At the end of the fall 2022 semester, a new schedule builder was released. It was immediately met with criticism as it was unfamiliar software that was still unstable. To top it all off, students put forward reports of disliking the new change. 

Upon release, some students had issues registering for the classes they wanted. Others had issues with the software itself as they encountered technological glitches that prevented them from using the software effectively. Nonetheless, the release of the new schedule builder wasn’t well received and the district needed to act.

In response, the Contra Costa Community College District went to work to fix many of the software issues that had been brought forward. While doing so, they also made the previous schedule builder available as well. At this moment, students are able to now use the new schedule builder, and the previous version that has been available for some time. 

While this is good, the new schedule builder is still flawed. Many students are still having issues with the new software. But the district continued to patch and fix the software. 

Students’ response to this was mixed. Many students still use the old schedule builder because it is easier. Among the chief complaints is that the layout is both boring and confusing. 

While it is great that the district went to work quickly to respond to student and faculty complaints, they should’ve committed more resources to the testing of software. Perhaps more student input could have improved the design changes and software as a whole. Student and faculty test groups could have been a great resource to utilize and gain feedback before releasing the software.

The district should’ve addressed these issues before releasing the software, especially if it was a software that thousands would be using for registration. Instead, they had to address its many issues and incorporate many fixes to the software after it was released. 

Perhaps this could pave the way for future testing and experimentation with software before its release. The new schedule builder had a rough reception and it had to be fixed, but perhaps allocating future resources to improve testing could prevent another situation such as this. Both schedule builders are here to stay and it is now up to the students to pick the software that works best for them. 

If you are still experiencing issues with the schedule builder, you can visit the student technology help desk in the Center for Academic Support.