The University debuted a new tool that will allow students to personalize schedules based on graduation needs and availability in time for priority registration beginning Dec. 5.
Students can insert general education requirements and breaks through the Gator Scheduler feature to better plan around other activities such as work, sports practice and club meetings.
“We have heard from students and advisors that students often have difficulty putting together a class schedule that takes account of their busy lives,” said Senior Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management Jo Volkert in an email. “This tool will enable students to develop ideal class schedules and make better and speedier progress toward completing their degrees.”
Robert Strazzarino, a California State University Chico graduate, created the tool after recognizing a need to facilitate class scheduling that would accommodate other aspects of student life. The program was initially launched at the university and has since been brought to 19 other campuses within the CSU.
The CSU Chancellor’s Office negotiated an agreement to cover the $35,000 cost for the program during its first year and subsequent years will be paid through the regular operating budget of the university, according to Volkert.
Students can find the courses they need by submitting their unfulfilled requirements into Gator Scheduler, which will identify the classes that both satisfy their requirement needs and fit into their schedules, Volkert said. Plans made in the scheduler can be imported into their online shopping cart, which will be accessible during registration.
Noelle Abuda, a communications major, thinks the new scheduling tool will help students sift through general education requirements and speed up the scheduling process.
“Just finding all the classes and their numbers and then bringing them over to the registration page was so time consuming,” Abuda said. “I’m still finishing my GE so that (Gator Scheduling) would be helpful for me.”
As a senior, psychology student Crystal Lanuza doesn’t see much use for the new system now but thinks it would have been a convenient tool when she was juggling multiple jobs and classes.
“I ended up overlapping some classes,” Lanuza said. “I wish that tool had been there before though. If I were a freshman I would use it.”
While Gator Scheduler is not required in order to register, according to Volkert over 5,000 students have already started using it to plan ahead for their upcoming classes. The tool is available through the Student Service Center to assist students choosing courses for the Spring 2015 semester.