Working with specialists in spontaneity and experimentation
Celcat has proved especially popular with arts & drama colleges. The inherent flexibility of our software suits the challenges faced every day by managers of institutions whose very purpose involves nurturing change within a fixed set of resources and timescales. Typical concerns include:
- Allocation of specialist facilities, such as theatres and recording studios.
- Intense peaks of demand and anxiety around performance times.
- Frequent changes in requirements as new ideas develop, mid-term.
Timetabler features which performing arts college managers love
With Timetabler, scheduling can begin with whichever resource is the most challenging to allocate, be that rooms, staff, modules or equipment. Furthermore:
- Rooms and modules can be given ‘incompatibilities’ to avoid, say, loud sessions with exams next door.
- Layouts can be assigned to a room, along with extra time for complex changeovers, to reflect use as, say, an open dance studio or a lecture theatre with full seating.
Such information is greatly valued by Estate & Facilities Managers who often have to assist in room preparation.
How Timetabler extensions help arts & drama managers
Some of our extensions have been developed as a result of feedback from arts & drama educators. Pay Claim, for example, is especially relevant because they tend to have a significantly higher proportion of freelance tutors than traditional universities. Matched with Attendance Monitoring, it saves a great deal of time and keeps staff happy, confident that they will be paid accurately and on time.
In addition, the ability of Timetabler to allow classifications, such as function, layouts and incompatibilities, to be assigned to rooms, really comes into its own with some of the higher level, Automated Premium functions. For example, the sequence of units within a module can be matched with room use, recognising, for example, that Camera Operation classes require a film studio and must always happen after Induction classes.
Finally, direct Room Booking by students and staff is hugely valuable in institutions which sometimes have dozens of practice rooms, occasionally hundreds.
On-going development work relevant to arts & drama educators
The whole team is working on making all extensions available with the cloud-hosted version of Timetabler, with Attendance Monitoring expected to be ready first, in late 2024. In addition, we are currently working on:
- A booked room re-confirmation system, so that, on the day, rooms booked by people who are not showing up, can be released.
- An equipment booking system so that when, say, a film studio is booked, tutors can be confident that the equipment they need, will be there AND that which they don’t need, can be used by others.
Both of these functions are being developed in response to direct requests from performing arts colleges.
“With Celcat, you’re never alone.”
Jamie Morris Scheduling & Timetabling Manager, Arts University Bournemouth