Infinite problems send ‘responsive’ scheduling to bench as Edficiency comes to rescue

Following possibly the worst roll out of a new technological tool in recent memory,  Edficiency, the online scheduling system for W-Hours, has returned to save staff and students from the ineffectual Infinite Campus responsive scheduling system. News of Edficiency’s return on October 28 relieved users. 

“I haven’t seen any positive reactions with Infinite Campus,” sophomore Uzma Mirza said. “Everyone wants Edficiency back.”

There were some key reasons for the move to Infinite Campus responsive scheduling.

“In terms of safety purposes and attendance reporting, it’s easier  through Infinite Campus,” Principal Rebecca Montour said. “But it wasn’t as user-friendly. That’s the problem.”

While responsive scheduling with Infinite Campus should have kept a more accurate track of student location, its ineffectiveness instead muddied the waters further.  

“It wasn’t consistent and accurate with placing kids in W-Hours, so we would have kids who weren’t placed anywhere,” Montour said. “We had a lot more students skipping W-Hour, and I had heard a lot of frustration from students who couldn’t get into the teachers that they wanted for help or that their club couldn’t meet. There was frustration on both ends.” 

Beyond student experiences, staff had organization and scheduling issues that did not exist under Edficiency. 

“Teachers could only see students that were rostered in their classes,” administrative assistant Rachelle Smith said. “For a club advisor, they couldn’t request some students, which didn’t make sense. And if a student needed to be moved from one session to another, that couldn’t happen anywhere but the main office.”

Due to the buildup of frustrations surrounding Infinite Campus scheduling in the early months of school, and many many complaints, Central Office made the decision to change back to Edficiency. 

“Ultimately, the final decision rested with people at central office,” Smith said. “I feel like central office really listened to the staff and the frustrations that we had. It’s very great that they listened.”

Though Edficiency has returned to the district, the future of W-Hour scheduling is uncertain. As of now, Infinite Campus is planning to take another shot in the fall of 2025. A meeting has already been scheduled to address district user issues.

“A couple people from our central office have a meeting scheduled with Infinite Campus so that they know some of the things that we need to have in place before we can go back to IC next year,” Smith said.

Nonetheless, students are pleased with the return of Edficiency. They believe that it will fit more easily into their packed schedules. 

“With Edficiency, you can have a preference of the teachers that you would like to go to when you don’t choose a day, which is helpful when you have a busy schedule,” an anonymous student said. 

The staff response to the good news said it all.  

“When I told them that Edficiency was coming back, they clapped,” Montour said. 

by Phoebe Fletcher

Published November 5th, 2024

Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue II