Timetabling

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Timetabling
Mark Britchford Timetabling Space
Management M.W.Britchford_at_adm.leeds.ac.uk David
Dixon Leeds Dental Institute D.Dixon_at_leeds.ac.uk
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The Project Team
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Timetabling Past, Present and Future

• Past
• What we used to do
• Why change ?
• Present
• What is changing
• Why it is changing
• Future
• Where we are heading

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What we used to do

• Paper based
• Duplicate entry of data
• Potential for error in entry or interpretation
• Printed timetable out of date as soon as it was
  printed
• Approximately 50of teaching activities were on
  Central Timetable

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Why Change?

• On-line Enrolment - Students would like to see a
  timetable
• Reduce Module changes after registration
• Estates Strategy all teaching space to be
  centrally managed by 2007
• Faculty restructuring encouraged to reduce
  space and cut costs
• Shortage of office and research space

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What is changing?

• Methods of working
• More data sources linked together
• Increased data transparency
• Knowledge of software improving
• Web output improving

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Why it is changing

• Individual student timetables
• Individual staff timetables
• Increased sharing of resources
• Reduction in teaching space
• Improvement in room utilisation figures

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05/06 Timetable Timeline

• December Start timetabling process
• Download all information from Banner, SAP,
• January Distribute timetable details via Web Data
  Collector
• Amend timetable with new information
• May Returning students undertake module
  enrolment using
• DRAFT timetable
• Import all student data into timetable
• Mid-June 2nd DRAFT timetable produced
• Publish timetable on website
• August Final timetable produced with room
  allocations
• Make amendments to allocations as requested
• Start of Semester Respond to changes in timetable
  and changes to activity size that affect
  timetable

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Current Projects

• Web Room Request
• Access to information about rooms availability
• Those who know select resources
• Faster turn around of data
• Emails generated to keep people informed
• Automatic log in using LDAP security

• Web Data Collector
• Improves data quality and quantity
• Those who know select the resources
• Faster turn around of data

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Progress so far

• More timetable activities on University timetable
• More rooms on University timetable
• New data links to other corporate systems
• Web based applications linked to Splus
• Space audit data to inform teaching space
  refurbishment programme
• FMCC agreement to terminate priority booking from
  Semester two - 2004/05
• Syllabus Plus accepted as University timetabling
  software at Learning and Teaching Board FMCC

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How the timetabling Software works
Programme of Study information
Student Sets
Location Information
Student Enrolment Data
Timetable Activities
To the Web
Activity Templates
Activity Information
Staff data
Module Information
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Examples of Splus Use

• Web Room Booking
• Web Data Collector
• Web timetable currently visible

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Web Room Booking
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Web Data Collector
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Web Timetables
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Programme Timetables
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Programme Timetable on the web
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Future Web Output

• Individual student timetables
• Individual staff timetables
• Room timetables
• What other information is required ??

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Web Data Collector (WDC) Design Implementation

• What it was intended for
• Why we felt it was necessary
• How it was designed
• How it was implemented
• Teething troubles
• Future plans

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WDC - What it was intended for

• Speed up data entry
• Increase the amount and quality of information
  included on the timetable
• Allow non-Syllabus Plus users the ability to
  enter timetable information
• Replace system where changes made to timetable
  are recorded twice

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WDC - Why we felt it was necessary

• Production of timetable for On-line enrolment
• Lack of time/money to train everyone to use
  Syllabus Plus
• Aware that Syllabus Plus is becoming web based

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WDC - How it was designed

• Only a finite amount of information available or
  required for timetabling
• Used knowledge from previous timetables and
  included the options to add extra details if
  known (e.g. Staff)
• Specification drawn up in conjunction with
  Scientia (Syllabus Plus software providers)

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WDC - How it was implemented

• Complex server set up with ISS Scientia
• Demonstrations to Individuals/Schools/Faculties
• On going advice and support
• Production of a user guide

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WDC - Teething Troubles

• Speed at which the WDC worked
• Due to the amount of information being processed
• Solved by structuring the tables in the database
  more efficiently
• Remembering details that had changed
• Solved by changing the active server pages
• Reporting back the timetables that were created
• Delay between data entry and visibility on the
  web
• ISS now know how to create timetable web site

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WDC - Future Plans

• WDC will become more interactive
• Linked to live timetable data
• Better visibility of how activities link together
• Better reporting mechanisms
• Ability to clash check as activities are entered
  or altered

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Looking to the Future

• Complete University timetable incorporating all
  teaching events for 05/06
• More web based applications simplifying user
  interface to Splus
• Individual staff and student timetables available
  via Banner portals
• Output of data files which can be used to
  populate Outlook calendars

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Key Questions for the University

• How does the University intend to timetable in
  the future?
• Will it automate more of the timetable
• Will it devolve more timetabling to Faculties or
  Schools
• What influence will fees have on the planning of
  timetables..
• All are open to debate !