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University of Montevallo Upgrades to 25Live® Scheduling and Gets “Amazing Results”

University of Montevallo

Montevallo, Alabama

Products

25Live® Integrated Academic and Event Scheduling System

Why 25Live?

“We looked at a number of other products, but 25Live immediately rose to the top. No other software offered a centralized calendar with the same easy access to all real-time data. Getting facilities and resources under one umbrella was huge for us!” — Marion Brown, Director of University Facilities and Events Scheduling

Benefits

• Centralized public calendar

• Automated reporting

• Access to real-time data

• Time and resource savings

• Superior experience for all stakeholders

University of Montevallo logo

The Challenge

It’s fair to say the University of Montevallo was stuck in a deep rut with its underperforming Ellucian/Banner scheduling software. For 20 years, the Events and Facilities Department struggled with this system that couldn’t provide current data or any centralized access to event details. It was a constant challenge for an office that manages 23 facilities, hosting everything from lectures to dance recitals, and from community events to overnight summer camps. According to Marion Brown, Director of University Facilities and Events Scheduling, with so much going on, “We couldn’t look at anything in real time; there was no central location to see the schedule for the day. And the reports we got were terrible. They didn’t show specific timeslots or resources.” Administrative processes were cumbersome and time consuming. Whenever the Events Office wanted reports, staff had to use separate software to generate them and then email the reports to each constituent. Reserving space with Banner was inefficient, too. People wanting to request space needed individual permissions to schedule anything in the system. “All those requests were coming into my office to be manually approved,” Brown said. “I would have to send follow-up questions to get all the details we needed. There were so many emails going back forth.” Worse still, all exam scheduling had to be done as a separate manual process because the school’s Banner system didn’t recognize exam schedules.

The Solution

The University implemented 25Live scheduling in October 2024. “We looked at a number of other products, but 25Live immediately rose to the top,” Brown said. A major deciding factor was the public calendar. The Events Management Office recognized how 25Live enabled all stakeholders – event requesters, facilities managers, third-party vendors, and administrators – to easily access current information. According to Brown, “Getting facilities and resources under one umbrella was huge for us. Now we can schedule so much farther ahead. And, when courses are scheduled after events, the system prioritizes academics and lets us know if there’s a conflict.”

Superior Customer Service

Brown also reported that implementation was a breeze: “Learning new software can be intimidating,” she explained, “but Tanya, CollegeNET’s implementation and training consultant, rocked our world! She clearly understood our university and its workflow, and she customized our instance to fit our needs exactly. Our Account Manager, Shanna, was also our cheerleader, making us feel secure and confident through the entire process. When we went live, our whole day was calm and pain-free.”

The Results

According to Brown, the University has already seen “amazing results” from their switch to 25Live. “My office has changed. My workflow has changed. Staffing is reduced. Before 25Live, I needed so much student support, which increased errors. Now, everything I need is in 25Live.” Adoption by all stakeholders has been very easy. Students, faculty and staff appreciate the simple DIY scheduling that provides a clear view of all spaces and facilities, plus the ability to request space and equipment on the spot and receive immediate prompts for required permits or additional details. Now, event planners can handle simple and more complicated scheduling with little or no assistance.

Time and Resource Savings

The Events Office has seen a 60 percent reduction in event planning-related emails, and Brown expects that number to continue to decline as more users discover the new system. With their web-based master calendar and Publisher, the campus no longer struggles with the limitations of their Google calendar for posting events. According to Brown, planning is so much easier and more efficient because everyone can see what others are doing, and changes are visible immediately. Another big improvement: no more manual scheduling of exams—with 25Live, The Registrar’s Office can easily input the schedule.

Campus-wide Benefits

“We thought the Athletics Department might be resistant to change, but they became our most frequent users," Brown said. “We can now change outdoor practices to indoor quickly and easily when the weather changes. We have all fields on express scheduling, so coaches can make instant changes from their phones. We’ve been blown away by 25Live’s reporting – we have so much more powerful data. We can easily see our facility usage and where we’re not optimizing use of space.” One of the most important components for MU is safety.  After a recent tornado, the scheduling team used 25Live to generate a report in minutes to instantly identify people’s locations across campus. “We know exactly where people are during an emergency, and what to do to keep them safe and keep business going,” Brown said.

Of all the University departments, Physical Plant has benefited most from 25Live. With their old Banner system, the Department staff had no real-time view of spaces and facilities being used; no updates on what might have changed since the last report was generated. Now, they can just pick up their phones anytime, view the current calendar, and make informed decisions regarding the schedule for the day.  According to Brown, 25Live has been “a game changer for the entire campus.”

About the University of Montevallo

University of Montevallo campus
© Photo provided by University of Montevallo
The University of Montevallo was founded in 1896 in Montevallo, Alabama. As the state’s only public liberal arts university, UM takes pride in offering a high-quality liberal arts-focused curriculum that is both challenging and affordable, and accessible to students across the state. The University has an average enrollment of 2,600 students, including international students representing 19 countries. And, while it offers degree programs in more than 70 academic disciplines, UM boasts a student-to-faculty ratio of 14-to-1. In 2025, U.S. News and World Reports named the University of Montevallo among the Top-10 Best Public Regional Universities in the South, and the #8 Best Value School.

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