Create An Optimized Timetable For Your Department

From UniTimeWiki

If running the solver in the “Check” configuration has resulted in all classes being assigned, you can proceed with creating an optimized timetable for your department. Please note, however, that the ability of the solver to optimize the solution will depend on the amount of flexibility you have allowed in your input data. If the vast majority of your times and rooms have been marked as "Required" there is little or no room for optimization.

In this section another configuration (Default) of the solver will be used which attempts to optimize satisfaction of the preferences that you have entered as well as minimize student conflicts.

1. Unload the data from the solver (click Unload in the Solver screen) if you have not done this already.
2. Set the configuration to Default and load the data, that is:

   a. Click Load.

   b. Watch the progress in the Solver Status part of the page.

   c. When the status is “Awaiting commands…,” click Refresh.

   d. Scroll down to see if there are any problematic warnings.

3. If there are no warnings indicating classes you expect to timetable have not been loaded, click the Start button in the top section of the Solver screen. You may either wait for the solver to finish (most problems have a 30-minute time limit set on the solver) and then proceed as described in the next section (starting with Look At The Properties Of The Timetable), or continue as described below. You can leave the application and do other things, or even log out entirely, without affecting the solver's progress.
4. Progress of the solver can be monitored in the Solver Status frame in the lower left of the screen. For most departmental problems a first complete solution should be found within five minutes and the solver will move on to improving upon this initial solution. This step may take longer if, for instance, you have set many distribution constraints. If a complete solution has not been found after five minutes, you may wish to stop the solver and fix any problems as described in Search For A Complete Timetable (it is not necessary to unload and start the solver with Check configuration).
5. Wait while the solver is fixing the solution. (During the fixing stage, the solver goes through all classes and checks if there are any free times or rooms that would be better for that class – if there are any, it changes the assignment. It only searches for changes that don’t interfere with other classes.) Note: This stage may be skipped in some cases, so don’t worry if you don’t see this status.
6. You can stop the solver at any time when it is trying to improve the current solution. (Improving the solution is more complex than just finding a different time or room which are currently available; that is, more complex than fixing.) The longer you run the solver, the more preferences will be met. The time out is 30 minutes. To stop the solver, click Stop.
7. After you have stopped the solver, click on Student Sectioning. That will try to move students around and reduce the number of student conflicts. When the solver is creating a timetable, it looks at the enrollment data from the last like-semester – using this data, it assigns last like-semester students to classes. (Student conflicts are computed based on last-like semester student demand.)
8. Click Refresh again.

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