Search for online classes by Mode of Instruction

In an effort to reduce confusion on how to search for online classes, the "Online course" course attribute has been removed from the both the course and class searches. Effective immediately, users should use instruction mode "Completely Online" in the Class Search to search for online classes.

In CCS, users will notice that the ONL course attribute is now view only. The instruction mode will appear on all classes that have been approved in ECAS to be taught online. It will not be a modifiable field. CCS users should use the instruction mode of “CO” (Completely Online) to indicate a class that will be taught online. 

In the Course Catalog Search, the text "online sections may be available" will display in the results if the course has the ONL course attribute, but “Online course” is no longer a search option. 

In the Class Search, the "Online course" course attribute is no longer a searchable field and it will not display in the results. Users should use the instruction mode "Completely Online" to search for online classes.

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.

Summer 2017 CCS period 1 opens

Collaborative Class Scheduling (CCS) in PeopleSoft will be available Tuesday, September 27 for May/summer 2017 (1175) class schedule production. The following resources for scheduling courses are available:

• Academic session dates by term
• Instructional time guidelines for summer session
• Class schedule production instructions
• CCS production calendar
• General class scheduling tools

Fall final exam room scheduling

Fall 2016 final exam room scheduling will begin soon. OCM only assigns final exam classrooms for classes that meet in general purpose classrooms. Final exams for classes that meet in departmental spaces need to be scheduled within their respective departments.

Send an email to ocmsched@umn.edu with any class sections that do not require a classroom during finals week. Use “Fall 2016 Final Exam” for the subject line and include the course and section number(s) in the body of the email.

Please note that there is a new Final Exam Change Request form. This form resides on the newly designed ASR website. The form has been improved, and replaces ASR forms 123 and 163.

• Final exam regulations, fall 2016
• Fall 2016 final exam schedule
• Fall 2016 common exam times
• Final exam change request form
• Scheduling Examinations, Final Examinations, and Study Days policy

Save the dates for Scheduling U

All schedulers are encouraged to attend Scheduling U this fall to learn about new information regarding scheduling. Sessions will be held November 14-18, 2016. Offerings will take place on both Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses. More details will be announced soon.

CCS consultations

If you are a trained Collaborative Class Scheduling (CCS) scheduler who would like a personalized session with one of the ASR trainers, just say the word. CCS can be a thorny, complicated system. The training team is happy to help with wait lists, prerequisites, combined sections, how ECAS and CCS interact, multiple component setup, using Astra Schedule, grading, and/or any other parts of the system that will allow you to understand it more fully.

To schedule an individual session, contact ASR Training & Support at 612-625-2803 or srhelp@umn.edu.

Roll forward for May/summer session 2017 (1175)

Class data entered into CCS rolls forward from the same term in the previous year (e.g., fall 2016 to fall 2017) as a convenience to schedulers. We will roll forward the May/summer session 2017 (1175) on Monday, September 12. This happens two weeks prior to CCS Initial Build Open period to allow for data clean up behind the scenes.

As a reminder, classes with the following criteria will not roll forward:

• Cancelled sections
• Tentative sections
• Topics classes
• Classes with zero enrollment for the last 2 like terms (excluding directed studies and research)