cloisters in the sun with the west quad tree

Overview of AY 24/25

As we continue with our multi-year project aimed at enhancing our end-to-end Timetabling process, and after considering your feedback, we will be making some incremental changes to our approach to timetabling for AY24/25.  

 

 

This includes moving away from minimal change and allowing required changes where we can pre rooming. Through this period our primary focus will be to foster close working relationships that facilitate "right first time" processing wherever possible as this will be key in maintaining a positive rooming outcome.

 

 

AY 24/25 High Level Process Flow Diagram

AY 24/25 High Level Process - Right First Time

Pre-Planning

Awareness of Controlled Change  

Pre rooming, we will allow required change where possible, high impact changes will need to be discussed between the School and SMTT. We cannot guarantee all changes can be accommodated.  

Our focus will be on ensuring ‘right first time’ data and processing during this period. 

Critical Historical Clashes Identified  

Where we have large existing clashes, we will work with the relevant stakeholders.  

Staff Roadshows  

We will be setting the scene with Senior Leaders across Colleges at the beginning of December. 

Roadshows for Senior Leaders, Programme/Course Leads, Course / L&T Convenors and Lead Timetablers will then be held locally with each college in January to ensure key colleagues are aligned on roles & responsibilities.  

Accessibility for Continuing Students and Staff  

We will continue the work started last year with continuing students and will look to ensure, where possible, that staff requirements are built into the edit & prep stage of the process.  

Course Requirements / Edit & Prep

Staff Townhall 

Townhall for all staff in February to ensure colleagues across Schools and Colleges are aligned on roles & responsibilities.  

Teaching Staff Consulted on Requirements  

Professional services staff will be in contact with the relevant academic colleagues to confirm: 

  • What courses are rolling over with no change 
  • What courses are rolling over with an element of change (low/high impact) 
  • What are the new course requirements 

Courses should be confirmed as running by ticking the Course Requirements box.  

This year we will not be running the standard spreadsheets of AY23/24 and Schools and Colleges should continue with local arrangements.  

Edit Data on Timetabling Systems 

CMIS will be open from the middle of February to end April to allow School Timetablers to make the required updates. Space Management and Timetabling will run best practice training sessions during this time for staff.  Also during this period we will host weekly calls with Colleges to review progress and discuss proposed high-impact changes.  

Although new courses can be progressed through PIP at any time, new courses which are planned to be offered in AY24/25 must be approved, uploaded, and built in CMIS by the end of April ahead of initial rooming to be included in the AY24/25 timetable.   

Local Space Allocations 

Local space allocations should continue to be made as normal. 

Nominated School Timetabling Contact 

Nominated PS staff to be the point of contact for the Timetabling process:  

  • Join weekly calls to review level of change. 
  • Help maintain standards of data within CMIS events. 
  • Help work through TT clashes. 
  • Help the project understand how requirements are gathered.  

 

Rooming

Central room allocations will take place in May prior to the release of the timetable in early June. 

Unroomed

We will continue with the un-roomed events process followed for AY23/24. Nominated staff in each of the Schools will supporting the resolution of the remaining un-roomed events throughout a focus period in June. 

Change Requests

Following room allocations and the June focus we will revert to essential changes only on the timetable from July. The accepted reasons for change will remain in line with AY23/24. 

Change Request Reasons 

  1. Room no longer required
  2. Central room request
  3. Use of another area's local space
  4. Accessibility requirement not known at the time of rooming
  5. Change in size post enrolment
  6. New course/event introduced
  7. Essential Time/Day change
  8. Challenge with the original equipment and features allocated
  9. 'Opt-out' of lecture recording (as per policy)

Essential changes will not need pre-approval, but where a change makes a significant impact on the timetable, we may need to reach out to the stakeholder involved to understand the impact of not making the changes, we cannot guarantee all changes can be accommodated.   

Further Information and Support

During AY24/25, we will also be looking at other how other universities approach Timetabling, testing and learning to identify potential future improvements. 

 

 

We will be sharing more detail on the approach for AY24/25 as we head into next year through a series of communications and upcoming events for staff.  

If you have any questions, please visit our FAQs or contact the Timetabling Project Team at TimetablingProject@glasgow.ac.uk