to graduate on time and within budget.Relying on a ‘best guess’ scheduling approach can influence delays and barriers to graduation, impacting institutions with challenges like low student persistence and inefficient resource utilization.This cycle often originates from three common barriers:Manually collecting course information from across campus Pulling information from disparate systems across campus is time-consuming and leaves room for error when data and systems are not integrated. Most institutions build their course schedule by rolling over last year’s schedule and collecting faculty preferences. Factors such as student preferences, degree planning needs, and academic performance are rarely factored in, often leading to inefficient use of classroom space and faculty time, among other resources.From a student’s view, these silos pose frustration when it comes to finding courses they need at the time they need to take them. For instance, if the history and math departments don’t communicate, students will likely encounter conflicts at a macro-cross departmental level if both classes only offer overlapping sections. This may result in students under-enrolling in course credits, taking classes they don’t need, and delaying graduation to a future term.Neglecting to think beyond the current termDuring the active enrollment period, institutions often face difficulties in adding additional sections when courses fill up and making other necessary adjustments. This is due to limitations on classroom size, either because of classroom capacities or faculty contracts capping the number of students in a room. In addition, finding qualified faculty to teach a course, particularly in departments with a limited pool of highly qualified individuals, requires planning several months in advance.This issue is often linked to students’ preferences for a specific modality (online vs. in-person or hybrid) not being accommodated. Student needs can vary due to factors such as grades from the previous term or program adjustments based on degrees that are in high or low demand. The ability to predict some of these barriers has the potential to dramatically affect enrollment and graduation rates.Misallocating institutional resources Whether a classroom is crowded or underfilled typically stems from a misalignment between student needs and the institution’s ability to fulfill them. In one year, there may be a huge demand for business courses, and in other years, science and engineering may rise to the top due to job market demand or student interest. When institutions consider this information, along with important information like enrollment data from prior terms, they can more effectively plan ahead. They know what classrooms can fit high-demand courses, saving the smaller spaces for lower enrolling ones or courses that require a low faculty:student ratio. Additionally, balancing faculty resources in course scheduling is crucial to optimizing academic operations. On one side, dedicating time and space to low-enrolling sections underutilizes faculty resources. On the other, finding faculty to teach additional sections can be challenging and often requires allocating a budget for salaries and time spent recruiting and interviewing candidates.Data-Informed Course Schedule PlanningThe good news is that it is now possible to address these barriers and take the guesswork out of building your course schedule. With , your team can balance student needs with institutional resources and avoid estimating what courses, sections, and modalities students need to graduate. The following, Optimizing course offerings can save students time and money by preventing them from enrolling in additional terms unnecessarily. An optimized course schedule allows leaders to be responsible and prevent revenue loss due to student attrition., By integrating Watermark Course Evaluations & Surveys with Canvas, you’ll get valuable student feedback into the hands of faculty and staff faster..