GUIDANCE FOR SCHOOL STAFF ON COMPLETION OF
WELCOME WEEK TIMETABLES FOR NEW UG STUDENTS
2015 edition
1. Planning
Timetable templates and guidance can be found at:
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/academicregistry/office/welcomeweekregiandpubs/welcomeweek
The purpose of these timetables is to provide new students with a standard timetable of all central and
school events for their programme during Welcome Week.
New students will access these timetables from the website for new students (from 14 August) by
clicking on the name of their programme. (Schools are free to distribute their timetables by other
means as well.)
Please use this email address for all Welcome Week communications: welcome-week@bristol.ac.uk
2. Timetable templates
Please use the timetable template provided, which includes the main central events that should appear
on all timetables and has been produced in Word format. Please do not use a previous template or
overwrite your last year’s timetable: there are changes.
Maps will no longer appear on the back of the timetable. A separate map will be sent to students with
the timetable in their registration pack.
3. Timetable presentation
Try to make things as clear and straightforward as possible, remember new students may not be
familiar with Bristol or University terminology. Please adopt the same formatting used for the centrally
organised events on the template:
Font
Font size
Style
Locations
Shading for compulsory events
Shading for strongly recommended
events
Arial
Main entries 9 point, explanatory key 8 point
Main entries normal, locations in italic
Room first, then building
Borders & shading, Pattern/style: 25%, Apply to: cell
Borders & shading, Pattern/style: light up diagonal, colour: white,
background 1, darker 25% Apply to: cell
Checklist:
Task
Provide a heading indicating which programme(s) the timetable relates to.
Include somewhere prominent the url(s) for the relevant school/departmental website(s).
Make sure that all timings on each timetable are presented using the 12-hour clock.
Make sure the start and finish times for all events are clear.
Where an event is a “drop-in”, indicate this by use of the symbol #
Indicate by use of shading and symbols (explained in the key above the timetable) the status of
each event (e.g. compulsory, strongly recommended, optional).
Check that all design features will still come across if the timetable is printed out on a black and
white printer.
Spell out in full the location details for each event – building, level, room, etc.
Please include the Google map url for each event on the timetable (using Insert, Hyperlink).
A list of the urls of the most commonly used buildings will be available on the Academic
Registry website in due course.
Complete √
4. Joint Honours programmes
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Staff in the ‘owning’ faculty/school should take the lead in producing the timetable for each cohort,
incorporating activities organised by both schools/departments. Contact with staff in other schools
at an early stage is usually the best way of sorting out plans and avoiding clashes.
Make clear in the event title, or by means of symbols, which school/department is organising each
event, so that students know what to expect.
Make sure that the timetable is stylistically consistent, i.e. that it doesn’t look like two separate
timetables stitched together.
Remember to include urls for the websites for both schools (where appropriate).
Staff are asked to organise at least one event specifically for each cohort of Joint Honours
students. Joint honours schools are encouraged to run introductory talks in collaboration with the
‘other’ school for students on joint programmes.
5. Ring-fenced slots
There are a few specific slots in the week which are ring-fenced for other important activities. Please
do not schedule any school activities at the following times:
• The whole of Monday
• The part of Tuesday when this specific cohort of students will be at face-to-face registration
(plus half an hour either side)
Please contact your FEM who will confirm the precise registration slot for each programme or group
of programmes. It may not necessarily be the same as last year, so please check before making
other plans for Tuesday. You will need to allow time either side of the registration slot – half an hour –
for these pre-registration checks and for contingencies such as longer queues than expected at
registration.
• Wednesday 1 to 2:30pm
• Friday, all day
6. School events
Please make full use of all the remaining slots during the week for scheduling your school/
departmental events. Please refer to the guidance document for details of the essential events you
should include and other non-compulsory events you may wish to add, and try to spread the events
evenly over the whole week, so that students have at least one event to attend each day.
7. Checklist
Task
Get a colleague to proofread your timetables
Has the term Welcome Week been used throughout
Credit bearing activities have NOT been included on the timetable
No events have been scheduled before 10am or after 5pm
Event titles are clear
Sequence of events makes sense
Check clashes (especially with Joint Honours programmes)
Have all the ring-fencing requirements been observed
For school events on Joint Honours timetables is it clear which school/department the
event if for
Does each entry on the timetable include the Google map url for the relevant building
If abbreviations or acronyms are used, is an explanation provided in each case
Are all the timings expressed in a consistent format
Has anything slipped from the bottom of page 1 to the top of page 2
Is there any irrelevant information
Does the whole document look clear and easy to use
Complete √