Building Back Trust in the Scheduling Process at Lake Michigan College

The Challenge:

Homegrown Scheduling System Still Required Manual Work & Lost Faculty Trust

After moving away from a pen and paper scheduling process, Lake Michigan College (LMC) used a homegrown scheduling tool that was originally developed by the institution’s IT department. While the homegrown software brought some process improvements, the system ultimately didn’t meet all of LMC’s needs as they continue to grow and evolve.

"We had a homegrown program that was inconsistent in how it operated for us. We were so pleased that everything flowed so smoothly using Coursedog. We now have one source that provides the information without manual entry and increases accuracy and consistency of the information." Jodie Littlefield, Executive Assistant, Academic Affairs.

Scheduling administrators reported that the homegrown scheduling system was unreliable and frequently caused data inconsistencies with their SIS (Ellucian Banner). These inaccuracies eroded faculty trust. For example, approved instructors for certain courses were often incorrect and raised compliance concerns with HLC accreditation standards.

Because the legacy system only allowed the schedule to be rolled to Banner once after its initial creation, administrators relied heavily on manual processes. They printed paper Cognos reports, manually identified and corrected errors, and typically fixed 25–50 issues per division each term. Additionally, system administrators had to rerun Cognos reports whenever schedule updates occurred or faculty requested their teaching assignments.

"Coursedog has been a huge time saver for the scheduling alone. I would say I spent an hour - hour and a half every time someone asked for a report.I would go in and pull out the columns that they didn't need and pull out the sections that didn't belong within their discipline. I would spend at least one day of work a week going through and providing these reports time after time."  Deb Montcalm, Administrative Coordinator

Solution:

Cloud-Based, Integrated Tool That Provides Accessible Data

When LMC received a Guided Pathways grant, they took the opportunity to evaluate and invest in a modern scheduling solution. The institution sought a cloud-based tool that integrated seamlessly with Ellucian Banner, providing greater confidence in data accuracy and reliability. Their previous system was limited to on-campus access, so LMC prioritized a platform that faculty and staff could use remotely whether working from home or after hours.

After evaluating several vendors, LMC selected Coursedog for its intuitive, user-friendly interface, robust Banner integration, and real-time data accessibility. The team also cited Coursedog’s responsive and supportive customer service as a key factor in their decision.

"We needed a system that was accessible anywhere, had a good user interface that people would be confident in, and then a big determining factor was the data. Faculty can look at a wide variety of reports and information at any time. They can export their own and tweak it themselves because we taught them how to use filters. If faculty are home and it's nine o'clock at night and they want to look at the schedule, they most certainly can. It's real time information. - Jodie Littlefield, Executive Assistant, Academic Affairs and Deb Montcalm, Administrative Coordinator.

LMC received customer service from Coursedog that ultimately led them to choose the platform.

Prior to purchasing Coursedog, we did shop around and look for other products that might meet our needs. We just didn't find that level of customer service right from the very beginning with a demo all the way through to where we are today. So that's a big part- it has been phenomenal and we're super happy for that. - Jodie Littlefield, Executive Assistant, Academic Affairs

Coursedog didn’t just provide LMC with a modern, user-friendly scheduling platform, it became the foundation for greater collaboration and institutional alignment. The implementation process brought teams together, helping them clarify and streamline their business processes to better support academic goals which led to more Coursedog modules down the road.

A big part of getting Coursedog was that we were able to evolve. It forced us to get a team, work together, and figure out what is going to work and what is needed... and we keep evolving. There are more and more things we keep on finding. It’s been wonderful to have weekly meetings with our Coursedog team to continue to change and evolve and get more efficient. - Jodie Littlefield, Executive Assistant, Academic Affairs
Results:

LMC Saves 380+ Hours & Continues to Innovate

Since implementing Coursedog’s Academic scheduling solution, LMC has seen significant improvements in efficiency, collaboration, and data-driven decision-making. Faculty and staff now spend far less time building and maintaining the course schedule, so much so that one administrative team member was able to shift away from scheduling entirely. Overall, the team has realized an estimated time savings of more than 380 hours per year.

Because faculty can now easily access their own scheduling reports, the administrative team also receives far fewer ad-hoc requests, freeing up even more time for strategic work.

Beyond scheduling, Coursedog’s robust reporting tools have empowered leaders across campus to make smarter operational decisions. The Director of Facilities, for example, uses room utilization reports to guide budget and staffing planning. One analysis revealed that only a single class was scheduled in a building with a costly air handler during the summer. With that insight, the team relocated the class and closed the building for the season, reducing unnecessary operational expenses and improving overall resource efficiency.

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Looking Ahead: LMC Adopted Additional Modules of the Coursedog Platform

After a successful implementation and adoption of the Coursedog scheduling tool, LMC purchased the event management, curriculum, and catalog tools. LMC is excited about the integration among the different solutions and that they live in one platform.

"Coursedog has been a remarkable addition to our academic operations. Beginning with Academic Scheduling, we seamlessly transitioned to using their Curriculum, Catalog, and Events services due to the outstanding experience we had. The platform's integration with our SIS is seamless, and its intuitive design paired with next-level customer support has greatly enhanced our workflow and efficiency. Overall, a game changer for us!" -Jodie Littlefield, Executive Assistant, Academic Affairs