Overview:

VSCC uses Ad Astra Schedule for room and event scheduling. Ad Astra is a real-time, web-based tool that is integrated
with Banner. VSCC employees log into Astra Schedule with their VSCC username and password. This User’s Guide
provides instructions on how to: (a) search for and request available space, (b) approve rooms/events, and (c) setup
email notifications. While most rooms require approval from the room owner, several of VSCC’s large spaces are
reserved through Astra Schedule on a first-come-first-serve basis. Examples of first-come-first-serve spaces include the
Rochelle Center, Jim Moore Conference Room, and the Mary Nichols Dining Room A and B. If these spaces are available,
Astra Schedule will allow you to reserve the space without getting permission from the room owner.

Astra Schedule Terminology:

Approver: An approver is the individual to whom room/event requests are routed for approval. Approvers receive an
Astra Schedule notification on their notifications tab when someone has requested space they are assigned to approve.
Approvers can setup an email subscription that notifies them via email when Astra Schedule notifications are awaiting
their approval. Once the approver has approved a space request, the requestor will be notified their request has been
approved.

Approver Group: An approver group is a group of users to whom event or room requests are routed for approval.

General User: General users include full-time VSCC faculty and staff. General users can: (a) view available classrooms
and meeting spaces, (b) view academic and non-academic events in real-time, and (c) submit requests for the use of
available space.

Event: An event is a gathering that does not occur regularly and typically involves large or specific groups of people.
Events often include individuals that are not directly affiliated with the College.

Event Type: Event type describes the general category of events. Examples include: (a) student, (b) community, (c) staff,
(d) athletic, and (e) corporate.

Meeting Type: Meeting type describes the general meeting categories for courses and sections. Examples include: (a)
lecture, (b) lab, (c) clinical, (d) practicum, and (e) private lesson.

Permission: Permission indicates a specific right within Astra Schedule to perform certain actions such as: (a) edit or
delete a record, (b) rights to schedule, and (c) rights to approve various actions.

Resource: A resource is a schedulable item in the Astra Schedule system, e.g., rooms. Resource categories include but
are not limited to: (a) furniture, (b) computers, and (c) room zoom capability.

Room Capacity: Room capacity is the number of physical seats in a room.

Room Type: Room type indicates the overall purpose of the room, e.g., biology lab, art studio, or classroom.
Setup and Teardown Service Window: The setup and teardown window is the period of time scheduled before and/or
after an event meeting in which the room must be blocked. Setup and teardown is typically associated with event
scheduling.

System Administrator: A system administrator is an individual who has global access to Astra Schedule. The assistant
vice president for academic affairs is the system administrator for the scheduling of academic space. The plant
operations scheduler is the system administrator for non-academic space.

Tentative: Tentative is an event scheduling status that indicates an event creation process is incomplete or in progress.

How to Access Astra Schedule:

VSCC Employees: VSCC employees can access Ad Astra Schedule two ways:
1. Through the myVolState portal’s Ad Astra/Astra Schedule folder:


2. By using the direct website link: https://www.aaiscloud.com/VolunteerStateCC/Default.aspx.

Guest Users: Guest users access the Event Request Form through the VSCC Event Submission webpage. Guest users are
not able to see VSCC available space. All outside event requests go to the VSCC scheduler.

Regardless of which way you access Astra Schedule, the Astra Schedule splash screen will look like this:

Requesting Space:

There are two types of Astra Schedule space requests: Rooms (academic space) and Events. There are two ways to
request rooms, through: (a) Available Rooms and (b) the Scheduling Grid. Both will accomplish the same goal. Please
choose whichever option you prefer. Athletic space such as ball fields should be requested using Available Rooms and
instructions on how to request athletic fields is in section IV.C. Instructions on how to request space for an event are
located in Section V.

A. Instructions for Requesting a Room Using Available Rooms:

1.) From the Astra Schedule homepage, select the Calendars icon on the top left header:


2.) Select Available Rooms:


3.) Indicate Search Type: Search For = Location and Purpose of Search = Section or Event:


4.) Select Add Meeting(s) and then select the date and time you would like to reserve:


5.) Choose the date(s) and start and end times and select OK:


6.) If you would like to delimit your space search to a certain campus or type of room, add a filter:


For example, if you are looking for Gallatin classroom space, select Filter Options, Campus: VSCC Gallatin AND Room
Type: Classroom. Select Done.


There will be a numerical number next to the Locations Filter Options categories you selected. Select OK:


After selecting OK, your chosen filters will be displayed:


Select the Search icon. After selecting the Search icon, Astra Schedule will provide the available spaces for your
specified space/time:


7.) Select the Room you would like to reserve:


8.) Select Create Event. Before Astra Schedule requests the space reservation on your behalf, a request synopsis
window will pop-up on the screen. Please verify the date, time, and space you are requesting. Then add an Event
Name, Event Type, and indicate an event point of Contact. Select Save and Send Notification. Then confirm your
save by selecting Yes:


9.) Astra Schedule allows you to send an Event Summary to additional people. This is not a mandatory step. You can
choose not to add recipients and select OK. Your request will be sent to the space’s approver:


10.) Once you have submitted your space request, you will be able to see the request by selecting Events from the
header bar:


Then select Events:


The Events List will show your requests:


If you do not see your request(s), select the blue Filters tab on the far left. Adjust the date or other filters. You
should now be able to see all your space requests:

B. Instructions for Requesting a Room Using the Scheduling Grid:

The Scheduling Grid allows you to look at available space by the: (a) room, (b) room’s resources, (c) day, or (d) week.
Rooms are presented in a grid of dates and times.

1.) Select Scheduling Grids from the Calendars tab on the red header bar:


2.) Select Administrative Grid from the Choose Calendar on the top middle of the screen:


3.) Select the day or week you would like to reserve space:


A Scheduling Grid will populate on the right of the screen denoting which rooms have available space and what
times the rooms are available:


4.) From the Scheduling Grid you can see a room’s details (capacity and features). Click on the round circle to the left
of the room:


5.) To schedule a room from the Scheduling Grid, select the box that aligns with your chosen room and time. For
example, if you would like to reserve Caudill 101 on 1/17/2023 from 7:00 – 8:00 am, click on that box (example
highlighted below):


6.) Selecting the box that aligns with your chosen room and time brings up a Create Event box. Enter your End Time,
Event Name, Event Type, and Contact. Select Save and Send Notification. Then confirm your save by selecting yes:


7.) Please see 10 above for how to see your request once it has been submitted.

C. Instructions for Reserving Athletic Fields:

1.) VSCC has four athletic fields that are classified in the athletic space room type, the: (a) Garrett Baseball Field, (b)
Nichols Softball Field, (c) Tennis Courts, and (d) Golf/Archery space. Please use the Available Rooms process
outlined in section IV.A. of this document. To filter down to the athletic fields in the Available Rooms tool, select
Filter Options and then select the + sign to the right of Region and select Athletics Space. Select Done and then OK.
Select the Search icon and the Athletic Fields will pre-populate.

NOTE: The Pickel Fieldhouse 100 (gymnasium) is coded as a regular room and not an Athletic Field.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR REQUESTING AN EVENT:

To request an event, VSCC employees should follow the HOW TO ACCESS ASTRA SCHEDULE instructions at the beginning
of this document. After logging into Astra Schedule:

1.) Select VSCC Users: Request an Event (below the VSCC logo):


2.) Select Admin Request Form from the Event Request Wizard dropdown box:


3.) Fill in the Contact and Event Information:


4.) Specify the requested date and time of the event by selecting the Add Meeting button:


5.) To create the meeting, select the Start and End Times and Dates, identify the Meeting Name, and select Add
Meeting:


Note: Per VSCC policy, event requests must be made 10 days in advance of the event. Astra Schedule will give you
the following error message if you try to book an event with less than one week’s notice.


6.) Respond to the remaining form prompts and select Submit:


If you have not received an email notification that your event space has been approved within 3 business days,
please contact Jordyn McAllister, VSCC’s Scheduler.

IMPORTANT: The Event Form only reserves the event space. If you need a room setup or A/V support, you MUST
complete additional requests (see #7/8).

7.) To request a room setup, select Room Set Up Request under Helpful Links (right side of the screen). This link takes
you to SchoolDude. Enter your VSCC credentials and note what type of setup you require.


8.) For A/V service, select A/V Service Request under Helpful Links (right side of the screen). This link takes you to the
VSCC Service Catalog. You can request technology support or teaching and learning support through the VSCC
Service Catalog.

Approvers:

VSCC has identified an owner for all College space. System Administrators identify approvers for each space based on
who owns the space. Space can have more than one approver if the room owner chooses to do so. In that case, an
Approver Group is created

When an employee submits a space request through Astra Schedule, the approver receives a request entry in their Astra
Schedule Notification List. When an Approver Group is used, a notification goes to all the individuals within the Approver
Group. Only one user in the group is required to approve a space request.

A. Accessing Notifications and Approving Room/Event Requests:

1.) Select Notifications from the Events tab on the red header bar:


2.) After selecting Notifications, a list of notifications will appear:


3.) To review an request’s details, hover over the gray double circle :


Note: Where notifications are concerned, Astra Schedule uses the term event and room interchangeably. The
example above is a room request for a faculty meeting. Room and event requests appear on same Notifications
page.

4.) To approve a request, select the green checkmark . To decline a request, select the minus sign in the red
circle . If you need more information to make your decision, select the white i in the blue circle . A window
box will pop-up allowing you to ask the room requestor additional information. Select Request Info to send the
notification to the requester:


5.) The Notifications Filter can be used to delimit the types of notifications one sees on their Notifications splash
screen. The most helpful filter is the Is Active filter. Selecting Yes for this filter means out-of-date and deleted
notifications will not appear in your Notifications cue:

B. Setting Up Email Notifications:

Approvers must approve room requests in a timely manner. The preference is within 24, but no more than 48 hours.
To ensure receipt of a space request, users can setup an email subscription to be notified daily if there are
notifications in Astra Schedule waiting for their approval. To setup an email subscription:

1.) From the Notifications screen, select My Preferences:


2.) Email notifications can be setup for once or multiple times a day. To setup a once-a-day email notification, select
+New under Notification Schedule:


To setup a once-a-day email notification for weekdays only with no notification end date, choose the configuration
identified below and select OK:


To setup every hour email notifications during normal business hours on the weekdays with no end date, choose the
configuration identified below and select OK:

Relevant Vol State Policies:

Use of Campus Property and Facilities Policy

Traffic and Parking Regulations

Programs for Minors on Campus

Tobacco and Smoke Free Campus

Firearms and Other Weapons

Ad Astra Help Center:

Ad Astra has a Help Center with many resources to assist users with maneuvering Astra Schedule.