For years, Elizabethton High School, located innortheastern Tennessee, endured a strenuouscourse request process for students. With limitedstaff to process 845 student course requests andstaff having additional responsibilities, schedulingcourses for students became a time-consuming anddifficult process.
The high school relied on a scheduling processthat involved school counselors distributing paperregistration packets, registrars hand entering theinformation that came back, and finally recordingall the students’ course numbers. Teresa Simcox, student informationand data analyst atElizabethton CitySchools, experiencedthe inefficiencies andcumbersome workprocesses firsthand.“When you do anythingmanually, you know you’re going to have errors.Combine that with our school counselors being part-timetesting coordinators and student advisers, our process for course requests was not ideal.”
As a district customer since 2014, Elizabethton HighSchool decided to adopt Skyward’s Online CourseRequests, a feature that was available within theStudent Management Suite they had previouslyimplemented. With Online Course Requests,student registration times decreased significantly,allowing staff to focus on other areas to drive student success.
"BEING ABLE TO USE THE ONLINE COURSE REQUESTS SAVED US A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF TIME."
As Elizabethton High School grew familiar withSkyward’s Online Course Requests feature, theybegan registering students online for the 2016-2017school year. “Being able to use the Online CourseRequests saved us a tremendous amount of time,”Simcox said. In fact, after implementing Skyward’scourse requests feature, the staff’s greatesttime commitment for registration was simplymeeting incoming freshman and their families tocommunicate the requirements students needed tomeet in four years and answer possible questions.Using Skyward allowed staff to enroll almost 70freshman students at a time, freeing up valuableminutes for in-personmeetings. “We really knockedit out,” explained Simcox.
Meanwhile, staff enrolledupperclassmen during schoolhours. According to Simcox,each grade consisted of roughly 180 students, and with Online CourseRequests, it took no more than three days to enrollan entire grade. Surprisingly, Elizabethton HighSchool could have cut down even more of theirenrollment time if they had full access to the roomwhere they finalized classes with students. Overall,the initial results were promising. “I’d say we savedtwo months,” Simcox estimated. “It worked very,very well.”
Beyond improved efficiency, Elizabethton HighSchool also benefited from increased studentengagement. “Students were really interested intheir planning,” explained Simcox. “They took a lotof pride and ownership in what they were going tobe doing. It put them on an adult level in terms ofmaking important decisions.”
Similarly, parents became more involved in thescheduling process. Considering only
of U.S. parents are fully engaged with their child’s school,Elizabethton High School readily welcomed thepositive changes the Online Course Requestsproduced. “It created a lot of awareness and interestin helping get their child on the right path toward a career,” Simcox said. “It seemed very importantto them to have the time to sit down and help theirkids.” Thanks to the online scheduling successes,Simcox acknowledged that parents have beenincreasingly supportive of the district’s transitionto an online solution, alleviating concerns of futurebuy-in from their key stakeholders.
"THIS IS THE EASIEST YEAR I'VE HAD IN THE LAST 19 YEARS."
In addition, staff have been able to free up timefor other tasks thanks to the efficiency Skywardhas brought to their jobs. “It just couldn’t be anybetter. I mean the hours and hours of workingnights, sometimes staying up until midnight enteringrequests in the past... It’s just a major timesaver, it’sunbelievable,” said Simcox. The efficiency and convenience of Skyward’ssolution have greatly enhanced Elizabethton CitySchools’ processes. “I just think Skyward wascreated to make your life easier. It does excellentreporting and it’s easy to use,” Simcox stated. “It makes your job a lot easier when you don’t have tofight with the program about your data.”
Overall, Elizabethton High School can sum upthe experience of transitioning to Online CourseRequests as a great success. Thanks to such apositive experience, Elizabethton City Schools isattempting to spread the word to other districts.Simcox believes that generating awareness abouttheir own successes can help save districts fromthe long, inefficient processes Elizabethton HighSchool once braved. “You have some counselors[in other schools] that still call their students into theoffice and pull out their four-year plan and sit thereone-on-one and hand enter each kid,” said Simcox.
“Now, in two weeks we can have 845 students withtheir requests in.”Simcox would give districts considering a move to Skyward simple advice. “It would be the bestdecision they ever made,” Simcox stated. “I toldSkyward’s CEO Cliff King this is the easiest yearI’ve had in the last 19 years. All the information isin the program, it seamlessly transfers to the state,and all of my numbers work out just fine.”
With a seamless online course requests processin place, Elizabethton High School transformed theway parents and students engage with the school,eased the jobs of their staff, and optimized theefficiency of administrative processes.
Follow-up resource: Student Management Suite
Ready to enjoy a better scheduling experience? Check out the Student Management Suite.
Why Choose Skyward? Choosing your next SIS and ERP provider is an important decision. So, what sets Skyward apart?
You can expect the same variety of work online as you would face-to-face. Online courses deliver a mix of quizzes, essays, assignments and group discussions. Depending on the course, you may work together with other students in groups, participate in peer review, or debate a variety of topics on the discussion boards.
This course schedule typically includes all of the subjects that the student will be taught each week. It details the times of the day and the days of the week that each course will be offered. A class schedule refers to the classes a student will take in a particular school or college program.
Participation in online courses means you log into the course at least 3 times a week, complete assignments and discussion boards according to your syllabus, and communicate with your instructors whenever you need any assistance.
Class scheduling software allows institutions to create flexible schedules that accommodate both students and faculty. With features like online registration and real-time updates, students can easily choose classes that align with their preferences and other commitments.
A typical undergraduate class comprises three credits with three hours of weekly lectures. Readings and other assignments can take four hours to complete, for a total of seven hours (or one hour per day per course). Graduate programs emphasize reading, writing, and independent research.
Class schedules can help students know what comes next, which can prepare students who may be unsettled by changes to upcoming task or room transitions. Class schedules can also help students break down the steps they need to complete a task or transition.
Commonly known as Training Plan or Development Plan, training scheduling is the process of effectively co-ordinating your training and development activity in order to ensure that you don't adversely disrupt or impact the business due to staff availability.
What is a learning schedule? A learning schedule outlines the plan on how to study a new subject or skill. It can include a timeline for completing different tasks and milestones, as well as the specific methods and resources that will be used to learn the material.
Instructors should provide meaningful feedback on student work using clear and concise language. You have ideal "teachable moments" when providing feedback on student work. Simply telling a student "good job" or "needs work" does not give them the information they need to succeed. They need (and want) more specifics.
Academic Achievement. All students are expected to actively pursue and gain the knowledge and skills required for college work or professional training. ...
Introduction: My name is Clemencia Bogisich Ret, I am a super, outstanding, graceful, friendly, vast, comfortable, agreeable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
