Telephone registration system for schools

• US 6,016,335 A
• Filed: 04/30/1997
• Issued: 01/18/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Alex B. Lacy, Justin J. Green
• Original Assignee: Alex B. Lacy, Justin J. Green
• Inventors: Green, Justin J., Lacy, Alex B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsang, Fan S.
• Application Number:
  US08/846,968
• Time in Patent Office: 993 Days
• Field of Search: 379/67, 379/88, 379/89, 379/92.01, 379/93.12, 379/93.13, 379/70, 340/825.3, 340/825.31, 340/825.34, 340/825.25, 340/825.28, 340/825.29, 395/201, 705/5, 705/12, 705/26, 705/28
• US Class Current: 379/67.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/355 Interactive dialogue design tools, features or methods
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/493 Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals

Abstract

The interactive student registration system uses a computer system having a telephone interface providing a multiplicity of incoming telephone lines, a memory, a voice synthesizer output and a data connection to a host data processor of the institution. The host data processor provides a series of information data banks including student information, course information and the like. By use of a touchtone telephone, a student calls the registration system and, by a series of interactive communications, registers for courses offered by the institution or obtains information relating to registration. A large series of operations is conducted including determining whether the student has paid property deposits, satisfying requirements such as instructor or advisor approval for particular courses, assuring that co-requisite and prerequisite requirements are met, assuring that graduate students, student instructors or scholarship students are taking a minimum number of hours and the like.

Claims

1. In a telephone course registration system of the type where a student, by entering information on a telephone, registers for an educational term by selecting at least one course offered by an educational institution, the registration system comprising a data processor, means connected to the data processor for generating a voice message and delivering the voice message to the telephone in response to instructions from the data processor, at least one incoming telephone line connected to the data processor, and means for matching an identification number provided by the student with a predetermined list of identification numbers corresponding to students approved for registration, the improvement comprising

a first database means, connectable with the data processor, for storing a list of courses satisfactorily completed by the student;

a second database means, connectable with the data processor, for storing a list of courses and any associated prerequisite courses which must be satisfactorily completed before a selected course may be registered for;

retrieval means for retrieving from said first database means the list of courses satisfactorily completed by the student having an identification number on the predetermined list;

determining means for searching said second database means and determining the associated prerequisite courses required for the course selected by the student; and

comparison means for comparing the list of courses satisfactorily completed by the student with the associate prerequisite courses required for the course selected by the student to determine if the student may register for the selected course,

wherein said comparison means makes the determination whether the student may register for the selected course while the student is in telephone communication with the telephone course registration means.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising means causing the voice message generating and transmitting means to tell the student that the prerequisite course has not been successfully taken in response to a determination that the prerequisite course has not been satisfactorily completed.

3. In a telephone course registration system of the type where a student, by entering information on a telephone, registers for an educational term by selecting at least one course offered by an educational institution, the registration system comprising a data processor, means connected to the data processor for generating a voice message and delivering the voice message to the telephone in response to instructions from the data processor, at least one incoming telephone line connected to the data processor, and means for matching an identification number provided by the student with a predetermined list of identification numbers corresponding to students approved for registration, the improvement comprising

a database means, connectable with the data processor, for storing a list of courses and any associated co-requisite courses which must be taken at the same time before a selected course may be registered for;

retrieval means for retrieving from said database means a list of co-requisite courses which must be taken at the same time as the course selected by the student having an identification number on the predetermined list;

notification means for notifying the student that a co-requisite course is required for the course selected by the student and requesting the student to further select said co-requisite course; and

comparison means for comparing said co-requisite course selected by the student with said list of co-requisite courses for said selected course to determine if the required co-requisite courses for said selected course have been selected, thereby allowing the student to register for said selected course,

wherein said comparison means makes the determination whether the student may register for the selected course while the student is in telephone communication with the telephone course registration system.

4. The system of claim 3 further comprising means causing the voice message means to tell the student that the selected course has a second course that must be taken at the same time.

5. In a telephone course registration system of the type where a student, by entering information on a telephone, registers for an educational term by selecting at least one course offered by an educational institution, the registration system comprising a data processor, means connected to the data processor for generating a voice message and delivering the voice message to the telephone in response to instructions from the data processor, at least one incoming telephone line connected to the data processor, and means for matching an identification number provided by the student with a predetermined list of identification numbers corresponding to students approved for registration, the improvement comprising

a first database means, connectable with the data processor, for storing a list students approved for registration;

a second database means, connectable with the data processor, for storing a status of a property deposit account corresponding to each of the students;

authorization means for searching said first database means and determining if the student has an identification number on the predetermined list; and

comparison means for searching said second database means and determining if the student having an identification number on the predetermined list has a property deposit account balance less than a predetermined balance,

wherein said comparison means makes the determination whether the student has a property deposit account balance less than a predetermined balance while the student is in telephonic communication with the telephone course registration system.

6. In a telephone course registration system of the type where a student, by entering information on a telephone, registers for an educational term by selecting at least one course offered by an educational institution, the registration system comprising a data processor, means connected to the data processor for generating a voice message and delivering the voice message to the telephone in response to instructions from the data processor, at least one incoming telephone line connected to the data processor, and means for matching an identification number provided by the student with a predetermined list of identification numbers corresponding to students approved for registration, the improvement comprising

a database means, connectable with the data processor, for storing a list of students approved for registration and holds attributed to each of the listed students;

means for searching said database means and determining if the student having an identification number on the predetermined list has at least one hold;

scanning means for scanning the holds of the student to segregate the holds into a group of fatal holds and a group of non-fatal holds;

termination means responsive to said scanning means for terminating registration in response to the existence of a fatal hold;

inquiry means responsive to said scanning means for reading a first of the non-fatal holds to the student and asking the student to acknowledge the existence of the first non-fatal hold; and

acknowledging means allowing the student to acknowledge the existence of the first non-fatal hold while the student is in telephonic communication with the telephone course registration system.

7. The system of claim 6 further comprising means for generating a list of students acknowledging the existence of the non-fatal hold.

8. The system of claim 6 further comprising means responsive to acknowledgement of the existence of the first non-fatal hold for reading a second non-fatal hold to the student and asking the student to acknowledge the existence of the second non-fatal hold.

9. A telephone system for an educational institution offering courses for informing a student communicating by a telephone if a seat is available in a selected course, comprising

a data processor;

means connected to the data processor for generating a voice message and delivering the voice message to the telephone in response to instructions from the data processor;

at least one incoming telephone line connected to the data processor; and

means for determining the availability of a seat in the selected course, including

means for receiving an indicia representative of a course offered by the institution and entered by the student on the telephone;

means for querying a host computer of the educational institution to determine the maximum number of students allowed in the course corresponding to the indicia;

means for querying the host computer of the educational institution to determine the number of students actually registered in the course corresponding to the indicia;

means for comparing the maximum number of students allowed in the course with the number of students actually registered in the course;

means for causing the voice message means to tell the student if a seat is available in response to there being a greater number of students allowed in the course than the number of students actually registered in the course and to tell the student if the course is closed in response to there being as many students actually registered in the course as the maximum number of students allowed in the course.

10. The telephone system of claim 9 further comprising means for matching an identification number provided by the student with a predetermined list of identification numbers corresponding to students approved for registration.

11. The telephone system of claim 10 further comprising a telephone course registration system of the type where a student, by entering information on a telephone, registers for an educational term by selecting at least one course offered by an educational institution, the registration system comprising the data processor, the means connected to the data processor for generating a voice message and delivering the voice message to the telephone in response to instructions from the data processor, at least one incoming telephone line connected to the data processor, a database means, connectable with the data processor, for storing a predetermined list of identification numbers corresponding to students approved for registration, and authorization means for searching said database means and determining if a particular student has an identification number on the predetermined list.