UNSWide Timetabling

An Overview for

Administrative Staff

Objective

To provide staff with an understanding of the background and context for University-wide timetabling

To prepare staff for their role in the University-wide timetabling initiative by providing advice on future

business and systems processes and timelines

UTES

This presentation is part of the Student Services User Training, Education and Support program.

Background

November 2004 Academic Board endorsement December 2004 DVC Academic & DVC Resources agree to co-sponsor February 2005 Forum with Faculty representatives May 2005 Timetabling survey of schools For 2006 most classes on NSS Project team have consulted within and outside the University

in order to establish the scope, approach, boundaries and risks

Scope

Kensington campus [except AGSM - U/G Medicine TBD] Potential to schedule for other campuses in future years Courses with very small enrolments [< 10] can be

scheduled by school Standard Main Sessions [S1 and S2] initially All teaching activities

Overview

Key Driver Current faculty-based roll-forward approach is not well suited

to managing the complex interactions and decisions required to support key learning outcomes and timetabling objectives

Key Objective To produce a timetable that is equitable, effective and

complete; takes into account the needs of both students and staff; and maximises the efficient use of space and resources

To provide the best opportunity for students to fulfill their academic objectives by producing a student timetable which facilitates enrolment in core courses and maximises choice of elective courses where possible

Principles

Address historical structural inequities and inefficiencies in the timetable

Improve options and choices for students, especially combined degree students

Introduce greater flexibility so that TT is driven by policy and established need rather than historical pattern and constraint

Improve space utilisation Timetable coupled to room bookings Smooth chronological peaks Reduce extent of 'ambit' booking of teaching space e.g.

hoarding, phantom bookings, poor match to class size Improve ability to accommodate 'crises'

Principles [continued]

Improve ability to undertake 'what-if' scenario planning to investigate options in relation to new campuses, buildings, equipment, programs, courses or student numbers, teaching practices, and to support such changes

To develop a 'corporate' understanding and transparent overview of the timetable (and the factors that drive it)

Level the playing field for new offerings Improve ability to respond to enrolments/demand

Governance/oversight

Timetable will be based on policy and operational guidelines Steering Committee and Reference Group for management

oversight & stakeholder guidance Steering Committee will report to and advise Executive and

the Academic Board (via the Academic Services Committee) Scheduling and Academic Requirements Unit established in

Student Services– Timetabling Management– Administers a range of linked academic administration

services

Solution Approach

myUNSW used by school staff for holistic management of

courses, classes, and timetabling

NSS holds scheduling requests and timetabling

and class information, and enrolment records

Syllabus Plus scheduling application – uses stored

data and scheduling request information from

NSS

Planning Timetable - produced ahead of enrolment using school requirements and previous enrolment data to validate assumptions Opportunity to move towards integrated timetabling/Academic advisement solution

Change Impacts The timetable will change! Classes may be scheduled on different days/times, and in

different locations Teaching staff may teach on different days/times and in

different locations Some course/sequence/major combinations may become

available to students for the first time

Schools' timetabling activities will change: Schools will lose rights to existing resource or time

allocation Scheduling requests rather than direct class scheduling More detailed, accurate and complete information to be

provided Active monitoring of class enrolments [changes in demand]

Students

Existing on-line self-service enrolment applies Better choice Better support for combined degrees Less likelihood that Friday is free of classes!

Staff

Role realignment for admin staff – planning-oriented roles

Allocation of teaching staff to remain responsibility of Heads of School

Teaching staff should be identified with scheduling requests where known

Minimum set of conditions applied to full-time teaching staff

Approved individual staff constraint profiles will be recorded where necessary

School meetings accommodated – timeslot generally determined by software

Space CATS-TT - CATS rooms rolled into single category

CATS-C (CATS Casual) ex CATS 4 – more rooms

Casual bookings handled roughly as at present (including classes not scheduled centrally).

Unused teaching spaces (CATS-TT) released for casual (non-academic) bookings three weeks after start of session

Specialist teaching space incorporated with appropriate controls

Location precincts defined

Student Services – timetabled bookings

CATS – casual bookings (inc. classes not timetabled centrally)

Timetabling – room utilisation 9am-6pm

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri

Large theatre frequencyLarge theatre occupancyMedium theatre frequencyMedium theatre occupancy

Source:

CATS bookings,

S1 2003Large: 180-500 seats (excl. Clancy, NSG, Ritchie, Sci; 16 theatres)Medium: 100-168 seats (22 theatres)

% of time room is booked

% of seats occupied

when in use

Peaks and troughs will be minimised where possible

Teaching Hours/Times

Core Undergraduate teaching hours Monday -Thursday 9 – 6 Friday 9 – 4 Core Postgraduate teaching hours Monday -Thursday 6 – 9 (but day options can be

specified) Classes may be scheduled outside of these hours at request

of school (and compliant with Academic Staff EBA)

Syllabus Plus Software

Syllabus Plus Course Planner scheduling software Mature product used by many Aust and OS institutions Used at UNSW since '99 for room bookings Sophisticated use of 'hard' and 'soft' scheduling controls

including suitabilities, constraints, preferences Scheduling can be performed progressively by scheduling

activities according to priority groups

Policy Draft Policy (& operational guidelines) submitted to

Academic Board – for discussion at June 2006 meeting Policy - objectives, principles and organisational

arrangements Operational Guidelines - more definition and detail. To

evolve with feedback and prototyping Challenge - accommodating genuine special cases

without compromising the whole of the institution

Communication

June to September – Presentations e.g. Dean's Advisory Groups, open invitation presentations, other faculty groups on request

July/August – User Education myUNSW “Term Planning” Also email explode list, myUNSW Web page, UNSW Student

Services newsletter articles, direct engagement with relevant business units and staff

A new timetable

– can’t wait!

Term planning??

What? It’s on a Friday?! *#*#*!!

2006 Draft Timeline

Late July Release “Term planning” in myUNSW +User Education

Mid August Uni-wide Timetable Go / No-Go Decision

Mid August Online Handbook Course Catalogue updates deadline

22 Sept Session One “Term Planning” deadline Also enter Session Two intended offerings

25 Sept–27 Oct Iterative testing of Session 1 timetable

1 Oct DEST publishing deadline - Summer & Session One

30 Oct Provisional Timetable released to Faculties

22 Nov Final Timetable released to students

11 Dec Enrolment commences - Session One

2006

2007 Draft Timeline

2 March Deadline for schools to enter “Term Planning” data for Session 2

5 -30 March

Iterative testing of Session 2 timetable

1 April DEST publishing deadline - Session Two Provisional Session 2 Timetable to faculties

23 April Session 2 timetable released to students

14 May Enrolment commences - Session Two

23 July Session Two commences

And then…

A 'bedding down' period over the following 12/24 months…

2007

Faculty/School Participation

ID Faculties to assist with:Jun 2006 Sep 2006 Nov 2006Jul 2006 Aug 2006 Oct 2006

25/6 22/109/7 6/8 15/104/6 16/7 1/1017/9 12/115/1113/8 29/1030/7 24/93/9 8/102/7 23/7 20/8 27/818/611/6 10/9

1 School Space Data Collection

2 Clash Free Course Combinations

3 Review Prototype Timetables

4 Staff Constraint Data

5 Term Planning in myUNSW

6 Review Draft Timetables

7 Publicise Timetable internally

UNSW Business Process

Data Collection Phase (ends 22 Sept 2006)

Term planning– What's running in 2007?– How is each course structured?– Which courses are centrally timetabled?– Who's teaching them (large-group activities at least)?– What are the requirements for each course's activities

(room characteristics, precinct)?

Business Process

Course relationships– Scheduling needs to know about combined courses– More detail about parallel activities in term planning

Non-standard requirements– Parameters outside term planning scope– Special staffing needs– Justified special cases

Planning reports– Summaries of term planning data available via NSS

report distribution

Business Process

Clash-Free Course Combinations– Each represents a group of students enrolling in non-

clashing courses– Consist of course-session modules, 4 or possibly more– Labelled by program or program + plan– Prototypes derived from enrolments, but need program

knowledge to refine– Program authorities must update:

• extend, delete, consolidate, create, trim, …– Too many or too complex means impossible to schedule– Too few or trivial means more clashing courses

Business Process

Scheduling Phase (23 Sept to late Nov)

Four to five weeks of trial timetable generation Uses term planning data provided by schools, plus CFCCs,

specials Trials released to staff for comment Last chance to correct errors (but no preferential changes) Provisional timetable published to staff end October

(including provisional teaching schedules) Corrections require justification, times most unlikely to

change Schools may request change of room via CATS Schools may bid for leftover space for classes that are not

centrally timetabled Final class timetables published mid to late November

Business Process

School

UsermyUNSW

Syllabus

Plus

SARUClash-free course combinations (CFCCs)

all class requirements

provisional timetable

NSS

Term planning

plus course relationships

(classes created in NSS)

plus non-standard scheduling requirements

planning reports

Data Collection Phase (to 22 Sept) Scheduling Phase (to November)

manual

scheduling

Business Process

Operational Phase (December 2006 onwards)

Timetable remains stable, but classes may need to be closed or created in response to enrolment demand (or lack of it)

Cancelled or closed classes release resources automatically Larger rooms booked through CATS when enrolments

approach capacity New classes are pending only: can suggest time range as well

as usual requirements Response to auto-schedule request in minutes If successful, class is activated, and user notified by email If unsuccessful, SARU will be advised and will schedule

manually by progressively relaxing constraints Schools remain responsible for managing quotas (up to

assigned room capacity), communicating changes, updating class notes, reserve capacities etc.

Business Process

School

User

email

myUNSW

Syllabus

Plus

Success ?

SARUemail

new

class

auto-schedule request

classcreated

scheduling result

Yes

NoNSS

manual

scheduling

Operational Phase (after commencement of enrolment)

School

User

email

myUNSW

Syllabus

Plus

Success ?

SARUemail

new

class

auto-schedule request

classcreated

scheduling result

Yes

NoNSS

manual

scheduling

Operational Phase (after commencement of enrolment)

Further Information

Scheduling and Academic Requirements Unit (SARU) Sarah Thomson s.thomson@unsw.edu.au ext. 58757 Lester Mata lesterm@unsw.edu.au ext. 58040 Nicola Plume n.plume@unsw.edu.au ext. 58056

CATS Marie Pruze m.pruze@unsw.edu.au ext. 54997

A Uni-wide Timetable:Our Timetable!

We all have our part to play!!