Students face numerous pain points during the placement process without proper IT systems, including:

• Inefficient Communication:
  • Difficulty in staying updated with placement schedules, deadlines, and company announcements.
  • Miscommunication between placement cells and students regarding interview dates and requirements.
• Data Management Challenges:
  • Manual handling of resumes, leading to errors and lost documents.
  • Inaccurate tracking of student applications and interview statuses.
• Limited Access to Resources:
  • Inconsistent access to study materials, company profiles, and previous years’ interview experiences.
  • Lack of centralized platforms for accessing placement-related information.
• Scheduling Conflicts:
  • Overlapping interview dates and times due to poor coordination.
  • Difficulty in managing multiple interviews and exams simultaneously.
• Preparation Difficulties:
  • Inadequate information on skill requirements and job roles, hindering effective preparation.
  • Lack of mock tests and interview practice sessions.
• Assessment and Feedback Issues:
  • Absence of systematic assessment tools to evaluate students’ readiness for placements.
  • Insufficient feedback from previous interviews to help improve future performance.
• Application Process Complications:
  • Cumbersome and repetitive application processes for each company.
  • Errors in manual application submissions, leading to missed opportunities.
• Tracking and Reporting Problems:
  • Difficulty in tracking individual progress and performance during the placement season.
  • Lack of comprehensive reports for placement cells to analyze and improve processes.
• Stress and Anxiety:
  • Increased stress due to uncertainty and lack of organized information.
  • Anxiety from not having a clear view of the placement process and outcomes.
• Accessibility Issues:
  • Students with disabilities facing additional barriers in accessing placement information and opportunities.
  • Inequitable access to placement resources for students in remote or under-resourced areas.
• Networking Limitations:
  • Limited opportunities for students to connect with alumni and industry professionals.
  • Inadequate platforms for peer interaction and sharing of placement-related experiences.
• Company Engagement:
  • Difficulty for companies to efficiently manage and sort through large volumes of student applications.
  • Ineffective communication between companies and the placement cell, leading to potential misunderstandings.
• Time Management:
  • Excessive time spent on manual processes, reducing time available for preparation and skill development.
  • Poor time allocation for each stage of the placement process, causing delays and bottlenecks.

Addressing these pain points with proper IT systems can significantly streamline the placement process, making it more efficient, transparent, and less stressful for students.

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To Know more about Digitizing the Automation of the Placements Process at your Institution write to us at Skynet@edtex.in

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Students often encounter several challenges during the course bidding process. Here are some common pinpoints:

• Limited Course Availability: Courses with high demand may have limited seats, making it difficult for all interested students to enroll.
• Unclear Priorities: Students may struggle to prioritize courses due to unclear information about course content, workload, or the importance of the course for their major.
• Timing Conflicts: Scheduling conflicts can arise, making it hard for students to bid on and enroll in all the desired courses without overlapping class times.
• Technical Issues: Problems with the bidding system, such as slow loading times or crashes, can impede the bidding process.
• Budget Constraints: Many bidding systems use a point or credit budget, and students must strategically allocate their limited resources, which can be stressful and lead to suboptimal course choices.
• Inequity in Bidding Power: Students in higher years or with more credits might have an advantage, creating an unequal playing field for newer or younger students.
• Lack of Information: Inadequate information about course details, professor reputation, or past student feedback can make it difficult for students to make informed decisions.
• Pressure and Stress: The competitive nature of course bidding can lead to high levels of stress and anxiety among students.
• Changes in Course Offerings: Courses being added or removed last minute can disrupt students’ plans and bidding strategies.
• Manual Errors: Mistakes made during the bidding process, such as incorrect course codes or insufficient bids, can result in not securing desired courses.
• Strategic Uncertainty: Students may be uncertain about how much to bid on a course to secure a spot without overbidding, leading to potential inefficiency in bid allocation.
• Time Zone Differences: For international students or those studying remotely, time zone differences can make it challenging to participate in real-time bidding.
• Course Prerequisites: Issues with meeting prerequisites can prevent students from enrolling in advanced courses they are interested in.

Addressing these challenges requires improvements in the bidding system's design, better information dissemination, and support structures to guide students through the process.

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To Know more about Digitizing the Automation of the Course Enrolment and Course Bidding Process at your Institution write to us at Registro@edtex.in

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University timetable scheduling refers to the process of creating schedules for classes, exams, and other university events. This task can be complex and time-consuming, but automation software can significantly streamline the process. Timetable scheduling automation and management software considers various factors for minimising clashes with a clash free scheduling approach

The various data inputs that are considered including:

• Course offerings
• Faculty availability
• Faculty Preferences
• Room availability
• Student preferences
• Student course registrations
• Active class time slots
• Active weekdays
• Holidays

Benefits of Automating University Timetable Scheduling

Automating the university timetable scheduling process offers several key benefits:

• Time and Effort Savings: Automation reduces the significant time and effort traditionally required to create schedules manually.
• Minimized Scheduling Conflicts: Automated systems help minimize scheduling conflicts by efficiently managing available resources.
• Increased Efficiency: Automation improves the overall efficiency of the scheduling process.
• Fairness and Equity: Data-driven scheduling ensures that schedules are fair and equitable, considering critical factors like faculty workload and student preferences.

Types of Scheduling Software

There are various types of software available for automating university timetable scheduling, ranging from simple spreadsheet-based solutions to sophisticated AI-driven systems. Each type has its strengths and weaknesses:

• Spreadsheet-Based Solutions: These can be prone to data errors and might not handle complex scheduling scenarios well.
• AI-Based Scheduling Systems: These Timetable Automation systems such a Registro Timetable Scheduler use advanced algorithms to generate optimal schedules and can handle more complex scheduling requirements.

Integration with University Systems

Modern Timetable Scheduling Automation softwares can integrate with other university ERP systems, such as:

• Student Registration Systems
• Course Management Systems
• Course Bidding Systems

This integration provides a seamless Timetable scheduling experience, Course Registration Experience for all stakeholders, ensuring that the entire Timetable scheduling process is Automated, Digitized with 100% visibility on clashes with provision for manual intervention for managing operational business scenarios on the ground.

Conclusion

Automating university timetable scheduling can greatly enhance the scheduling process, making it more efficient and effective. This automation allows universities to better manage their resources, reduce conflicts, and ensure that schedules are fair and meet the needs of all stakeholders, ultimately supporting the expansion of program offerings and improving overall university operations.

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Context of Placement Analytics and their useful Applications

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Having access to day-wise process performance data can provide updated insights, allowing for timely corrective actions when processes deviate. These corrective actions can significantly enhance the placement process experience for all stakeholders in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Key Process Analytics dashboards can serve the following three key stakeholders:

• Placements Chair
• Placements Office Team
• Placecomm Team

Key Objectives for Process Data Insights

Process data insights can shed light on several key objectives for the Placements Office and the Placecomm team:

1. Students’ Work Domain Interest: Understand the areas of interest for students to tailor placement activities.
2. Company-wise Participation Detail: Analyze the participation of companies based on Job Descriptions (JDs) posted and shortlists provided.
3. Student Profile Validation: Track the validation status of student profiles.
4. Application Size Analysis: Segment student applications by prior work experience and domain interest.
5. Shortlist Size Analysis: Segment student shortlists by their domain of interest.
6. Offer Status: Monitor the status of offers made to students, segmented by domain interest.
7. Overall Recruitment Process: Gain a holistic view of the recruitment process.

Actionable Insights from Placement Process Analytics

From the placement process analytics, several actionable insights can be derived:

1. Engage Students with Low Application and Shortlist Counts: Identify and support students with fewer applications and shortlists to boost their chances of success.
2. Monitor Company Interview Durations: Identify companies that deviate from the standard interview durations on interview days and address these deviations.
3. Understand Application Behavior: Analyze student application behavior towards various industry domains to optimize placement strategies.
4. Track Student Participation: Monitor student participation in the placement process and track their application success and rejection metrics.
5. Identify Industry Hotspots: Determine the industry domains that attract the most student interest and focus efforts on engaging more recruiters in these areas.

By leveraging these insights, the Placecomm team can make informed decisions and take proactive measures to enhance the placement process.

Contact Us

To learn more about digitizing and automating the placements process at your institution, write to us at Skynet@edtex.in.

When academic processes are digitized, every process execution generates valuable data. This automation provides insights that can be analyzed regularly to enhance student-centric offerings and improve the efficiency of various academic program office activities.

The data generated can be analyzed at multiple levels, including individual students, specific programs, and custom parameters defined by the program offices and stakeholders. Here are some key applications of this data analysis:

Electives on Demand:

• Identify elective courses and workshops that are in high demand among students.
• Detect courses with low demand and consider excluding them from future offerings.
• Enable program offices to plan additional sessions for in-demand elective courses and adjust schedules accordingly.
• Prepare Data Driven Timetables minimizing clashes for students accounting Faculty Time-slot preferences.
• Enhance the available course enrolment options for students by at least a factor of 10.
• Increase course enrolments.
• Improve course offering quality.

Student Credit Registration Tracker:

• Monitor students' success rates in registering for the minimum required elective credits each semester.

Waitlist Measurement and Add & Drop Tracker:

• Identify electives with possibility for long waitlists and track courses with high drop rates after the first class.

Measure Auction Intensity:

• Identify courses with possibility for clearing bid prices in bidding round using the pre-bidding demand parameters for all electives and courses.

Process Analytics Dashboard Applications

By analyzing anonymized process data, high-level insights can be derived, particularly concerning bidding outcomes. This allows program offices to identify demand trends for various electives. Here are some specific insights that can be gained:

• Elective-wise demand estimation
• Survey data analysis for electives offered in a semester or term

To learn more about designing the elective bidding process and creating objectives from process analytics exercises at your institution, please contact us at Registro@edtex.in.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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