Jonquière Cegep, located in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, has 28 pre-university and technical studies programs. The establishment is best known for its training and programs in Media Art and Technology: Media Communications (Journalism, Radio and Advertising Profiles), Television Production and Post-production (Production and Postproduction Profiles) and Multimedia Integration. With more than 50 years of experience teaching media communications, Jonquière Cegep is the only institution that offers the three programs in Art and Media Technology, two of which are unique in Quebec. The courses take place, among other places, in studios and students have access to a wide range of equipment.
Case Study
The Department of Media Art and Technology (ATM) at Jonquière Cégep facilitated the coordination of more than 400 people by choosing the Hector online reservation system for their activities.
Before Hector
« Hector’s open system has made all the difference in the world for us! From now on, students can book their equipment in advance online and this has made a huge difference. »
Challenges
Inventory is managed differently within the College
Students must show up and book what they need in a notebook
Poor showing of the range of material/equipments that the students can use
System is poorly adapted and restricted for a single user
Several years ago, Jonquière Cegep started looking for an inventory management software that could meet its daily needs. The old system did not allow students to book with their own access, and that was very problematic.
« The monitoring and management of technical equipment was not optimal at all, we needed a more modern solution. »
Jean-François took over the case. While pursuing his research, he discovered several software options including Vimbizz, Koha, Coba and Bookingpoint. However, these software products on the market were too complex and expensive, were not meeting the needs of the program or were a closed system (a single user).
The College has therefore decided to turn to a more flexible and reliable cloud-based solution (Cloud) to make the students more autonomous.
Solutions
Cloud-based software available online
Unlimited access for employees and students
Online reservations through a catalogue of items
Reliable and accurate checkout schedule
Gradual transition to Hector
The risk was minimal for Jean-François and his team in Media Art and Technology, as they were able to build up their inventory in the software.
« Hector’s flexible pricing allowed us to add our equipment gradually. We started by offering our students the opportunity to book their set decors online. In addition, despite the fact that some features were still being developed, we added other assets that depended on them, but everything went smoothly. »
Better visibility of available equipment
« Students can see right away, through the catalogue, the equipment available on the dates they want to use it, depending on their program or study group. That’s what we like about Hector: the information is updated in real time.
With our old paper system, students did not necessarily return to cancel their reservations in the notebook, suggesting to others that they could not borrow the material while it was available. »
Better planning and resource allocation
Scheduling inventory reservations for TV is paramount in ATM. As there are more students than devices, reservations must be pre-approved by the responsible teachers.
« There was a lot of wasted time when booking with our paper system. Depending on the equipment or space requested, authorizations and signatures were required. With Hector, reservations can be directly approved or denied online by the teacher, making it much easier to process applications. »
Appraisals
The implementation of the software at Jonquière Cegep was very well received by students and teachers who had an great and easy experience using it from the start. All of them have noticed the benefits the software has brought.
« During the test phase, teachers and students were immediately seduced when trying Hector. »
« During the procedure, a few flags were raised, which helped improve the interface. Hector is a continuously improving product and we were able to share our development requests and were listened to.
We don’t feel stuck with Hector. With the speed of customer service, we feel that we are important and valued. In short, the adopted approach is extremely user-friendly.»
What made the difference for Jonquière Cegep
Online reservations
Checkout recurrence
Alerts and notifications
Management of assets and material
Why choose Hector?
« There are many reasons that led us to lean towards Hector. Although there were shortcomings at the beginning and the solution did not fully correspond to our initial needs, Hector’s team was very open-minded and ready to improve their product.
The cloud system (Cloud) has also been an important consideration as it makes it possible for students to checkout and book. Subscription pricing is very advantageous. Since then, Hector is a Quebec company that offers a French-language solution: which represents a significant asset! »
In the end, Jonquière Cegep is pleased with the technological shift it has undertaken by choosing Hector. Staff members are now far from the initial « pencil » method and have been able to discover the benefits that an inventory management system can bring to an educational program, without having to spend unnecessarily on expensive software that was not adapted to their needs.
If you want to benefit from this improved management within your school or business, try Hector for free for 15 days or plan a call with one of our specialists to concretely target the gains you will make when taking your exact needs into account!
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