Next week (on Wednesday) the UM ACE (Academic Evaluation) report will change its format and gain a new feature. I wanted to warn you so you won't be surprised. I also wanted to tell you about the new feature so you can take advantage of it. A sample of the report is attached.
The new format makes excellent use of fonts, layout, and design elements to improve the readability of the ACE report. Colors are used to indicate whether a section is completed or not. Completed sections have a gray background, to make the sections with requirements remaining stand out. Fixed width fonts (typewriter fonts) are only used where necessary to provide accurate formatting; all other fonts are variable width fonts. The size of the fonts is larger for the headings of each section. Boxes are drawn around each section. And so on. The goal was to make it easier to read and understand and a number of techniques have been used to do that.
The new feature is a checkbox at the top of the requirements boxes, that lets the student (1) show all the requirements, including those already completed, the default, or (2) only show those sections that still have requirements remaining to be completed. Again, this should help assure that the student can focus on those sections still remaining, rather than accidentally missing something.
Thanks to everyone who made this change possible, especially the people in IT and the Office of the Registrar. Finally, I want to point out that our current Student Government leaders were elected on a "technology" platform. Improving the ACE report was one of the things they wanted to accomplish. While the process had begun long before they even ran for office, their drive and desire made sure it was completed. They have a number of changes they would like to see put into place regarding the registration system and the use of technology in the classrooms. I will continue to work closely with them, and hopefully we will be successful in advancing a number of additional changes in the coming year.
Bill Vilberg
Instructional Advancement
Richter Library, Room 325
bill.vilberg@miami.edu<mailto:bill.vilberg@miami.edu>
786-250-2255
http://vilberg.com - Spreading seeds of education, technology, and more
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