Course Bidding Process Implementation Context

In Business School, Universities of India and Globally, two of the most popular programs offered by first-generation and second-generation business schools include the two-year Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP/MBA) with enrollments ranging from 200 to 1000 students per batch. The second type encompasses Executive MBA programs and other specialized master's programs designed for working professionals and students seeking to acquire advanced professional skills.

Course Bidding Process

Students are provided with bidding currency or points to participate in the course bidding process. The schedule and duration of the bidding rounds are communicated to the students, who then log into the Registro Course Bidding software portal to bid for their preferred elective courses.

‍

‍

Image: Demand for Electives among the enrolled Students in a programme

Solving Major Pain Points in Elective Course Allocation

Traditionally, the elective course allocation process was inefficient due to the manual nature of registration. The manual process took several weeks to complete as bid results needed to be validated, sorted, and numerous student queries regarding the transparency of the allocation process had to be addressed. This resulted in a poor student experience during elective course selection.

Registro Course Bidding Software

Using the Registro Course Bidding software, the time required for the bidding process has been drastically reduced from several weeks to just a single day, or roughly two hours. The bidding duration can be adjusted as necessary. For instance, a closed bidding process can span a couple of days.

In an open course bidding scenario with reduced time frames, the bidding outcomes are immediately known to both students and administration. This immediate feedback allows the administration to plan for class delivery promptly.

Cross-Programme Elective Course Bidding

At IIM Bangalore, and to a certain extent at IIM Ahmedabad, cross-programme elective course bidding has been implemented. This approach helps achieve the goal of 100% seating capacity utilization in elective courses across graduate programs. Cross-programme bidding optimizes faculty resource allocation, allowing students from different disciplines to enroll in low-demand courses, thereby making more efficient use of faculty resources and course offerings.

On average, about 15% of electives are undersubscribed in business school programs with cohorts of over 400 students. In some cases, undersubscribed courses are dropped from the offerings, requiring affected students to select other electives to meet their credit requirements.

Benefits of Pre-Bidding Demand Surveys

To prevent the cancellation of elective courses due to low enrollment, it's beneficial to conduct primary surveys to gauge pre-bidding demand for elective courses. Demand insights from these surveys enable better planning of course offerings, helping program offices identify both low and high-demand courses. This optimization allows for more effective planning of course capacities and offerings across various semesters.

For more information on designing the elective bidding process and leveraging process analytics at your institution, please contact us at Registro@edtex.in.

‍

Maximizing Your Outcomes in the Elective Bidding Process: A High-Level Guide

IMPORTANT: This article offers high-level advice based on inputs from students who have participated in the course bidding process using the Registro platform. As a bidder, you need to develop your own bidding strategies based on your experience from the practice bidding round.

How to Maximize Your Desired Outcomes in the Elective Bidding Process

Preparation and planning are key to successfully selecting your portfolio of favorite elective courses in your graduate school.

How Does the Registro Course Bidding Software Platform Help?

The Registro platform provides real-time key insights to assist you in making informed decisions during the bidding process:

• Real-Time Insights: See the count of active bidders (your fellow students) interested in an elective course.
• Clearing Price Bids: View the real-time computed clearing bid price for each elective during the active bidding round.
• Status Updates: Check the winning and losing status of each elective in real time.
• Bid Updates: Update your bids during the active bidding round to maintain your winning status.
• Bid Points Utilization: Track your bid points utilization in real time.
• Course Clashing Information: Plan your courses accordingly to avoid schedule clashes.
• Course Selection Prerequisites: Access information on course prerequisites.
• Course Catalogue Access: Browse through the course catalogue.
• Winning Seats Confirmation: Receive confirmation on winning seats after the bidding round.

Tips for Effective Bidding

1. Utilize Insights: Use the insights provided to make better decisions regarding bid points allocation for each elective.
2. Participate in Practice Rounds: Understand the demand for each elective by participating in practice bidding rounds. This helps you develop basic bidding strategies and identify backup courses.
3. Monitor Last-Minute Demand: During the last minutes of an active bidding round, monitor bid demand increases. Adjust your bid points allocation to maintain your winning status for highly popular courses.
4. Add a Buffer: For high-demand electives, allocate bid points at least 20%-30% higher than the clearing bid price (MRB). For example, if the MRB is 55, allocate 70 bid points to add a buffer and reduce the risk of being outbid.
5. Understand Clearing Bid Price - MRB Dynamics: The MRB value is dynamic and can increase during the active bidding round. Ensure your bid points are equal to or greater than the MRB to win a seat at that moment.
6. Diversify Your Elective Portfolio: Include a mix of high-demand electives and electives where you can win a seat with fewer bid points to maximize your chances of winning the required credits.
7. Ensure Good Internet Connection: Use a reliable internet connection and popular browsers like Chrome. Disable ad blockers when accessing the Registro course bidding portal.
8. Contact Support: Immediately reach out to the Registro support team if you encounter any technical issues, even during an active course bidding round.

For more information on designing the elective bidding process at your institution, contact us at Registro@edtex.in.

‍

‍

Handling Elective Course Registrations

Top 100 ranking business schools worldwide offer 50+ elective courses every term/semester, allowing students to specialize in domains like Marketing, Brand Management, Business Communication and Negotiation, Technology Entrepreneurship, Information Systems, Finance & Investing, Operations, Strategy, Analytics, and more.

The Challenge of Limited Seats

Electives typically have limited seat availability and are sometimes offered by popular faculty or industry leaders, making them highly sought after. In these scenarios, a section of a single elective can accommodate only 5% – 10% of participants from a yearly program batch in an MBA or a law school program. Students must make informed choices to balance their course options based on historical demand and their career goals.

Elective Course Registration Approaches

Business and law schools use various approaches for elective course registration. One such approach is the auction-based elective course selection, where students use bidding points.

Stakeholders Involved

• Programme Office Administration: Responsible for managing the process.
• Students: Participate in the bidding process to secure their preferred courses.

Popular Programmes

Two of the most popular programs offered by premier business schools in India are:

1. Two-year Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP/MBA): Enrolls up to 700 students per batch.
2. Executive MBA and Specialized Master’s Programs: Cater to working professionals and students seeking advanced management skills.

Bidding Process

Students receive bid currency/points to participate in the course bidding process. The timings and durations of the bidding rounds are communicated, and students log into the course bidding software portal to bid for their preferred elective courses.

Solving Traditional Pain Points

Traditionally, the manual elective course bidding process was inefficient, taking several weeks to complete due to the need to validate bid results and address numerous student queries about transparency. This resulted in a poor student experience.

Using the EDTEX Registro Course Bidding software with the innovative open auction method, the bidding time has been reduced from several weeks to a single day (approximately two hours). The process duration can be adjusted as needed, and the immediate outcomes of the open bidding process allow the administration to plan for class delivery promptly.

Unique Processes at IIM (Indian Institution of Management)

At IIM Bangalore, cross-programme elective course bidding has been implemented to optimize seat utilization and faculty resource allocation. This process allows students from different graduate programs to enroll in low-demand courses, making the overall use of faculty resources more efficient.

Identifying Course Demand and Creating Efficient Schedules

On average, 15% of electives are undersubscribed in business schools with cohorts of 400+ MBA students. Undersubscribed courses may be dropped from the offerings. To prevent this, primary survey data on elective course demand helps plan course offerings better, identify low and high-demand courses, and optimize course capacity.

Combining demand survey data with faculty availability in various time slots can create efficient timetables, allowing students to register for their preferred electives seamlessly.

Enabling Multiple Programme Course Bidding

To facilitate cross-programme bidding, the course selection process is divided into multiple stages:

Scenario 1: Implemented at IIM Bangalore

• First Bidding Round: The Registro platform allocates elective courses within the seat quotas assigned to each graduate program. This ensures equitable seat availability, preventing students with larger bid point pools from outbidding others.

Second Bidding Round: The quota factor is eliminated, allowing all participants to bid for the remaining seats, ensuring maximum utilization.

Administration Experience and Benefits

• Course Demand Data: Helps plan courses that need multiple sections and drop low-demand courses.
• Quality Improvement: Enhances elective course offerings based on student preferences.
• Efficiency: Final elective course registration reports are generated within minutes post-bidding.

To learn more about designing the elective bidding process at your institution, contact us at Registro@edtex.in.

‍

‍

Optimizing Elective Course Registration in Top Business and Law Schools

Top-ranking business schools, law schools, and universities around the world offer over 50 elective courses in their graduate programs. These courses allow students to specialize in academic domains such as Corporate Law, IP Law, Marketing, Technology Entrepreneurship, Information Systems, Finance, Venture Investing, Operations, Strategy, and Analytics. However, several constraints affect the elective course selection and registration process.

Constraints in Elective Course Selection/Registration

Constraint 1: Limited Seat Availability

• Most electives have a maximum cap on enrollments. Popular electives, especially those taught by renowned faculty or industry leaders, are in high demand. Successfully registering for these high-demand electives is not guaranteed.

Constraint 2: Limited Bid Currency

• Students are allocated a limited amount of bid currency to use for the entire bidding process, whether for a single semester or an entire academic year.

Constraint 3: Scheduling Conflicts

• Electives must be chosen without causing timetable conflicts with other courses. Scheduling conflicts can extend a student’s study duration and increase overall university costs.

Constraint 4: Increasing Bid Clearing Prices

• Popular electives tend to have rising bid-clearing prices over time. Students must allocate more bid currency to secure these electives, risking the loss of seats in other high-demand courses within their bidding consideration set.

Constraint 5: Prerequisite Requirements

• Some electives have prerequisites, such as grade-based requirements in related courses, which must be fulfilled to be eligible for advanced courses.

Strategies to Smoothen the Elective Course Registration Process

To help students select their preferred electives, universities can implement a digitized elective bidding process that provides key insights into various parameters. These insights can be displayed on the student interface, including:

• Scheduling Conflicts: Detailed information about potential conflicts between elective courses.
• Demand Insights: Data on the number of students bidding for each elective.
• Clearing Bid Price: Real-time information on the clearing bid price for each elective.
• Winning and Losing Status: Updates on the current status of a student's bids, allowing for informed decision-making.

By leveraging these insights, students can make better bid allocation decisions and maximize their chances of securing the electives they desire.

Contact Us

For more information on designing an effective elective bidding process at your institution, please contact us at Registro@edtex.in.

Enhancing the Placements Process Through Digitization and Automation

With the current technology-based infrastructure, placement process data can be collected throughout the entire process duration. The data from interconnected digital modules can be analyzed at short intervals to understand the progression of various process activities. Let's explore some basic use cases of end-to-end digitization and automation in the placements process.

[Advantage 1] Tracking Students and Automating Round-1 Schedule Generation

This scenario is applicable at institutions like IIMA, IIMB, ISB, XLRI, IIML, IIMK, and IIT Bombay. During placement week, the number of active interview processes can range from 10 to 60 companies at a time, with 250 to 700 students participating in a single day. This involves planning and executing approximately 1,000 interviews on average at premier business schools following the day placement process.

Challenges in Interview Scheduling:

• Students rank their preferences for companies.
• Recruiters rank their preferences for students and issue shortlists accordingly.

This complex scenario can be efficiently managed with process automation using advanced matching algorithms with AI characteristics, creating schedules based on student and panel availability. This makes the placement process more efficient across multiple rounds.

Critical Needs for Process Coordinators:

• Monitoring interview durations and delays.
• Tracking the status of interviews and student locations in real-time.
• Managing students who have exited the process.
• Addressing issues promptly with SOS protocols.

Access to this granular information enables top business schools in India to digitize their placement processes, planning, and conducting interviews to conclude the placement process within a week.

[Advantage 2] Managing Student Profile and Application Data Using Zero Error Checklist and Integrated Systems

This scenario is relevant at IIMA and ISB. Placement coordinators focus on several key activities:

• Interacting with potential recruiters.
• Communicating placement event information across multiple channels.
• Mentoring students through profile validations.
• Handling placement process-related queries.
• Planning, scheduling, and executing placement day events.

Bottlenecks:

• Lack of information flow between volunteers due to insufficient process digitization.
• Inherent inefficiencies in data gathering and preparation.

Automation and end-to-end digitization allow placement coordinators to focus on value-added activities using a Skynet Zero Error Checklist. This increases engagement with new recruiters, raises the percentage of visiting recruiters, enables quick planning of clash-free interview schedules, and aids student segments struggling with lower shortlists to achieve placement success more efficiently.

[Advantage 3] Access to Process Analytics Insights – Placements Office

Applicable at IIMA, IIMB, ISB, XLRI, IIML, IIMK, and IIT Bombay. Access to day-wise process performance data provides updated insights for making corrective actions, significantly improving the placement process experience for all stakeholders.

Key Stakeholders:

• Placements Chair
• Placements Office Team
• Placecomm Team

Objectives of Process Data Insights:

• Understanding students’ work domain interests.
• Tracking company participation details, job descriptions posted, and shortlists given.
• Validating student profiles.
• Segmenting student applications by prior work experience and domain.
• Tracking students' shortlist sizes and offer statuses by domain.
• Monitoring the overall recruitment process.

Actionable Insights from Placement Process Analytics:

• Identifying cohorts of students with lower application and shortlist counts.
• Identifying companies deviating from the process on interview days.
• Analyzing students’ application behavior toward various industry domains.
• Tracking students' participation and application success and rejection metrics.
• Identifying industry hotspot domains with high student interest, enabling Placecom to reach out to more recruiters in these areas.

Some premier institutions have refrained from using non-customizable placement automation products despite subscribing to them. For more information on digitizing and automating the placements process at your institution, write to us at skynet@edtex.in.

‍

‍

Enhancing Placement Processes Through Digitization and Automation

Managing the scale of operations, optimizing time for recruiters and students, and effectively communicating with stakeholders are the three key focus areas where placement processes often face significant challenges. Let’s delve into these pain points and explore how digitization and automation can provide effective solutions.

Key Focus Areas and Challenges

1. Managing the Scale of Operations
   • Challenge: Handling the logistics for 10+ companies, 100+ panels, and hundreds to thousands of interviews.
   • Scenario: On Day Zero and Day One of placements, 10 to 60 companies conduct interviews for 250 to 1,500 students. Planning and executing 200 to 2,000 interviews per day is challenging if tracked manually.
   • Solution: Implement an automatic scheduling mechanism for Round 1, coupled with real-time student and interview process tracking. This can streamline the placement process by a factor of 10.
2. Managing the Time of Recruiters and Students
   • Challenge: Ensuring that maximum interactions occur through planned and unplanned interviews within tight schedules.
   • Scenario: Scheduling must consider student and recruiter preferences, with shortlists often arriving at the last minute. This requires instant scheduling adjustments.
   • Solution: Utilize scheduling automation with advanced matching algorithms and AI to generate multiple schedule iterations quickly, based on real-time availability of students and interview panels.
3. Managing Stakeholder Expectations
   • Challenge: Communicating key process-related insights to stakeholders in a timely manner to enable corrective interventions.
   • Scenario: Coordinators need to monitor interviews for delays, track student statuses, and manage any issues that arise, often in real-time.
   • Solution: Digital tracking of the entire interview execution process provides critical insights, such as:
     • Interviews exceeding panel durations
     • Interview start delays
     • Real-time status of students (Scheduled, Interview In, In-Process, Interview-Out, In-Pool, Not Available, etc.)
     • Students who have exited the process
     • Offers and details
     • Issue tracking and resolution times

Benefits of Scheduling Automation and Real-Time Tracking

1. Clash-Free Scheduling: Automated workflows using AI can quickly generate optimal schedules, considering all constraints and latest information, enhancing efficiency by 10x.
2. Enhanced Process Insights: Granular tracking of interview execution provides valuable data, enabling proactive management and the possibility of scheduling additional interviews.
3. Improved Communication: Custom data reports and multiple digital communication channels keep all stakeholders informed, facilitating timely corrective actions.

Real-World Application

Top ten business schools in India, such as IIMA, IIMB, ISB, XLRI, IIML, IIMK, and IIT Bombay, have successfully implemented these solutions. For instance, the Skynet Placement Automation platform has enabled some IIMs to complete their Summer Placement process within a day, showcasing the potential of these digital solutions to streamline and enhance the placement experience.

For more information on digitizing and automating the placements process at your institution, write to us at skynet@edtex.in.

‍

‍

Introduction

As universities around the world strive to enhance their efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity, many are turning to University Academic Process Automation (UAPA). UAPA involves using technology to automate academic processes, from admissions to graduation. By automating these processes, universities can reduce costs, streamline operations, and improve student experiences. In this article, we will explore the benefits and challenges of UAPA and examine how it is transforming higher education.

Contents

1. UAPA: What is it and How does it work?
2. Benefits of UAPA
3. Challenges of UAPA
4. Best Practices for Implementing UAPA
5. Examples of UAPA in Action
6. FAQs about UAPA
7. Conclusion

UAPA: What is it and How does it work?

University Academic Process Automation (UAPA) leverages technology to automate various academic processes within universities. These processes can include admissions, registration, course scheduling, class scheduling, grading, and graduation. UAPA uses a combination of software, hardware, and data to streamline and automate these processes, ranging from basic automation of routine tasks to sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) systems that can learn from data and make decisions.

Benefits of UAPA

UAPA offers numerous benefits for universities, including:

• Improved Efficiency: Automating routine tasks reduces manual labor, saving time and money.
• Streamlined Operations: Enhances communication, reduces errors, and increases collaboration among faculty, staff, and students.
• Better Student Experiences: Provides students with easy access to information, self-service options, and personalized support.
• Enhanced Data Management: Collects and analyzes data to inform decision-making and improve performance.
• Increased Agility: Helps universities respond quickly to changes in enrollment, funding, or regulations.

Challenges to Implementing UAPA

Despite its many benefits, UAPA also presents several challenges for universities, including:

• Implementation Costs: Requires investments in technology, infrastructure, and training.
• Resistance to Change: Can disrupt traditional academic processes and require changes in culture, policies, and practices.
• Data Security and Privacy: Raises concerns about data security and privacy, especially when dealing with sensitive student information.
• Integration with Legacy Systems: May require integration with existing systems, which can be complex and time-consuming.

Best Practices for Implementing UAPA

To overcome these challenges and maximize the benefits of UAPA, universities should follow best practices such as:

• Establish Clear Goals and Metrics: Define clear goals and metrics for UAPA and monitor progress to ensure success.
• Build a Strong Business Case: Develop a strong business case for UAPA, demonstrating its benefits and return on investment (ROI) to stakeholders.
• Engage Stakeholders: Involve faculty, staff, and students in the UAPA planning and implementation process.
• Choose the Right Technology: Carefully evaluate UAPA technologies and choose the ones that best fit the university’s needs and goals.
• Invest in Training and Support: Provide training and support for UAPA users to ensure they can effectively use the technology.

Examples of UAPA in Action

Many universities worldwide are already using UAPA to improve their academic processes. Some examples include:

• IIM Bangalore: Automates course and examination scheduling, reducing the time spent on scheduling by 90%. Also automates the elective bidding process, efficiently utilizing seats across multiple postgraduate programs.
• IIM Lucknow: Connects its academic process software suites, including registration, scheduling, course bidding, attendance, grading, and feedback.
• IIM Ahmedabad: Automates the elective bidding process involving multiple postgraduate programs.
• University of Michigan: Automates course scheduling, reducing the time and effort required.
• University of Texas at Austin: Automates the admissions process, improving the speed and accuracy of application processing.

Conclusion

University Academic Process Automation (UAPA) is revolutionizing higher education by enhancing efficiency, streamlining operations, and improving student experiences. While there are challenges to implementation, following best practices can help universities successfully adopt UAPA and reap its many benefits. By looking at examples from leading institutions, it’s clear that UAPA has the potential to transform academic processes and pave the way for a more efficient and effective educational landscape.

‍

Processes Involved in Elective Course Selection

Enrollments for elective courses in universities, business schools, and law schools utilize various approaches. One of the most common and student-friendly methods is Elective Course Bidding.

Stakeholders Involved in the Elective Course Selection Process

The key stakeholders in the elective course selection process include:

• Students
• Graduate Program Offices
• Faculty
• Registrar’s Offices

Approach One: Course Bidding

Course bidding is a popular method that allows students to bid for electives through either an open (real-time auction) or a closed bidding (non-real-time auction) process.

• Open Bidding Process: This process provides a fair and transparent opportunity for students to bid for elective courses and secure seats using a pre-allocated bidding points currency. Students receive real-time insights on the demand for an elective, helping them decide and place the required quantity of bids. This allows students to allocate points strategically to win seats in the maximum number of electives of their choice, thereby improving their learning experience.
• Closed Bidding Process: Unlike open bidding, the closed bidding process does not offer real-time insights into the demand for electives. Students submit their bids within a specified timeframe without knowing the bids placed by their peers. Once the bidding period closes, the bids are processed, and seats are allocated based on the highest bids. This method reduces the stress and pressure of real-time decision-making but requires students to be strategic in their bid placements without immediate feedback on competition levels.

Approach Two: First Come, First Serve (FCFS) Course Registration

The FCFS course registration option is still practiced at universities with multiple study disciplines, where students from various schools participate in the elective selection process.

• First Come, First Serve Process: This method allows students to register for elective courses based on the earliest time they select a course on the registration portal. The winning status for an elective seat is determined by the earliest time of course selection compared to other students. However, students often express dissatisfaction with this method, as those who fail to secure seats in their preferred electives must choose from remaining available options. Despite this, universities can optimize their offerings and plan according to the course registrations.

Approach Three: Preference-Based Ranking

This approach allows students to select courses based on a ranking of their preferences. An algorithm then allocates seats based on students’ preferences, their relative rank (often determined by CGPA), and seat availability.

• Preference-Based Ranking Process: Students submit a ranked list of preferred electives. The algorithm considers these preferences along with the students' academic performance and available seats to allocate elective course seats effectively.

Conclusion

Each approach to elective course selection has its benefits and challenges. Course bidding provides transparency and strategic allocation opportunities for students, with both open and closed bidding processes catering to different preferences. The FCFS method, though straightforward, can lead to dissatisfaction due to its time-based nature. Preference-based ranking, while more complex, aims to balance student preferences with academic performance and seat availability. By understanding and implementing these approaches effectively, universities can enhance the elective course selection process, optimizing both student satisfaction and institutional efficiency.

‍

‍

To Know more about Designing and Implementing the Elective Bidding Process at your Institution write to us at Registro@edtex.in

‍