Copyright © 2006, Infinite Campus, Inc. All rights reserved. Scheduling: Using Theory to Generate Best Practice

Copyright © 2006, Infinite Campus, Inc. All rights reserved. Agenda Scheduling Theory The Scheduling Process Building the Master Schedule Conflict/Issue Detection Request Loading

Copyright © 2006, Infinite Campus, Inc. All rights reserved. Concepts of Master Schedule Building Masterful scheduling IS knowing how to create a Master Schedule using multiple pieces of information. Master scheduling is NOT about software, it is about preparation. Good preparation needs to happen regardless of the software

Copyright © 2006, Infinite Campus, Inc. All rights reserved. The Scheduling Process Allocation and Appropriations Curriculum Development/Revision Registration Process Completing and Refining the Tallies Gathering and Dealing with Scheduling Exceptions Conflict Resolution

Copyright © 2006, Infinite Campus, Inc. All rights reserved. Allocations and Appropriation Student Centered Teacher Centered FTE’s allocated to department, schedule built from that. Majority of our schools are in this area. Possible reasons for not basing scheduling purely on student requests: Compensatory funds Grant money State-required remediation Tenure/contract issues. Arena/ cafeteria style. Model and process used in building master schedule falls on a continuum based upon numerous factors. Schedules are purely request driven.

Copyright © 2006, Infinite Campus, Inc. All rights reserved. Building the Master Schedule: Curriculum Departmental Planning Course numbers and names should be district driven Course Descriptions Sequenced Section Numbers  Paying attention to same section rule usage. Department Assignment

Copyright © 2006, Infinite Campus, Inc. All rights reserved. Departments in Campus Grade Levels  Allows loading of requests by grade levels “Unique” Courses  Creation of a temporary department for schedule building and loading. AP/IB ELL Career Development/vocational

Copyright © 2006, Infinite Campus, Inc. All rights reserved. Building the Master Schedule: Course Setup/Revision Required Checkbox  ONLY function is to filter data on the Requests Satisfied report Checked = required in the dropdown Not Checked = elective in the dropdown Terms, Schedules, Periods  Section size on the grid on the Wizard  Units on student schedule Q1Q2Q3Q4 ABABABAB 1 2 On a 4 term, 2 period schedule (A/B Day) calendar: A semester long every other day course would be 2T,1S,1P A year long every other day course would be 4T,1S,1P A semester long every day course would be a 2T,2S,1P

Copyright © 2006, Infinite Campus, Inc. All rights reserved. Building the Master Schedule: Reports Requests Satisfied-totals.  Start & finish the process with this report. Request Conflicts-combinations of course placement to avoid  AP US History v. music courses Request Detail-what students have requested a specific course (appropriate placement, pre- requisites, etc) Proper planning using these reports will help create a schedule that will better fulfill the requests of students & create balanced sections.

Copyright © 2006, Infinite Campus, Inc. All rights reserved. Master Schedule Building 1. “Gotta Have” Courses that due to resource scheduling (room, equipment, staff) or tradition must be placed in a particular period. 2. Singletons 3. Doubletons 4. Tripletons 5. Small Departments (Art, FACS, etc) 6. Core Departments (Social Studies, Science, Math, English) When building the master schedule, it is recommended to place sections in the following order as a starting point:

Copyright © 2006, Infinite Campus, Inc. All rights reserved. Conflict/Issue Detection The Schedule Wizard may be used as an assistive build tool to help avoid placing singletons in conflict if students have requested both courses.

Copyright © 2006, Infinite Campus, Inc. All rights reserved. Request Loading When loading requests, requests for courses that will “drive the schedule” should be loaded first  Singletons/doubletons  AP/IB courses  Music courses  Special Education  English as a Second Language Once these have been loaded, the remainder of the requests will be loaded in student schedules.  Full Load  Department Load. As a reminder, by loading a department at a time, you are placing departments in priority over each other.