The Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology implemented fluid class search to power keyword search, facets, and dynamic filtering

The Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, established in 1956 in Patiala, is one of India’s oldest and most prestigious educational institutions. The Thapar Institute consistently produces highly skilled talent for both the nation and abroad and currently has a community of approximately 15,000 faculty members and students.

Objective

The Thapar Institute previously relied on traditional component search pages for class searches, which were not optimized for mobile devices and provided limited filtering options for students and staff.

Aiming to provide a modern, device-independent experience and streamline the class discovery process for users, the initiative focused on implementing and configuring fluid class search.

Implemented Solution

With the rollout of fluid class search utilizing the PeopleSoft Search Framework with OpenSearch, the following enhanced capabilities are now available:

• Keyword-based searches across class indexes, featuring configurable display limits and notifications when result thresholds are exceeded.
• Faceted filtering options—including subject, course career, days, time, units, and status—allow users to efficiently narrow search results.
• Real-time validation of class status, enrollment capacity, and waitlist availability during both search and selection processes.

Details

• The PeopleSoft Search Framework and indexes utilize incremental builds via the class search index manager, ensuring that ongoing timetable changes are quickly reflected in search results.
• Filter options such as “Default to Open Classes” have been implemented, allowing users to initially view only open classes, with the flexibility to include waitlisted or closed classes as needed.










• The "View My Classes" feature is enabled, and, where applicable, time conflict checking is provided between enrolled classes and searched class options. This supports direct schedule validation from the fluid page.
• The class search configuration is aligned with fluid browse course catalog options—including filters and display settings—to ensure a consistent search experience across both classes and courses.

Benefits

• Modern, mobile-ready experience: The fluid UI allows users to seamlessly search for classes from laptops, tablets, and smartphones, providing a consistent and intuitive experience across all devices.





• Faster and smarter class discovery: Advanced keyword search, along with facets and filters, enables students and staff to quickly locate classes that align with specific subjects, schedules, and other criteria, significantly minimizing the need for trial-and-error searches.
• Accurate, real-time information: The integration of a search engine index with live validation for class status, seat availability, and waitlist capacity ensures users have access to the most current information, eliminating the need for manual refreshes or offline checks.
• Reduced administrative effort: Scheduled full and incremental index builds ensure updates to class offerings are automatically reflected in search results, reducing repetitive queries to administrative staff and enhancing self-service capabilities.
• Scalable foundation for future enhancements: The configuration adheres to Oracle PeopleSoft's delivered patterns for fluid self-service and search, allowing for seamless extension with new filters, related content, and integration with planning and enrollment workflows.