Astra Schedule & CMS-SA Interface

Astra Schedule has an interface with the Common Management Systems Student Administration system (CMS-SA) that synchronizes facility assignments for classes between the two systems. Event information in Astra Schedule is not maintained in CMS-SA.

The Astra Schedule interface with CMS-SA is designed to facilitate the coordination of data between the two systems. It has several "modes" and runs them simultaneously.

• (CMS-SA to Astra) A batch import runs every weekday morning before 7:00 a.m. that re-imports active and tentative semester class section data from CMS-SA to Astra Schedule. This import allows academic department schedulers to work in Astra Schedule with the most current CMS-SA data at start of each work day.
• (CMS-SA to Astra) A transactional import is scheduled to run every twenty minutes every weekday to capture changes made in CMS-SA during standard hours of operation.
• (Astra to CMS-SA) A real-time export runs whenever a facility assignment has been made or a facility is removed from a class section in Astra Schedule. The facility assignment or removal is sent to CMS-SA as soon as the change is saved in Astra Schedule.
• (Astra to CMS-SA) A batch export runs on select evenings after 5:00 p.m. to capture any outstanding facility assignments made to class sections in Astra Schedule and sends them to CMS-SA.

Astra Schedule Room Reports

State owned instructional facilities and outdoor spaces for class and event scheduling are maintained in Astra Schedule. For convenience, reports that list instructional facilities, seat capacity, and features are listed below. Visit IRT Classroom Technology for more information on classroom technologies that support diverse pedagogies.

Astra Schedule Room Reports

• University Conference and Lecture Rooms
• University Lecture Rooms Listed by Capacity
• College and Department Instructional Labs

Astra Schedule User Guide, Security & Training

Astra Schedule User Guide

The Astra Schedule User Guide is designed to introduce campus users to the look and feel of Astra Schedule version 8.9.4. It covers common Astra Schedule features, basic user navigation, and procedures to maintain facility assignments for the Class Schedule and is not intended to be a comprehensive reference manual. Some of the content in the user guide is only intended for campus users that have specific security access in the Common Management Systems Student Administration system (CMS-SA) and Astra Schedule to build the class schedule.

• Astra Schedule User Guide

Astra Schedule User Security

Astra Schedule user security is administered by the Office of Space Management. Before granting security access to campus users in academic departments that need to perform facilities assignments for class sections, Space Management must confirm users have relevant access in CMS-SA. Please contact Space Management with Astra Schedule user security requests or concerns.

Astra Schedule Training

New Astra Schedule department scheduler users are required to complete hands-on or virtual training provided by Space Management. Additional training on Astra Schedule is provided upon request. Please contact Space Management with Astra Schedule training requests.

Astra Schedule Course Analysis & Lecture Room Utilization Reports

Key Strategies for Improving Classroom Utilization

Space Management has highlighted 4 strategies that will help the University maximize facility utilization, minimize scheduling conflicts and bottlenecks, and facilitate an optimal class schedule for student success. Key Astra Schedule reports listed below support each of these strategies and are designed to help colleges and departments be proactive with changes to current and upcoming class schedules.

• Strategy 1 - Spread class offerings out over the entire scheduling week
• Strategy 2 - Reduce unused seats by scheduling classes into appropriately sized rooms
• Strategy 3 - Minimize class offerings that use non-standard meeting patterns
• Strategy 4 - Reduce the offering of unnecessary sections

For assistance using the reports below, download the Guide to Use Astra Schedule Reports to Support Capacity Management and Efficient Scheduling.

Note: Fall term reports will be posted annually following census.