Fall 2017/Winter 2018
Timetable in DCU
December 5, 2016
Fall 2017/Winter 2018 Timetable Production Schedule
2
Date Activity
December 1st DCU is open for Fall 2017/Winter 2018
data entry.
February 1st DCU is closed for data entry; Deadline
for STA forms.
April 10th Deadline to review prerequisites at the
course levelMay 2nd Fall 2017/Winter 2018 timetable
uploaded to Banner
Fall 2017/Winter 2018 Timetable Production Schedule
3
Date Activity
May 2nd – May
12thDepartmental Timetable Coordinators
review timetable and submit changes.
May 26th Timetable is published on Carleton
Central
August 31st Post room assignments on Carleton
Central + students are notified of a
time/room change via auto email
notification
DCU
� DCU is a web-based module that eases the
collection of departmental scheduling
information and ensures that departmental
users are submitting information in a common,
consistent and understandable format.
� Go to http://dcu.carleton.ca and login to DCU
using your network login and password.
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DCU
Email [email protected] if
� you have not been given access to all the
departments under your administration
� an active catalogue course is missing under
Courses
� a course that is no longer active in the catalogue
is displayed under Courses
� an active instructor is missing under Instructors
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How to start
� When you are ready to edit/enter course
information for the 201730-201810 timetabling
cycle, run SCH_INTERNAL_XLS or SCH_INTERNAL
report in Banner for the 201630 and 201710
terms.
� Mark the changes on a copy of the report.
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SES website – excellent source of
information!
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� Timetabling Documentation:http://carleton.ca/ses/content-timetabling-administrators/
Special Timetabling Arrangement
(STA) Requests
� STA requests DID NOT roll over from last year.
� Departmental Timetabling Coordinators collect STA
information from instructors
� We suggest that the STA data collection form
(http://carleton.ca/ses/wp-content/uploads/STA-
data-collection-form.pdf) is emailed to instructors;
they complete the form and return it to the
Departmental Timetabling Coordinator
8
Special Timetabling Arrangement
(STA) Requests
� When an instructor makes an STA request, the
Departmental Timetabling Coordinator contacts the
Chair of the department to assign an appropriate
category to the request.
� Then the Departmental Timetabling Coordinator
enters the STA information, including the assigned
category, into the DCU.
�STA Examples: http://carleton.ca/ses/timetabling/preparing-for-
coordinated-timetable/examples-of-special-
timetable-arrangements/9
Special Timetabling Arrangement
(STA) Requests
� Category 1 (Legislative Requirements): Carleton
Human Rights Policy
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Special Timetabling Arrangement
(STA) Requests
� Category 2 (Reported Circumstances): A medical
condition not covered by Category 1;
family/personal issues of a serious nature, other
official academic responsibilities
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Special Timetabling Arrangement
(STA) Requests
� Category 3 (May Accommodate): Category 3
requests will be considered and will be
accommodated if possible
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Special Timetabling Arrangement
(STA) Requests
� Requests of preferential or convenience matter
should not be submitted as STA.
� Use AM/PM preference on the Instructor Editing
screen to submit such requests.
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Special Timetabling Arrangement
(STA) Requests
� Not approved as STA:
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Forced times
� Forced times requests (the proposed schedule along
with the rationale) must be submitted to the
University Timetabling Committee, for approval
review.
� This proposal can be sent via memo or an email to
Suzanne Blanchard.
� Approval is NOT necessary for contract instructors.
Details regarding contract instructors should be
recorded in the Time Requirement text box on the
Component Editing screen in DCU.
15
Forced rooms
� Departmental rooms can be forced by departmental
administrators in the DCU without approval; this
information will not be purged.
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Day and Evening patterns
� Every day is divided into 3-hour blocks
� If the course is offered twice or three times a week,
all pieces should have the same start time.
� If the course is offered twice a week, there should
be a day in between the offerings (MW, TR, WF)
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Most popular patterns
� 1X3 is the simplest pattern since all we need to do is
offer it once within a block every day of the week
(8:30 – 11:30, 11:30 – 14:30 and 14:30 – 17:30
during the day and 18:00 – 21:00 in the evening).
� 2X15 This pattern offered Tuesday and Thursday,
Monday & Wednesday, Wednesday & Friday twice
within a block (8:30 – 10:00, 10:00 – 11:30, etc.…).
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Day and Evening patterns
� 3X1 Offered on three times within a block (8:30 –
9:30, 9:30 – 10:30, 10:30 – 11:30, etc.). Please note
that 3X1 pattern is VERY RARELY used at Carleton!
� Other patterns are set up as subsets or
combinations of the 1X3, 2X15 and 3X1 patterns.
19
Off-pattern timeslot requests
� If a timeslot selected for a course overlaps the
blocks, it is called off-pattern. For example, 12 – 3
PM timeslot overlaps two blocks: 11:30 – 14:30 and
14:30 – 17:30.
� Off-pattern scheduling arrangements should be
used in exceptional cases only as they affect student
timetables and room utilization.
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Off-pattern timeslot requests
� Off-pattern timeslot requests (the proposed
schedule along with the rationale) must be
submitted to the University Timetabling Committee,
for approval review.
� If the request is approved, the departmental
timetabling coordinator will then enter the off-
pattern timeslot requirement information into the
DCU (Time Requirements text box on the
Component Editing screen).
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Departmental Meetings
� Time requested by academic departments for
departmental meeting or other
administrative/academic activities should not
exceed 3 hours and must follow the time slot
system
� Any requests that fall outside of these parameters
must be sent to the University Timetabling
Committee, for approval.
� If the request is approved, the submitter will be
notified by the UTC, and the departmental
timetabling coordinator will then enter the
departmental meeting information into the DCU.22
TA Ties
� TA Ties are ties between graduate and
undergraduate courses. Teaching assistants (TAs) for
undergraduate courses are typically hired from a
pool of grad students.
� TA Ties ensure that both the graduate course and
undergraduate course are assigned to be scheduled
conflict-free.
� 2016-17 TA Ties have been rolled over into 2017-18
� SCH_TA_TIES_VALIDATION_REPORT displays TA Ties
entered into SZATTDT for a selected department in a
selected term.23
TA Ties
� All changes to TA Ties should be done in SZATTDT
form in Banner.
� SZATTDT is now open for data entry; it will be closed
on February 1, 2017.
� Please note that although we strive to fulfill all TA
Ties, in some cases it is not possible due to other
constraints imposed on courses (e.g. STA requests).
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Course Combinations
� A course combination is a set of courses that are
required to be scheduled conflict free for a specific
number of students in a program.
� Course combinations are entered into the DCU by
departmental timetabling coordinators.
� 60 students in program X will be taking BUSI 1004,
ECON 1000 and BUSI 1800 in the Fall term
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Course Combinations
Academic block:
BUSI 1004 A
BUSI 1800 A
BUSI 1800 A01
ECON 1000 A
ECON 1000 A01.26
Course Combination:BUSI 1004ECON 1000BUSI 1800
�Course combinations are used by the TPHi-Assignermodule to automatically create the required academicblocks which are then used in the timetabling process.
�An academic block is a set of course sections(CRNs) that need to be scheduled conflict free.
Course Combinations
� It is important to capture the program
requirements in all their variety to make sure
that students in the program get a conflict free
timetable.
� Do you have a new program? Have there been
changes for one of your old programs? Do you
wish to restructure an existing course
combination?
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Add a New Course Combination
� When constructing a course combination, the
best starting point is the undergraduate and
graduate calendars.
� Identify the core/elective/optional courses that
are required to be conflict free with each other
so that students in a program can take them in
the same term to fulfill the program
requirements.
� It is not recommended to include more than 6
courses in a course combination. Students rarely
take more than 6 courses in a given term.
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Add a New Course Combination• Start with the program requirements in the
calendar:
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Course Combinations
� Course Combinations are term specific. Fall term
courses are listed in one block and winter term
courses are listed separately in another block.
� You need to know which term (fall or winter) the
courses are offered in so that you can include them
in the appropriate course combination.
� Only one section from a cross-list needs to be
recorded.
� More info on course combinations:
http://carleton.ca/ses/content-timetabling-
administrators/30
Course Combinations Template
� If there is no need to use a specific course
offering OR
� If there is only one section of the course,
LEAVE THE SECTION FIELD BLANK
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Program Registration Report
� SCH_PROGRAM_REGISTRATION_XLS report
displays student registration in a selected term.
� Run the report to see courses in which students
in your department were registered in the
previous academic term.
� Filter the report by Major Description and (for
undergraduate programs only) by Class (U1,
U2…).
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Student Count
� Review student count for your course
combinations
� Student count must be as realistic as possible,
although it is still a guess. Use the SZACOMB form
in Banner to realistically estimate the student
count for a course combination.
� Use REG_ENRPROG report for information on
enrolment by program (undergraduate programs
only). For example, if you have only 50 students in
the program, you should not set the student count
to 100!
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Student Count� Use SZACOMB form in Banner to check how
many students were enrolled
� in each course of a course combination in the
previous like term and
� in all courses of a course combination at the
same time in the previous like term
� SZACOMB counts do not include students who
registered in the course initially but dropped the
course later.
� CUOL courses are excluded from the count.
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Student Count
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Student Count
• Enter the term, the department, select a major code
from the Major pick list and a class (year of study)
code from the Class pick list.
• Enter the courses that form the course combination.
Note that the Number of students enrolled in course
column displays the number of students in the
selected major and class enrolled in each entered
course in the selected term.
• Click on the Calculate total per Combination button
to see the number of students enrolled in all courses
of the course combination in the selected term.
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Restructuring a Course Combination
Example 1� Note two language courses in this course combination
� This course combination claims 30 seats in SPAN1110 and
ITAL1010 for first year BUSI BIB students.
� Most likely students will not be taking both language
courses in the same term.
� It is likely that the students will be taking either SPAN1110
or ITAL1010 in the Fall term to satisfy their language
requirement.
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Course
Combination Program ID Level
Faculty
ID
Department
ID
Faculty
ID
Depart
ment ID Course ID
Catego
ry ID
Studen
t Count
Comme
nt
BUSI BIB Block 1- BUSI BIB 1 1 7BUSI 7BUSI BUSI1004 F C 30
BUSI BIB Block 1- BUSI BIB 1 1 7BUSI 7BUSI BUSI1701 F C 30
BUSI BIB Block 1- BUSI BIB 1 1 7BUSI 8LALS SPAN1110 F C 30
BUSI BIB Block 1- BUSI BIB 1 1 7BUSI 9ECON ECON1000 F C 30
BUSI BIB Block 1- BUSI BIB 1 1 7BUSI 8LALS ITAL1010 F C 30
Restructuring a Course Combination Example 1� To reflect student demand more accurately, it is
recommended to divide the student original combination
into two smaller combination with only one language
course.
� Student count for each new course combination is
assigned proportionally (10 students are expected to take
ITAL1010, 20 students – SPAN 1110).
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Course Combination Program ID Level Faculty ID
Department
ID Faculty ID Department ID Course ID
Category
ID
Student
Count Comment
BUSI BIB Block 1- BUSI BIB 1 1 7 BUSI 7 BUSI BUSI1004 F C 10
BUSI BIB Block 1- BUSI BIB 1 1 7 BUSI 7 BUSI BUSI1701 F C 10
BUSI BIB Block 1- BUSI BIB 1 1 7 BUSI 9 ECON ECON1000 F C 10
BUSI BIB Block 1- BUSI BIB 1 1 7 BUSI 8 LALS ITAL1010 F C 10
Course Combination Program ID Level Faculty ID
Department
ID Faculty ID Department ID Course ID
Category
ID
Student
Count Comment
BUSI BIB Block 2- BUSI BIB 1 1 7 BUSI 7 BUSI BUSI1004 F C 20
BUSI BIB Block 2- BUSI BIB 1 1 7 BUSI 7 BUSI BUSI1701 F C 20
BUSI BIB Block 2- BUSI BIB 1 1 7 BUSI 8 LALS SPAN1110 F C 20
BUSI BIB Block 2- BUSI BIB 1 1 7 BUSI 9 ECON ECON1000 F C 20
Prerequisites
� Prerequisites are not part of DCU
� Prerequisites in Banner have two
levels: course level (SCAPREQ)
and section level (SSAPREQ).
� When the new timetable is built
and uploaded to Banner, course
sections (CRNs) will ”inherit”
prerequisites stored at the course
level (SCAPREQ).39
Course level:
E.g. ECON 2400
(SCAPREQ)
Section level:
E.g. ECON 2400 A
(SSAPREQ)
Prerequisites
Prerequisites at the course level� It is important that you review your prerequisites
at the course level before the first upload, to
make sure that course sections inherit the right
prerequisites.
�For the Fall 2017/winter 2018 timetable
deadline is April 10th
� To review prerequisites stored at the course level,
run the new report SCH_COURSE_LEVEL_PREREQ
(enter the term 201730).
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Prerequisites at the course level� To modify existing prerequisites at the course
level, go to the SCAPREQ form, enter Subject,
Course number and the term 201730, perform
Next Block and click on the Course Prerequisites
Restrictions tab.
� Note: Far Fall/Winter courses enter 201730 even if
the course is offered in the Winter!!! In this case
201730 is not the term when the course is offered,
it is the calendar “effective” term for prerequisites.
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Prerequisites at the course level
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� To change prerequisites at the course level click on
the Maintenance button (if enabled), select copy
restriction, make the change and save.
Prerequisites at the section level� After the first upload, any changes to prerequisites
should be done at both levels (in SCAPREQ and
SSAPREQ).
� At that point, changes made at the course level
will not be passed to the section level and vice
versa.
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DCU Closure� DCU will be closed on February 1st (end of day)
� After DCU is closed for data entry, you will be able
to access DCU to view the data you had submitted
and to assign instructors.
� DCU will be locked in March and April for timetable
building. During these months administrators will
be submitting requests for instructor assignments
through SZACHRU form in Banner.
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Invalid Primary Indicator Assignment Warning
� The warning message will appear for components
with no instructors assigned. Changes will be
saved. Ignore the message.
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DCU Support• Email: [email protected]
• Julia Piatigorskaia: ext. 8877
• Phay Mui: ext. 8803
Documentation: http://carleton.ca/ses/content-
timetabling-administrators/
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Working on the Timetable for Your
Department: Best Practices
Laura Thomas, Administrator
Department of Biology
Institute of Biochemistry
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