It’s important to evaluate how different rooms on your campus are used. Whether it’s a classroom, computer lab, or collaborative study space in the library, each one has a different schedule. Assigned schedules allow you to specify what times during the day LabStats reports will pull data from.
A classroom may have 90% of stations logged into during a class, but 0% of stations used the rest of the day. A computer lab may show 20-80% usage during open hours, but none overnight when it’s closed.
If you pull a report that includes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, your percentages are going to be lower than they otherwise would appear.
How to Use Schedules in Reports
A schedule is a parameter that can be selected when configuring a report. It can tell the report to only include information gathered from specific days and times, like Monday through Friday from 8am-5pm. This can be tailored to fit lab hours or classroom times so that your reports are always showing accurate usage information.
You can manage schedules by navigating to Admin > Schedules.
You can assign one schedule per group. If you pull a report and choose “apply assigned schedules,” LabStats will automatically apply schedules that have been assigned to your groups.
When configuring a report, if you select “apply no schedule” you will see all usage, even if it is outside of the schedules you have assigned to the groups. You can create additional schedules that are used just for reporting, and select those in a drop down menu when you’re configuring the report. This is where you’d use class schedules or lab open hours that could change from semester to semester.
Schedules in Groups
Schedules in LabFind
Schedules play an important role in the LabFind mobile app. Schedules assigned to groups that are displayed in LabFind will appear as open and closed hours listed in the app.
We recommend creating discovery schedules–schedules that are simplified with the intention of helping students and staff find open resources.
Schedules in LabFind
Schedules in the Remote Access Dashboard
Schedules do not affect stations that are displayed on the Remote Access Dashboard. They also do not offer any method of reserving or blocking out stations for use at specific times.
Schedules allow you to compare the percent of utilization between labs that are open during different times. You can also use schedules to determine when labs should be open or closed, when staff should be scheduled, and how to allocate budget for the upcoming semester.
