Smart scheduling saves university over $85,000

University Business, Sept, 2004

Enrollments at America's colleges and universities have increased 10% since 1995, and are projected to increase by as much as 12% by the year 2012. Meanwhile, the number of full-time faculty members to support these students has only increased 7% since 1995.

At the same time, public funding for Higher Education is shrinking at an alarming rate as state governments announce funding cutbacks to public colleges and universities across the nation.

Data from the Society for College and University Planning indicates that since 1974, the amount of actual classroom space has decreased in America's colleges and universities, citing that the majority of new facilities have been used for non-instructional purposes.

Increasingly, more campuses are looking at academic scheduling software to find new ways to address these challenges. Kathy Chancellor, Office Systems Specialist at Eastern Illinois University, says "We use Astra Schedule [www.astraschedule.com] to restrict scheduling to three campus buildings during Fridays and weekends for classes and events.

"After looking at a variety of different scheduling scenarios, we settled on a schedule that we estimate saved the University over $85,000 in energy costs during the summer alone."

'Smart scheduling' allows universities to determine academic and event schedules all over campus, providing a centralized view of all activity. Using this software allows universities to identify a number of opportunities for cost savings, with energy consumption near the top of the list.

Resource Management

Smart Scheduling. Using smart scheduling, colleges and universities are able to more effectively use their resources not only to provide better service to their students, but also to increase revenues and cut costs. Many colleges are renting out unused space to the private sector, turning down the heat in rooms that are empty, and postponing new construction in favor of using the existing space on campus more effectively.

Scheduling is a complex problem. When searching for scheduling software, it's important to select one that reflects your institution's priorities while helping you get better use out of campus rooms and resources. In the end, it's not about complicated software; it's about delivering solutions that fit.