Date: Fri, 19 May 1995 18:34:40 bst From: Steve Condliffe Subject: Re: Course Scheduling Software To: it-training-all@mailbase.ac.uk A while back I put out a trawl, reproduced below, for course scheduling software. Thanks to all who replied. As promised, I have collated the replies and re-posted to the list. I will inform of any useful information gleaned from following the potentially interesting leads. Steve Condliffe, Training Facilitator, University of Bristol Computing Service S.Condliffe@bris.ac.uk 0117 928 7858 > I would appreciate any information anyone may have on Course > Scheduling Software. We have two computer training rooms used > by 5 different departments and over 20 different tutors. There is a > possibility that we may at some point get a third training room. It is > getting quite hard to timetable courses into the rooms in such a > way as to make optimum use of them and avoid clashes. Surely > someone, somewhere, has written Scheduling Software for this kind > of application (it seems akin to a school or college timetabling, surely a common problem). > I would be pleased to hear of anybody's experience with > scheduling or timetabling software, and will collate all replies and > re-post to the list. *************************************************************************** From: Frances Allen We have a similar problem and just gave up on the room scheduling bit - there were too many variables, such as knowing that course b should follow after course a and should not be too close to c because the same tutor gives all three courses and would be knackered. So we have everything *after* the course scheduling in a database. In the middle of each term, three members of my team sit down with a lot of paper and a white board and spend an afternoon mapping out a draft timetable for the following term and fixing tutors names to these. They then enter this information into the database which can then print out a draft programme with tutor names attached. This is then circulated to all tutors to ensure that there are no problems. The timetable is then revised and sent to print and put on the web. We share our five training rooms with MIS and negotiate who gets what before this scheduling process and exchange the results, so that someone in both organisations has a complete copy of the up to date bookings. I am afraid that despite my efforts to persuade people to use the database, they prefer to have a large wall chart with all bookings marked in pencil, so people can see at a glance what is going on where throughout the week. If there are changes (additions and cancellations) our bookings secretary, Leah, emails a fairly large circulation list informing them of the changes. We have not had any double bookings since our new facilities opened in October; the only problems we have had have been overbooking machines - we do not have a full complement yet and juggle PCs between three rooms! I hope that by the end of the summer term every table will have a workstation on it. That will still leave us with a danger of overbooking between Macs and PCs: we have a growing number of courses which are across platform and we do a dicey machine shifting act before and after these courses, depending on the relative demand for PC and Mac. In theory no machine should be double booked, as every course/on a particular day event has a maximum number of machines bookable field. I too have a database problem, though. I used a relational database on the Mac (Helix Express) to write our course management system. I took over in August two years ago and had to have a system up and running by October and this was the fastest way I could manage this. I would like to get the system off the Mac and certainly off Helix as I have a nasty suspicion that the company is going down the tubes. When I talk to our database people their reaction is 'let well alone - a database which is working should not be touched!'. So if you come up with software solutions which you think could be applied more universally, do let the list know. Frances Allen Email F.R.Allen@ed.ac.uk Information Services Section Telephone 031-650 3322 Computing Services Fax 031-650 6547 University of Edinburgh Main Library, George Square Edinburgh EH8 9LJ >Date: Tue, 21 Mar 1995 00:15:44 -0500 >Sender: DEOS-L - The Distance Education Online Symposium >From: "DEOS-L : ACSDE" > >From: du347@ACADEMIC.CALPOLY.EDU >From: Norm Rogers, Media Production Coordinator > Communications Services > DU347@OASIS.CALPOLY.EDU >At Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA we are using ScheduAll as well. It > has worked very well for us and we are looking forward to the > Windows version being introduced at NAB in April. Again but with more details.... >From: "DEOS-L : ACSDE" >From: cinraney@ksu.ksu.edu > >We use ScheduALL, by VizuALL, Inc., 20377 NE 15 Court, Miami, FL >33179. This is a comprehensive schedualling system - from budget >estimates, scheduelling - facilities, people - unconfirmed, confirmed >and reconciled, to making reports that can sort by facility, date, >resources, personnel, projects, clients,... An exceptional program. >Cindy Jeffrey >Educational Communications Center >128 Dole Hall, KSU >Manhattan, KS 66506 >e-mail cinraney@ksu.ksu.edu From: Carol Bateman I would be pleased to hear about any software which you find. There are so many variables when doing this job that I still use pencil and paper (and a rubber!). I have four teaching rooms, nearly 20 different tutors but they are all computing services. I look forward to hearing the results. Carol Bateman Tel: 01865 278819 IT Training Manager Fax: 01865 278834 Oxford University Computing Services 59 George Street email: carol.bateman@oucs.ox.ac.uk OXFORD OX1 2BH From: d.guy@ucl.ac.uk (David Guy) I'm afraid I'm going to sound like a terrible Luddite here but I do all of my scheduling on some sheets of paper spread out over the floor at home with a bottle of red wine to keep me company. Eventually, once you've got the majority sorted out there's always the few requests that can only be reconciled by getting on the phone and talking to the departments concerned. Then it's a case of knowing the underlying power policitcs, being aware of who is manipulable and who isn't and where you have to give in and refer the matter to some sort of arbitrating computer committee. The first bit is fun - so why give it to a computer. The second bit is all to do with human interaction - and computer's aren't much good at that yet!! David Guy Training and Education Officer Information Systems Division University College London E-Mail d.guy @ ucl.ac.uk Phone +44 71-380 7826 From: User tug30 I did a request for information on Timetabling software some time ago - 1990! Results were not very promising. One firm which might be worth contacting for uptodate info is CELCAT - my info is out of dat, but you might be best giving them a ring. (0926 56131) I will check through my archive of messages - there was one person Judy in Thames? who might have followed some of it up. Irene Cauley One of my old replies: Via: UK.AC.POLY-NORTH-LONDON.CLUSTER; Mon, 4 Jun 90 16:21 GMT Date: 4-JUN-1990 15:56:20 From: ZPJUDY@UK.AC.POLY-NORTH-LONDON.CLUSTER If it would help, I can briefly summarise what I have been investigating. Basically, there are TIMETABLING AIDS which help, mainly interactively, the timetabler sort out the activities that need to be run ie courses into timeslots during the week, avoiding clashes of staff, student groups etc. ROOM BOOKING packages (of which there are very few) take the already worked out timetable, on the other hand, and help the administrator allocate rooms for the classes to be held in. SPACE ALLOCATION AND TIME TABLING packages (of which there are even fewer!) purport to allocate staff to courses, courses to rooms etc etc all in one process, thereby optimising the use of resources in terms of space, staff and time. CELCAT is a TIMETABLING AID in that it does not help in the process of allocating rooms by size, capacity or facilities etc. as part of its process. It, very successfully, AIDS the timetabler with the CONFLICT MANAGEMENT required to ensure that all the courses get taught to all the student groups by all the relevant staff - but it does also schedule an appropriate room at the same time. Of true resource allocation packages, there are maybe THREE in exisitence and all are being developed, pilotted or actually running. Leicester Polytechnic is developing the original DES SATS package in Oracle and C, and I am evaluating it at the moment for the DES. It is extremely flexible, and potentially very good, but horribly un-user- friendly as yet! IBM have a Schools Timetabling System (STS) which they are now upgrading to include resource allocation within it and Manchester Poly use it in one Faculty. I have an offer to try our data on it later this year. Finally, a company called SCIENTIA also have a schools package which they are now developing for FE and HE and are looking for volunteer pilot sites ... ! Additionally, Limerick NIHE have their own system developed inhouse which went through an abortive marketing phase, and I have trialled that as well. It is particularly suitable to modular-type courses which the others I mention above are not AS YET. Useful contacts for you: Leicester Polytechnic - Dr. Allan Bowles, School of Computing Tel: 0533 551551 IBM - Neil Jepson, PO Box 41 Northern Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire Tel: 0705 323370 Scientia - Dr Geoffrey Forster, 150 Brompton Road, London SW4 1HX Tel: 071-823-9814 Limerick NIHE - George Hayes, Admin. Computing Prices vary from 800 (IBM) to 15000 (Scientia)! Hope this is of some help. Please mention my name if you contact any of the above (it helps my work with them!) Let me know what you do. Judy Evans From: Edwards B M In response to your request, we at the University of Glamorgan are currently implementing Syllabus + from Scientia Software as a university-wide timetabling, room booking, examinations system. Brian Edwards Deputy Head of IT Centre University of Glamorgan Tel: 01443 482445 Fax: 01443 482426 Email: bedwards@itc.glamorgan.ac.uk