The once infuriating process of making a room reservation on campus has finally been made simple thanks to the implementation of the new Tufts Space and Resource Management System. The new system this summer replaced Tufts outdated R25 room reservation system, which was limited in functionality and full of glitches. Students and faculty alike often complained of rooms getting double-booked and appearing available when they were not. The system change, which took under a year to complete, represents the universitys efforts to improve the efficiency of its many services for students.
The new and improved system offers users a wider range of functions when reserving a room on campus. In addition to a simpler login process that only requires a Universal Tufts Login Name and password, students can now cancel and edit reservations themselves, removing the unnecessary task of contacting administrators to do so. The system also functions so that when students request a space, that particular room is no longer available for selection by others even if the reservation has not been officially confirmed.
The most significant improvement, however, is the new option to search for rooms based on size and the services such as projectors and whiteboards available. This feature will be most helpful to activity and club leaders who need to use the system frequently to book meeting space. The enhanced room reservation system will likely facilitate the growth of student groups and encourage more students to plan events on campus.
These improvements will inevitably involve a learning curve for users who have grown accustomed to R25. Anticipating this issue, however, the team responsible for implementing the system has provided due support to students, faculty and staff in order to ease the transition. A comprehensive introductory guide is available on the Tufts Technology Services website, and members of the Tufts community can attend training sessions about using the system.
Students and faculty alike will rejoice in seeing the much-needed improvements to the universitys technological systems, including the switch from R25 to the new system. Although most of Tufts systems have been online for a while now, there has recently been a push to update and improve their functionalities notably the moves from the Student Information System to the Integrated Student Information System (iSIS) and from Blackboard to Trunk. Sectors of the university outside of academic services have embraced technology as well; for example, Health Service now offers a computer check-in system. These technological advancements should be commended, as our day-to-day life on campus is indeed being made easier.
