Spring 21 Major Release
- Spartan Connect
Last Modified: Dec 8, 2020
Overview
The 20.2 release is comprised of two major feature-set changes and also includes many bugfixes and minor enhancements.
Expected Release Date
The production release is tentatively scheduled for Jan 15, 2021, but this date could change.
Please be aware that the UI changes described here will be automatically enabled whenever the 20.2 release is installed. For the student scheduling enhancements, we will have the opportunity of enabling that functionality any time after the 20.2 release is installed and it will not be automatically turned on.
UI Enhancements
A major change within the release is an updated user interface. Overall, the functionality remains nearly the same, yet the design has changed slightly. The two notable UI changes are described below.
Sidebar Icons
The styling of the sidebar has changed (colors inverted) and some of the icons are different. One icon has been removed due to underutilization, however the page can be accessed elsewhere. Most users do not have access to Institution Reports but if you do, you’ll still find it on the Analytics page.
Top-bar Quick Search
The two notable changes to the top-bar include a more prominent placement of the Quick Search function and the addition of a title bar displaying “SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY — SPARTAN CONNECT” to further reinforce branding of Spartan Connect. Additionally, the icons follow the same new styling shared by the sidebar.
Student Scheduling Enhancements
The student-facing scheduling workflow has undergone major improvements to make finding and creating appointments a more streamlined and dead-end free experience. What used to be a three-plus page, six-plus step process students had to jump through to display any appointment options has been reduced to a couple required questions. The cumbersome front-loaded questions and parameters students had to fill out has been replaced with a simpler “what do you need?” first step and a filterable (think searching for flights) second page that immediately displays all available appropriate options.
Step 1: the “what and why”
Students first select the general appointment area and then the specific service. At the very beginning, students can search for drop-in availability if they’d like. Students can also view availability of staff to whom they’re assigned (the Success Team members).
Step 2: the “who, where, and when”
The second page displays all appointment slots available starting from the date chosen through the following 30 days. Students can adjust filters to refine the location or staff and the appointment slots will refresh accordingly.
Once a student has selected an appointment slot, the review page allows them to double check the appointment details and then confirm the appointment.
Additional Testing
The new scheduling interface is undergoing rigorous campus-specific testing to ensure that the current appointment configurations can easily be utilized after the upgrade. There will be more details coming at the beginning of Spring 2021 explaining these changes more in-depth.