. The room details will appear on the right hand side of the screen. Click on the "Room Schedule" link to bring up the daily calendar for the classroom. If you prefer to see an entire week or month at a time, you can easily switch your view by using the buttons on the upper left-hand corner of the calendar.

Upcoming Astra Schedule user groups

A series of Astra Schedule user groups is scheduled for this fall. Session topics will address issues that schedulers experience in their day-to-day use of Astra Schedule. They also serve as an opportunity for users to share ideas with each other and receive help solving specific problems.

No registration is required to attend. Locations and times for each session are as follows:

• Thursday, September 26, 9-10:30 a.m., Nolte Center 140

• Friday, October 25, 1:30-3 p.m., STSS 512B

• Tuesday, November 19, 9-10:30 a.m., Nicholson Hall 110

• Tuesday, December 17, 9-10:30 a.m., STSS 512B

Welcome to fall 2013!

Summer classroom renovations and updates 

Several general purpose classrooms received environment or technology updates during the summer. Some of these updates included the following:

• Willey Hall partition - The large motorized partition in Willey Hall 125 and 175 was replaced. See photos of the construction and finished product here.
• Video conferencing classrooms - Magrath 4, Peik 165, and Peters 145 were added to the OCM inventory.
• Furnishing upgrades - Keller 3-230 and Borlaug 335 and 365 received new furniture, finishes, lighting, and A/V equipment.
• Technology feature upgrades were completed in more than 50 rooms. Room features can be found on the newly revised room inventory page.
• STSS 114 - Two classrooms in the Science Teaching & Student Services building (STSS) were combined to provide increased capacity for an Active Learning Classroom (ALC).The new room seats 171 students and offers the same active learning functionality as before.

New scheduling system launched

In May, the Office of Classroom Management (OCM) implemented a new, system-wide classroom and event scheduling system called Astra Schedule. The system replaced the old classroom schedule viewers and request process. A quick start guide is available on the new Astra Schedule home page showing how to request a classroom for an event.

Fall 2013 classroom assignments

Room assignments for fall 2013 classes are available on the One Stop Class Schedule. Please note: room assignments are subject to change prior to the start of term. While this usually only affects a small number of classes, verify your classroom assignment before the first class meeting. If you have specific questions about your room assignment, contact your department scheduling coordinator.

Classroom technology instructions and videos

The classroom technology instructions for each building provide a list of equipment and additional features, as well as a representative image of the instructor station in each classroom. Orientation is available upon request for those who want to learn more about the technology features. For any questions, contact OCM Classroom Support or 612-625-1086.

OCM News Blog

Stay informed about general purpose classrooms and student study spaces by visiting the OCM news blog. The blog provides news and information updates throughout the semester and is accessible via the OCM website or by subscribing using your favorite RSS feed/blog reader.

Contact us

OCM is available to help with any questions, concerns, or comments regarding general purpose classrooms or central student study spaces. Contact us via the Classroom Support Hotline at 612-625-1086 or classrm@umn.edu.

The hotline is available from 7:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Monday-Friday. Messages left at the hotline are monitored by an on-call manager after hours.

Temporary solution for room schedule displays

The Office of Classroom Management's (OCM) new system-wide classroom and event scheduling system, Astra Schedule, went live in May. It replaced the former classroom schedule viewers and request process. 

The transition requires a replacement of the content on the room schedule displays for Cooke, Folwell, Nicholson, and STSS classrooms. To access the new room inventory page, a QR code is available on the room displays for mobile-device users. You may also view the content with a computer or laptop using the provided URL located on the room displays.

In the meantime, OCM is working with its room scheduling display vendor to write a new interface in the coming year. When complete, OCM will transition back to posting the daily schedule for the rooms that currently have installed room schedule displays. There are no plans to add more displays outside of the new classrooms.

UMN-TV outage on July 2

A planned outage for UMN-TV online is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, July 11 at 7:00 a.m. Maintenance is scheduled to last until noon, but service may be available as soon as 8:00 a.m. 

UMN-TV cable will not be affected during this outage.

If you experience any issues with UMN-TV after this time, please report them to the Technology Helpline at 1-HELP (1-4357).

R25 has been retired, Astra Schedule now live

Effective immediately, R25 will no longer be in use. OCM's new system-wide classroom and event scheduling system, Astra Schedule, is now live. It will replace the former classroom schedule viewers and request process.

A quick start guide is available on the new Astra Schedule homepage on how to request a classroom for an event. Demonstrations will also be held at the following locations on campus:

• Saint Paul: Tuesday, May 21, 9 -10 a.m., Ruttan B35

• West Bank: Wednesday, May 22, 2:30-3:30 p.m., Blegen 10

• East Bank: Thursday, May 23, 9-10 a.m., Nicholson 155 (Or watch this session live via UM Connect.)

U Card access

Q: I noticed that there is a card reader by the door of my classroom. Will I need U Card access? How do I set that up?

A: Many general purpose classrooms are secured via card access. The classrooms are unlocked when classes are in session so you will not need to have access programmed via your U Card. For more information about classroom hours, see this useful FAQ.

OCM Support communication transition

On Nov. 19, OCM transitioned to a new service request system called ServiceNow. Sending an email to ocmhelp@umn.edu will now auto-generate a service ticket.

If you have an email announcement or general communication, please use classrm@umn.edu, or address it to specific individuals within OCM for a faster response. Scheduling inquiries may still be directed to ocmsched@umn.edu or ocmevent@umn.edu and will not auto-generate a ticket. The ocmhelp@umn.edu address should still be used to report a problem in an OCM supported classroom or study space.

The quickest and most efficient way to communicate urgent issues affecting classrooms is to call the Classroom Support Hotline at 625-1086 between 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Pardon our dust! OCM office under construction

The front doors and reception area of 160 Williamson Hall will be closed from August 1-6 due to construction for a new One Stop Student Services location.

If you have a meeting in 160 Williamson during the closure, please call ahead to have OCM staff meet you at a side door and let you into the office space.

Promote classroom cleanliness

The Office of Classroom Management (OCM) has two poster templates available for departments to print and post in departmental classrooms. These posters are intended to assist departments in their efforts to alert classroom users to the impact their actions have on learning space. 

If you would like to use these posters in your classrooms, contact Sarah Hollerich.

New OCM classroom poster campaign

The Office of Classroom Management (OCM) has launched a new campaign intended to alert classroom users to the impact their actions have on OCM managed classrooms. 

The campaign features new posters and digital signs posted in all general purpose classrooms. The campaign features three slogans: "It's your space, take care of it," "Fight dirty! Keep your campus clean!" and "Your space. Your choice. Help keep it clean."

Updated OCM Operations contact information

The Operations unit in the Office of Classroom Management has a new email. The email ocm-ops@umn.edu will replace ocmfac@umn.edu. Any future communication should be sent to the new email. Messages sent to the old address will be forwarded to the current address until the start of fall semester 2012. Reminders will be sent to frequent users of the ocmfac email address to begin using the new email.