Buffalo State Is First SUNY Institution to Implement Schedule Planner

Buffalo State students have a new tool to help them fit their courses into schedules that are often complicated. Schedule Planner, a new registration planning tool for students, was launched October 16, and students can use it for planning their course schedule for the spring 2015 semester.

"Students enter the courses they want to take, and then enter the times they need to schedule around." said Mark Bausili, registrar. Those times can include work, athletic practices, study time, or other demands on their time. Schedule Planner returns all possible schedule combinations to students in a few seconds, so they can choose the schedule that works best.

"Buffalo State is the first college in SUNY, the second college in New York State, and the only college in Western New York to implement Schedule Planner," said Bausili. Other institutions around the country have already used it successfully.

Schedule Planner is very student friendly. Students can search for open classes only, or all classes. When adding a class, the course description shows with prerequisites. Courses are color-coded so that all meetings times for a course are presented in the same color. Holds appear on the top of the page.

The Registrar’s Office has received thank-you emails from Buffalo State students. One wrote, “Tried Schedule Planner out today and it is absolutely incredible. I have a part-time job while working as a full-time student and this gives me a mind-blowing amount of ways to figure out my schedule. It takes so much stress away.”

Another wrote, "The schedule planner…is amazing. It takes away the hassle of having to write down all the days and times for classes. It's much more organized, especially for me as a freshman…Great job!”

In addition to simplifying the registration process for students, Bausili said that Schedule Planner will help advisers by allowing them to focus on course choices, not scheduling issues. Schedule Planner is linked to Banner, and students can use it on a smart phone or tablet.