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

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Input timetable requests into Data Capture Database

Input timetable into CMIS

Run auto scheduling process

Consolidation period

Publish!

Timetabling stats for a typical semester

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)

• Student guidance here

• On-line timetables via Student Portal (updated in real time)

• Staff guide here

Journey so far…Pre-2009:

2009 AIMS consultancy report recommendations:

Timetabling devolved to faculties /

manual process

Small, central “help desk” team

based in Registry

Poor space utilisation

Auto-scheduling project launched

Move Timetable Support to

Estates

New central team created

Why improve?

• Pre-2009…– Individual student timetables– Eportal – staff/students can view timetables on-

line 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?

Consolidate Mixed

Practice

Inconsistent timetabling methods

Over-reliance on manual scheduling

Follow Sector Best

Practice

Evidence shows full

auto-scheduling is essential to

address room

utilisation and enhance the student experience

Improve Student

Experience

NSS results: “timetabling”

a common theme

Student Union

on board

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 StrategyAudience Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul

Milestones: Concept launch Launch of data collection process

Data Collection Window

Auto-scheduling process

Publish Timetables

Support Staff•Timetablers•Course Admin•COO’s

Update meetings with timetablers

(TUG)

TUG Academic Delivery Planners Training /

TUG

Timetable Support

Training /TUG

TUG / COO’s

TUG / COO’s

Student•SU•STARS•All students

Meet with SU Meet with STARS

Open Forums

Open Forums Student newspaper story

Portal Announcements

Academics•Deans•Assoc Deans/COO’s•Academic Champions•Subject group leaders•All staff

Meet with Deans----

Meet with COOs----FLT

meetings

FLTmeetings

AETCAFFBLHSS

Meet with Subject group

leaders----

Data collection workshops

Data collection

workshops----

Feature in staff

magazineLS126

Faculty Newsletters

VC Newsletter

Stakeholders•IMTS•RSO•Project Board•Estates

Project Board----

Working Grps

Project Board----

Working Grps----

Estates Newsletter

Project Board----

Network events

Project Board----

Estates Newsletter

Project Board

Project Board----

Estates Newsletter

External•SERCO

Consultancy Period

Others•Trade Unions•HR•CMT

CMT update

Meet with HR & Unions

----CMT update

CMT update

CMT update

CMT update

CMT update CMT

updateCMT

updateCMT

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 – Refocus of UG curriculum• Dec 2012 – 1st Student survey on timetabling• Aug 2013 – Timetable support moved to

Registry• Dec 2013 – 2nd Student survey on timetabling• Apr 2014 – 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 FeedbackAs 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?