Timetabling @ Leeds
Beckett: The story so far
Auto-scheduling and beyond
Agenda
•
•
•
•
Who we are
How we timetable at Leeds Beckett
Journey so far
Future developments
Leeds Beckett University
• New name!
• 190-year history of education
• Founded in 1824 as Leeds
Mechanics Institute
• Customer Service Excellence
• Investors in People Gold
• RoSPA Gold
• Stats
– 28,000 students
– 2,900 staff
• Estate
– Headingley Campus
– City Campus
The timetabling planning process
Timetabling stats for a typical semester
Mar
Input timetable requests into
Data Capture Database
Apr
Input timetable into CMIS
May
Run auto scheduling process
Jun
Consolidation period
Jul
Aug
Publish!
How the timetable is constructed
Parameters
The timetable is constructed within the current agreed
timeframes as per our current Timetable Policy:
• Mon, Tues, Thurs between 09.00-18.00hrs
• Wednesday 09.00-12.00hrs
• Friday 09.00-17.00hrs
The majority of events are auto-scheduled using our timetabling
software CMIS. Although some events including sessions that
run outside the above timeframes are manually scheduled.
How the timetable is constructed
Constraints
The following hard constraints are applied during
the auto scheduling process:
• 1 day free from teaching (staff & students)
• No more than 4 hours consecutive teaching
• Approved staff availability forms
NB – faculties can also add additional constraints
such as specified days (event specs), event
orders and timings (orderings and blocks).
How students access their timetable
• Google Calendar on
Mobile device or PC
(at least twice a day)
• On-line timetables via
Student Portal (updated
in real time)
• Student guidance here
• Staff guide here
Journey so far…
Pre-2009:
Timetabling
devolved to
faculties /
manual process
Small, central
“help desk”
team based in
Registry
Poor
space utilisation
2009 AIMS consultancy report recommendations:
New central
team created
Move Timetable
Support to
Estates
Auto-scheduling
project launched
Why improve?
• Pre-2009…
– Individual student timetables
– Eportal – staff/students can view timetables online 24/7
– Google Calendar – student timetables can be
exported to student calendar
• Drivers for change…
– Student Experience/NSS
– Space & Utilisation
– External market
Why auto-schedule?
Follow
Sector Best
Practice
Improve
Student
Experience
NSS results:
“timetabling”
a common
theme
Student
Union
on board
Consolidate
Mixed
Practice
Inconsistent
timetabling
methods
Over-reliance
on manual
scheduling
Evidence
shows full
autoscheduling is
essential to
address
room
utilisation
and enhance
the student
experience
Benefits
• Common system for collecting timetabling
data
• Work to the same deadlines
• Provide a consistent student experience
• Utilise teaching space usage more
efficiently
Objectives
• The University develop a new timetabling process using auto
scheduling in a single set of operations for all faculties.
• Information on course and module management be held in
Banner/CMIS tables and that these be the definitive master
records, rolled over and verified annually.
• Data for timetabling is collated using consistent processes
across the University for Data Collection.
• All faculties adopt the same procedures for timetabling.
Issues to address
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Profile
Data Quality
Protocols and principles
Timetabling policy
Data collection (Timetable requests)
Constraints
Staffing
Communications
The Timetabling Project 2010
• Timetabling Project to automate the timetable
– Objectives
– Guiding principles
– Benefits
• Project Board established
• Working groups created to focus on:
–
–
–
–
Data Quality
Data Collection
Timetabling Policy
Academic Work Planning
• Raised profile (CMT/SU)
• Communications strategy/model
Communication Strategy
Audience
Nov
Milestones:
Concept launch
Support Staff
•Timetablers
•Course Admin
•COO’s
Update meetings
with timetablers
(TUG)
Stakeholders
•IMTS
•RSO
•Project Board
•Estates
Jan
Meet with Deans
---Meet with COOs
---FLT
meetings
Project Board
---Working Grps
Feb
Launch of data collection
process
TUG
Academic
Delivery
Planners
Training /
TUG
FLT
meetings
AET
CAF
FBL
HSS
Project Board
---Working Grps
---Estates
Newsletter
Mar
Apr
Data Collection
Window
TUG /
COO’s
TUG /
COO’s
Meet with
STARS
Open
Forums
Open Forums
Meet with
Subject group
leaders
---Data collection
workshops
Data
collection
workshops
---Feature in
staff
magazine
LS126
Faculty
Newsletters
VC Newsletter
Project Board
---Network
events
Project Board
---Estates
Newsletter
Project
Board
Project Board
---Estates
Newsletter
External
•SERCO
Others
•Trade Unions
•HR
•CMT
May
Jun
Auto-scheduling
process
Timetable
Support
Training /
TUG
Meet with SU
Student
•SU
•STARS
•All students
Academics
•Deans
•Assoc Deans/COO’s
•Academic
Champions
•Subject group
leaders
•All staff
Dec
Student
newspaper story
Jul
Publish
Timetables
Portal
Announcements
Consultancy
Period
CMT
update
Meet with HR &
Unions
---CMT update
CMT
update
CMT
update
CMT
update
CMT
update
CMT
update
CMT
update
CMT
update
What happened next?
• February 2011
– On-line data collection system launched
– Timetabling Policy established
– Staff availability process agreed
• April 2011
– Deadline for receipt of all timetable requests
• May 2011
– Auto-scheduling for the first time 2011/12
• September 2011
– Semester one timetable published 1st September
Lessons learnt
• Data Quality:
– Students not tied to modules on Banner
– Course structures not set up on Banner
– Incorrect data entered into CMIS
• Events created with too many multiple conflicting constraints
• Event specs used to manipulate event start and finish times
• Deadlines for timetabling and staff information not met or of poor
quality
• Data added to on-line data collection system after module had been
finalised by timetablers
• Excessive teaching hours for staff
• Software (bugs)
Recommendations
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Software upgrade
More time for data validation
Enhance on-line data collection system
Review stages/order of auto timetabling
Create a separate dataset for each semester
Review staff time constraints
Review course structure information/module data
Remove Friday 5-6pm slot
Consider new approaches to make timetables more student
focused in relation to student experience.
If at first you don’t succeed…
•
•
•
•
•
Jan 2012
Dec 2012
Aug 2013
Dec 2013
Apr 2014
–
–
–
–
–
Refocus of UG curriculum
1st Student survey on timetabling
Timetable support moved to Registry
2nd Student survey on timetabling
Launched Timetabling Strategy &
Development Group (TSDG)
• Successfully completed 8 auto-scheduling
exercises to date!
Plans for 2015
• Student Experience Themes (TSDG)
• Revise Timetabling Policy
• CMISGo
– Improve service/accessibility
– Annual Timetable/Single dataset
– CMIS upgrades
• Growth
– Space Refurbs
– Scenario planning/modelling
Change the culture
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
People NOT systems
Psychology of timetabling
Students – survey data conflicting requirements
Staff – feeling of losing ‘control’, what else?
Debunking the myths
Keeping people “on message”
Unpicking perceived “timetabling” issues to
identify the real issues
• Sanity tip – create a “crazy TT requests” email
folder!
Student Feedback
As usual with this university i have once AGAIN recived notice of my timetable being avaiable
for next semester online however once AGAIN, this is not the case and im left in this akward
situation where im no longer in Leeds, i have no intention of returning to Leeds until my
lectures etc begin however due to the false rather pathetic emails stating i can access
something which you have failed to provide for your students.
I do regret to have to send this rather negative email however, the issues within this
university are beyond belief for a education facility and if this continues i shall be making a
formal complaint via the vice chancellor of Leeds Met.
I do hope it doesnt come to this and i hope you can Rectify your mistakes. Please
understand that as a student here we NEED this information early and without it, like at the
beginning of this academic year i missed 3-4 weeks of a module due to the poor organisation
of the staff involved with organising and handing out timetables.
Please for your sake and all the students within Leeds Met............FIX THIS and stop wasting
our time.
This was an email from a student who had in fact got a timetable:
Was is in for 3 days and had no more than 2 hour gaps between sessions.
In other words, the perfect timetable – published earlier than ever on December 12th!
Staff Feedback
I will ask Timetabling if we can adjust anything directly and perhaps
swap things between
I will also pursue with HR and the guidelines for deployment as I do
think there are 'right to a family life' human rights issues here. It is
unfortunate the timetable has fallen this way and for most staff most of
this time this doesn't happen.
But we must pursue this and make some changes for the reasons you
state. It may be that some early or later starts are needed but not both
on all 3 days.
This was an email from a member of staff suggesting a time
constraint amounts to an infringement on their human rights!
Any questions?