Hello Joanne and U of C!
Here at StFX, we don't have an on-line booking system, but we use the
Calendar function of Microsoft Outlook.
All students and faculty are connected to the same email platform
(@stfx.ca) and we do not use hotmail and other such addresses. Students
still must physically call and book appointments. Our secretary, Joanne
(or a delegate) will set the appointment in the electronic calendar and
invite the student and the instructor who is assigned to work with that
student. The system allows multiple bookings in a time slot, so
four-five instructors can be seen on the system at the same time. We use
the reminder function, so when the student accepts the appointment, a
reminder appears in their email box the day before (this is cutting down
on no-shows (down 5% after implementing the reminder), but increasing
cancellations). Joanne has figured out a way to code the system so when
she enters NO-SHOW or CANCELLED, it turns the block a particular colour.
The booking system does take time, but it is handling our 4000
appointments per year (and costs no more than the labour to answer the
phone, book or cancel the appointment, and log it as a no-show).
I hope this helps!
Wendy
PS ... If you run into Pat Walsh and Mike Cichon (both in English
department) in your travels, give them my regards!
Wendy L. Kraglund-Gauthier
Academic Skills Instructor
Camden Hall 113
(902) 867-4530
[log in to unmask] www.stfx.ca/people/wkraglun
The Writing Centre, StFX University
Antigonish, NS B2G 2W5
-----Original Message-----
From: CASLL/Inkshed [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jo-Anne Andre
Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 2004 4:25 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Writing Centre online booking programs
i all,
We at the U of C are eager to get an online appointment booking system
in place for our Writing Centre. I have a few questions for fellow
writing centre people across Canada--
1. Do any of you use an online appointment booking system for writing
centre appointments?
2. If so, are you using an off-the-shelf program (like Duke's
university shareable program or TutorTrack) or did you develop
one?
3. If you developed one, is it available for others to share or
purchase?
4. If you are currently using such a program, what features do you
consider essential? desirable? annoying?
5. If you are not currently using an online appointment booking
system, would you potentially be interested in sharing costs of
developing such a program for use?
Thanks for your thoughts and comments on this!
Jo-Anne Andre
Director, Effective Writing Program
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For the list archives and information about the organization,
its newsletter, and the annual conference, go to
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