Scheduling Software Gets An A+ For Improving, Automating Test Scheduling On College Campuses
Colleges, universities, community colleges, technical schools and other institutions
of higher learning from coast to coast rely on academic and placement testing to assist current, incoming and prospective students in their scholastic careers. Scheduling and managing these testing sessions, however, can be a time-consuming and tedious task for faculty and administrative staff, especially if they schedule appointments over the phone or in-person. That"s why a growing number of educational facilities are tossing aside their paper appointment books and electronic calendars and turning to Appointment-Plus online scheduling software this fall semester to improve, automate and streamline their test-scheduling processes.A leader in online academic test scheduling software since 2001, Appointment-Plus offers the functionality necessary to simplify the scheduling process for school staff and students alike, including: online student self-scheduling, whereby they can view available testing dates and times and easily book their sessions at any hour of the day; automated e-mail and text message reminders sent prior to a scheduled testing session; and record-keeping and report-generating capabilities.
Educational institutions use it for scheduling ACT Residual, CAAP, CLEP, COMPASS, placement tests for such subjects as English and math, and degree- and course-specific sessions, such as medical, nursing and business.
"Scheduling testing sessions over the phone and in-person has become a thing of the past," says Bob La Loggia, president and founder of StormSource Software, the developer of Appointment-Plus. "Our software lets colleges, universities and other educational institutes automate the entire scheduling process from start to finish, which frees up a tremendous amount of staff time and lets them focus on more important tasks."
Educational institutions that utilize Appointment-Plus for their academic and placement test scheduling include:
" Hagerstown Community College
" Montana State University
" Northern Kentucky University
" Ohio University
" Volunteer State Community College
As a Web-based application, Appointment-Plus is accessible from any Internet connection. This is beneficial not just to students wishing to schedule appointments online, but also to faculty, administrators and staff who manage their schedules from outside the office or from various on- and off-campus locations. Departments that implement the online self-scheduling option can also minimize the amount of staff time dedicated to answering phones and reading e-mail messages from students requesting appointments. Administrators can easily direct students to their online scheduler with an Appointment-Plus-provided button link on their Web site or page.
Appointment-Plus also eliminates the need to manually enter appointment and booking information into a book, spreadsheet or electronic calendar. Once scheduled, the system can automatically send e-mail and text message reminders to the students. Appreciated by students, these automated reminders can help also cut decrease the "no-show" rate by 50 percent.
Because it"s Internet-based, Appointment-Plus doesn"t require costly hardware or program installations. Additionally, the department or faculty does not need to own or operate a Web site to use Appointment-Plus. Pricing starts at $39 per month with no long-term contracts, along with free set-up assistance with a dedicated coach.
"Most people now rely on Web services for conducting both personal and professional tasks, especially today"s students," La Loggia continues. "Automating the way you schedule and manage testing session can be a valuable benefit to them and an important asset to your faculty and staff."
by: Appointment-Plus