An introductory psychology laboratory system featuring inexpensive time-shared record-keeping

At California State University, Fresno, the introductory psychology lecture sections operate independently of the laboratory system. Each week, the faculty supervisor prepares the teaching assistants to instruct the following week’s laboratory presentation. The department’s subject pool is also administered through the laboratory system. At the end of the semester, the lecture instructors are supplied with laboratory grades for incorporation into the overall course grades. Record-keeping, especially for the subject pool, was a major problem until we computerized its various components. We use one of the university’s time-sharing systems for this purpose, which has proven cost effective, secure, and quite efficient.