Timetabling 2014 FAQs
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This document is intended to provide information to staff on timetabling in UCD in a ‘Frequently
Asked Questions’ format. For further information, please refer to the other documents on the
Curriculum Management website:
http://www.ucd.ie/registry/adminservices/curriculum/index.html?show=timetabling
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Q 1: Where can I find information on the Timetable framework? ................................................. 2
Q 2: What are the term dates for 2014/15? ................................................................................... 4
Q 3: Who puts the timetable together? .......................................................................................... 4
Q 4: How can I find out who my Programme timetabling representative is?................................. 4
Q 5: How can I submit timetabling information for 2014/2015?.................................................... 4
Q 6: What are the week ranges referred to in the online timetable? ............................................ 5
Q 7: Is there a generic online timetable? ........................................................................................ 5
Q 8: How can I view my time table for 2014/2015? ....................................................................... 5
Q 9: How can I find out what rooms have been allocated for a particular module? ...................... 6
Q 10: How can I ensure that I retain the same room for my module next year? ........................... 7
Q 11: When is the timetable complete? ......................................................................................... 7
Q 12: My seminars take place in house – do I have to timetable them centrally? Or: ................... 7
Q 13: I don’t need a room allocated: I have access to a room in my School. How can I get this
recorded on the system? .................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Q 13: I want my tutorials to be “on the system”: how can I do this? ............................................. 7
Q 14: Why do I need to provide timetabling information for the 2nd semester? Can’t this be
done later? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7
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Q 15: I want my students to be able to take a particular module in another................................. 8
Q 16: I am responsible for a Graduate Programme: should I record the timetable centrally? ...... 8
Q 17: I want to provide an additional lecture to make up for a lecture missed due to illness or a
Bank Holiday. How can I find out when my students are free to take an additional lecture? ....... 8
Q 18: My students need to attend computer labs. What is the procedure for booking computer
labs? ................................................................................................................................................. 9
Q 19: How can I enable my Computer Lab bookings to appear online so the students know they
have to register to them?................................................................................................................. 9
Q 20: How can I change the number of places offered for the module? ....................................... 9
Q 21: Can I schedule my lecture provisionally and then change the time if I need? ...................... 9
Q 22: How do I know what tutorial times will suit my students? ................................................. 10
Q 23: I have a large module and need lots of tutorials – what about the timing of these? ......... 10
Q 24: Can I see when a particular staff member has lecturing commitments? ............................ 10
Q 25: What is the deadline for completing the timetable for the coming academic year? ......... 10
Q 26: I cannot see a particular item of scheduling on my online timetable – why is this? …....... 10
Q 27: I have specific requirements regarding location / equipment for my classes. Who can
address these issues? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..11
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Q 1: Where can I find information on the Timetable framework?
It is available on the Administrative Services/Curriculum Management website at:
http://www.ucd.ie/registry/adminservices/curriculum/index.html?show=timetabling
Q 2: What are the term dates for 2014/15?
Term dates for next year are available at:
http://www.ucd.ie/students/documents/201415_td.pdf
The week ranges that are used for timetabling – which show the week numbers – are also
available on the Curriculum Team webpage:
http://www.ucd.ie/registry/adminservices/curriculum/documents2013/Weekranges_timetablin
g_201515.pdf
Q 3: Who puts the timetable together?
The University’s timetable is a collaborative effort.
In most Programme areas there is a committee established to put together a Programme
timetable. In other areas there are stage co-ordinators and administrators who build the
timetable for their area. In all cases, timetables are drawn up locally and recorded centrally.
The Programme timetablers in turn liaise with representatives from Administrative Services and
Campus Services’ Room Allocations team who jointly work to record the online timetable. It is
important that the timetable recorded reflects what happens ‘on the ground’ as closely as
possible, and that all capacities and Curriculum Management information are updated before
time tabling requests are submitted to room.allocations@ucd.ie. All rooms allocated are done
so based on the maximum capacity limit set for modules or CRN’s and under no circumstances
can Room Allocations allocate rooms with an insufficient physical capacity.
Q 4: How can I find out who my Programme timetabling representative is?
This varies from Programme to Programme, but in every case your Programme Office will be
able to put you in touch with your timetabling representative.
Q 5: How can I submit timetabling information for 2014/2015?
In 2013, a standard format was introduced for the submitting of timetabling information. This
new procedure is to ensure that all the necessary information is communicated, and to avoid
the requirement for ‘expertise’ in reading varying and individualised approaches to timetables.
Undergraduate timetable amendments should be submitted using the extract emailed out by
Room Allocations. This extract represents the scheduling of the previous term, and will include
full instructions for identifying changes or additions to be made, which will represent the
timetable submission for the coming year.
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Timetabling information for undergraduate programmes is formally the responsibility of the
Programme Office, although Schools are often best placed to provide detailed information on
the requirements for tutorials and practicals.
For Graduate Taught programmes, it is most often the relevant School who provides relevant
scheduling information. While Room Allocations provide timetable extracts for all
undergraduate scheduling, this is not the case for graduate courses. The graduate time tabling
form can be downloaded from the Curriculum Team website (linked below) and should be
submitted to room.allocations@ucd.ie;
http://www.ucd.ie/registry/adminservices/curriculum/index.html?show=timetabling
Q 6: What are the week ranges referred to in the online timetable?
The week ranges that students see in their calendars, and that are used on the online timetable
are available on the timetabling website:
http://www.ucd.ie/registry/adminservices/curriculum/index.html?show=timetabling
Odd weeks in semester one would be weeks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and so on.
In semester two, which starts with week 20, even weeks are weeks 20, 22, 24, and so on.
Q 7: Is there a generic online timetable?
An online timetable is available without login, on the following webpage:
http://www.ucd.ie/registry/generalreferencetimetable.html
This will show the timetable for the current academic year until about the middle of May each
year, when it will switch over to the following year.
This allows timetable searches by Programme, School or module, and is intended as a guide
only; it is subject to change.
Once registered, each student has their own, personalised online timetable, which includes all
their elective modules. IT Services also push scheduling information that has been centrally
recorded into students’ Google calendars.
Some Programme Offices would have paper copies of the Programme timetable by stage once it
has been finalised for the year.
Q 8: How can I view my timetable for 2014/2015?
Once the timetable has been recorded, it is available for staff in the SIS menu, by Programme,
School or individual module detail. https://sisweb.ucd.ie/usis/W_WEB_WELCOME_PAGE
Access to SISweb is available through single sign-in through UCD Connect.
Alternatively, use the link above and your personnel number and PIN to login, and under the
Faculty Services Tab, select ‘Timetables’.
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You should now see the below screen with various options for viewing your timetables.
Major Timetable: The first option allows you to view timetables for majors in your College (e.g.
by lectures, tutorials, practical’s, gradable crns, or full timetable)
Compare Major Timetables: The second option allows you to compare the timetables for two
majors which you can select.
Module Timetable Search: The third option allows you to search by module and view the
timetable for that module.
Q 9: How can I find out what rooms have been allocated for a particular module?
You can use the online timetable to view room information once the timetable has been
finalised. Rooms are subject to change prior to registration due to capacity constraints.
However should such changes be required following the completion of the timetabling process,
the relevant School(s) will be notified. Rooms should be reviewed by staff in the relevant
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School(s) prior to the start of each semester as these are subject to change and consolidation
depending on registration numbers during the timetabling process.
Q 10: How can I ensure that I retain the same room for my module next year?
It is not possible to ensure the same room from year to year. As timetabling requirements tend
to change from year to year, it is not practice that rooms are fixed to particular modules. Room
Allocations endeavour to accommodate all room requests, though this may not always be
possible at certain timeslots due to high demand.
Q 11: When is the timetable complete?
While the timetable will be available to students by the end of July, the rooms allocated to
these bookings may still be subject to change dependant on capacity and availability
requirements prior to the start of term. If it is necessary to send a timetable to students prior to
the start of term, it is important to highlight on correspondence that the timetable remains
provisional at this point in time. All students should be referred to their personalised online
timetable in the first instance.
Q 12: My seminars take place in house – do I have to timetable them centrally?
All teaching contact hours must be recorded centrally so they can appear on students’
timetables. Please pass these details on to your Programme timetabling representative.
Please use the form provided by Room Allocations to communicate scheduling details to
room.allocations@ucd.ie.
Q 13: I want my tutorials to be “on the system”: how can I do this?
In order for tutorials to appear online, they must be recorded in the central timetable. This
information should be passed on to your Programme timetabling representative who will
incorporate it into the Programme timetable and it will be recorded centrally.
It is important to remember that before any scheduling can be recording on the online
timetable, it is necessary that module details are updated in Curriculum Management and that
the module and all relevant CRN’s capacities are correct. All rooms allocated are done so based
on the maximum CRN capacity limit set and under no circumstances can Room Allocations
allocate rooms with an insufficient physical capacity.
Q 14: Why do I need to provide timetabling information for the 2nd semester? Can’t this be
done later?
Students need to register to all of their credits at the beginning of the academic year. They
need to know when modules are timetabled so they can register to modules without clashes
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and complete their registration. Hence the 2nd semester timetable is required in time to record
it in detail prior to the start of Registration in August 2014.
Graduate courses, which are not subject to the Horizons programme, or to the timetable
framework that is in use throughout the University at UG level, can be more flexible about some
scheduling details, although any such changes are subject to room constraints and availability.
Q 15: I want my students to be able to take a particular module in another Programme: how
can I achieve this?
To facilitate this, you should get in touch with the relevant Programme timetabling contact, to
ensure that arrangements are made to synchronise timetables, and to ensure that there is
capacity available on the module.
Q 16: I am responsible for a Graduate Programme: should I record the timetable centrally?
Yes. All graduate taught timetables should be recorded centrally to both enable the University
to have a clearer picture of all its resource requirements and also to provide a better service to
Graduate students.
Unlike undergraduate scheduling, it cannot be assumed that graduate scheduling will be rolled
forward to the new term automatically. Please contact room.allocations@ucd.ie with details of
your course schedule using the Graduate and Evening Timetable Request Form available from
the Administrative Services/Curriculum Management website at:
http://www.ucd.ie/registry/adminservices/curriculum/index.html?show=timetabling.
Note: Should a module be no longer offered, it is important that this information be
communicated to both curiculum@ucd.ie and room.allocations@ucd.ie.
Q 17: How can I find out when my students are free to take an additional lecture? I want to
provide an additional lecture to make up for a lecture missed due to illness or a Bank Holiday.
In a modularised environment, it can be difficult to find a time which will suit all students given
their myriad of commitments. Ideally consultation with the students will provide suggested
times which may suit. However, any additional lecture, if it involves a change from the usual
time, should remain offline, as changes in lecture times will inevitably result in timetable clashes
for students, and subsequent consternation.
Q 18: My students need to attend computer labs. What is the procedure for booking
computer labs?
Computing facilities in the following buildings are managed by the Room Allocations team:
Daedalus (Managed by I.T. Services out of term), Agriculture, Engineering, Veterinary Science,
Newstead and Health Sciences.
Computer Labs in other buildings are managed locally.
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You should submit your requirements for the computer labs to Room Allocations as part of your
School/Programme timetable clearly specifying when the lab is needed. You will also need to
state the capacity required.
Please note that no bookings for computer labs in the Daedalus Building can be accommodated
between 12noon and 2pm, Monday to Friday.
Q 19: How can I enable my Computer Lab bookings to appear online so the students know
they have to register to them?
Once your timetable is received, Room Allocations process it and make sure that all the
components including computer labs appeared online. If you do not want the computer Lab
bookings to appear online, but merely wish to book the facility, you should specify this when
requesting the booking.
Q 20: How can I change the number of places offered for the module?
Capacity Management should be done via the Module List Management page in the Curriculum
Management System. This enables you to make changes to the overall number of places
available on a module, broken down into its constituent parts, Core/Option, In Programme
Elective, Elective and International. The Module List Management Page will be available until
31st July 2014.
Care should be taken to set an appropriate capacity for the number of expected students. The
Room Allocations team need to allocate a room large enough to take all the students indicated
by the capacity noted on the module descriptor. Should a room not be available at the
requested time, Schools may be asked to adjust the capacity of the module or to change the
time of the lecture to a time where there is appropriately sized accommodation available.
The details of capacity per CRN (i.e. capacity of individual lectures, tutorials, practicals, etc) are
managed by Room Allocations, and any changes to these should be communicated to
room.allocations@ucd.ie
Q 21: Can I schedule my lecture provisionally and then change the time if I need?
It is better to wait until you are certain of the time the lecture will run before scheduling it,
since changes made afterwards can cause considerable difficulties to other timetablers, and it
can prove difficult to allocate a room.
Prior to the start of Registration, it is possible, though not encouraged, to change the time of a
lecture. Given the various elements involved in timetabling, and all the dependencies, it can be
very disruptive to change the timing of something, so serious consideration should be given
before any such changes are made
However, once registration has begun, any changes to lecture times are made only in the most
exceptional circumstances, since any change to times will inevitably give rise to clashes which
may not be resolvable.
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Q 22: How do I know what tutorial times will suit my students?
In general, the more offerings of a tutorial there are, the more likely it is to suit more students.
However, if there is only one offering of a tutorial, and all students must attend, account must
be taken of other core modules’ timetabling and the tutorial should be scheduled according to
the availability of the lecturer/tutor and taking into consideration the core timetable.
It is better to schedule a tutorial that you know can be delivered and add another afterwards if
required than to schedule two offerings and cancel one afterwards. Students may well have
chosen the module on the basis that it suits their timetable, and to change it once registration
has begun will seem arbitrary and unfair.
Q 23: I have a large module and need lots of tutorials – what about the timing of these?
With large modules that have multiple offerings of small group tutorials or seminars, these are
generally spread throughout the week at different times, depending on room availability. It is
important to communicate to Room Allocations however, the pattern of tutorial delivery.
For example, is the tutorial every fortnight, to alternate with another (partner) module, so the
same students go to the same room every week for different tutorials; or is the same room to
be used for offerings of tutorials for this module on an odd week/even week basis, so the same
tutor goes to the same room every week to deliver a tutorial?
Q 24: Can I see when a particular staff member has lecturing commitments?
Unfortunately we do not have a facility for incorporating a staff timetable into general
timetabling activities.
Q 25: What is the deadline for completing the timetable for the coming academic year?
It is intended that timetabling activity be completed by 30st May 2014. This applies to
undergraduate as well as graduate programmes. However local arrangements may result in
earlier deadlines as Programme Offices may require time to process timetabling requests.
If you cannot meet this deadline, please advice both curriculum@ucd.ie and
room.allocations@ucd.ie when you expect to be able to provide this information.
Note: Some detailed timetabling information on tutorials, practicals, etc, may not be available
at this point. This information can be provided slightly later if necessary.
Q 26: I cannot see a particular item of scheduling on my online timetable – why is this?
There are a number of reasons why requested scheduling may not be visible online. Possible
reasons for this can be that Curriculum Management has not been updated, the module or CRN
capacities have not been updated, or the CRN capacity has been manually over enrolled. In all
these cases Room Allocations will be unable to schedule your classes. For clarification you
should contact room.allocations@ucd.ie.
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It is also important to note that timetables may be in flux until the first day of term. However
should the Room Allocations team need to make changes to the timetable in the week before
the start of term, the appropriate module co-ordinator will be contacted and informed of this.
Q 27: I have specific requirements regarding location / equipment for my classes. Who can
address these issues?
The time table submission form issued by Room Allocations, is the appropriate format for
making such requests. The time table submission form has fields for requesting both “Location”
& “Special Requirements”. Please review the Further Explanation section on the time table
submission form for full instructions regarding submission of such requests.
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