Work in progress - bringing sanity to the course assignment process

The floor of the NY Stock Exchange, with its noise and chaos, is an apt depiction of the typical course selection meeting that many universities experience. Professors attempt to shout over their colleagues or broker deals with one another in small cabals in an attempt to garner the sections they hope to teach. When first choices fall by the wayside, quick recalculations of schedules are necessary in order to determine the next best scenario and sections to request. As inexperienced junior faculty members, the authors found this experience daunting. In response, they wrote a simple web application that allowed faculty to make their selections, and broker deals, in a calm manner over an extended time period. The application was originally written for one sub-group of about 20 faculty within the department, but its popularity quickly spread to the rest of the department and then on to other departments within the college. The course assignment and reservation system (CARS) has grown steadily over the past several years in number of users, functionality, and scope. Today, faculty can plan their teaching load, work with colleagues to find mutually beneficial schedules, and easily retrieve historical information in preparation for annual reviews, promotion, or tenure appointments. Department administrators can manage course information, prepare information for certification agencies, assign faculty to courses, and monitor faculty loads. Staff and students also benefit from interfaces permitting access to appropriate information to assist them in their planning activities. Utilizing Web 2.0 technologies, the application is enjoyable to use and gives all of the disparate users a satisfying experience.