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June 18, 2008
Astra Moving Forward
Astra continues to show itself to be a great, great asset for the campus. As we move forward with the configuration and implementation we see more and more advantages. It just can't be overstated how nice it is to have everything that is scheduled on campus right there in one spot to look at. It helps both those responsible for setting up class schedules and events, but also those who are looking for a place on campus for their event. It really helps to know whether a space is available or not just by looking - you don't have to call anyone.
That being said, the implementation continues to be difficult to move forward. One nice thing is I've met a lot people as they got their Astra client installed, and I haven't been out on campus this much in years!
Another area which has come up as we begin to use Astra in earnest is "exams". This is the tool whereby Astra does not schedule classes in their regular time slots the last week of the term - it schedules final exams that week instead. We have not yet used the exams portion of Astra, and it necessarily requires a lot more setup. This made a bit of a mess for the finals week this term as there were still classes showing in Astra even though they weren't really meeting. Of course, the space was needed for final exams and other events so it caused a lot of manual work that we'll be able to avoid in the future.
This Summer we are scheduled to go to Astra version 7, which is purely web based. That will be fun to see all the new features it contains. Also, it will eliminate the client/server architecture so I won't have any reason to be wandering around campus!
Posted by rossm at June 18, 2008 10:12 AM
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