Schedule Wizard
January 2010
User Guide
Document Features:
Pre-scheduling Review Process
Student Requests
Using the Schedule Wizard
This document is intended for restricted use only.
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©2010 Infinite Campus, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Table of Contents
Introduction
1
Overview of the Schedule Wizard
2
The Scheduling Process
5
Flowchart
5
Scheduling Checklist
5
Calendars
5
Enrollment
5
User Security
6
Course Cleanup
6
Request Entry
6
Planning the Master Schedule
6
Scheduling and Curriculum Functions
7
Scheduling Course Functions
7
Courses
8
Course Sections
11
Scheduling Rules
15
Rule Combinations
17
Block Schedules
17
Junior High/Middle Schools
18
High School
18
Student Requests
18
Request Options
18
Online Registration
19
Request Wizard
23
Walk-in Scheduler
28
Request Analysis
33
Department Schedule Worksheets
34
The Schedule Wizard
35
Trials
36
The Whiteboard
40
Information Pop-Ups
41
Loading Courses
44
Department Options
45
Renumber All Sections
46
Lock and Unlock Rosters
46
Load and Unload Department
46
Build and Unbuild Department
46
Hide
46
Moving, Building and Deleting Course Sections
47
Assigning Teachers, Rooms and Groups
47
Section Balancing
47
Manual Roster Builder
49
Loading Requests
49
Auto-loading
50
Locking Rosters
50
Conflicts
50
Active Trials
51
Other Scheduling Tools
51
Roster Copy
51
Schedule Gap Filler
52
Scheduling Build Constraints
54
Fill Teams
54
Reports
55
Introduction
This user guide will provide information for the Schedule Wizard, available in the Scheduling module. It also includes student request information and course setup.
The information in this document is divided into concepts corresponding to a specific function of scheduling preparation. Each section contains functional instructions and pictures to guide the user through the tool.
This document does not cover a specific school’s course setup or section placement. This guide provides instruction for using the Schedule Wizard and other scheduling tools. For specific situations, it is recommended that users attend a scheduling training session.
Documentation
All documentation related to scheduling processes is available from the Customer Support Portal (http://support.infinitecampus.com) for easy access and distribution among users. Related documentation is also available from the Help Index within Campus.
Software Support
Contact the building coach or the school district’s Campus Administrator for additional guidance on the Schedule Wizard.
Feature Updates
As of the date of this document, no changes have been made to the features discussed. Please see the most current Release Notes for product fixes and enhancements. Modifications that have recently been announced will be viewable within the Online Help Text when those items have adequately passed quality assurance procedures.
Hardware Requirements
The tasks mentioned in this user guide are compatible with either a PC or a Macintosh. Please see the Supported Platforms Technical Reference for specific requirements.
Overview of the Schedule Wizard
Campus Schedule Wizard is a tool designed to load students into a planned master schedule. The Schedule Wizard honors team membership, maintains gender balance and ensures numerical balance among sections of a course. The Wizard’s drag and drop interface can be configured to match the working style of the schedulers. If a section of a course is moved within a master schedule that is being developed, the Wizard can be configured to instantly reload the requests associated with that course.
Alerts can be set within the Schedule Wizard to help the scheduling team see patterns within the evolving master schedule. While traditional scheduling reports are available, the Schedule Wizard has been designed to save paper by displaying essential information on the interface.
Security and Data Precautions
The Schedule Wizard tool works to fulfill requests into a given trial. As a stand-alone
application that downloads and runs on a user’s computer separate from the Campus server, there are several precautions that should be taken to avoid corrupt data.
•
One computer at a time per school in the Wizard. When trials (versions of the masterassigned identification number. Having multiple computers attempt to save data associated with the same calendar and trial back to the database will cause corrupt information, as the trials will be intermingled in the database.
•
Any changes made should be done using the Schedule Wizard or the Campus application, not both at the same time. Since the Wizard downloads the data and works with it outside of the campus server, data should not be changed in both places at the same time. Doing so would create more course sections and student schedules than are needed.•
Once done with master scheduling for the year, the wizard should NEVER be used to modify or change the year’s schedule. There are several pieces of data that are tied to sections—namely attendance, grades and teacher grade books. If a user were to make significant changes to a schedule once this data was entered, orphaned records would be created. It is highly recommended that a currently active year NEVER be changed in the Wizard.User Security
In addition to calendar rights for the appropriate school calendars, users should have the following rights assigned in order to use the Schedule Wizard.
Campus Tool Name Tool Read Write Add Delete
* Delete rights allow a scheduler the ability to remove the schedule and all associated attendance and grades for students who attended classes within that schedule. These rights should be limited.
** Rights should ONLY be granted to these tools during the master scheduling period. After the master scheduling period has passed, these rights should be removed. Campus recommends one user be in charge of the Scheduling Wizard.
Student Information General
Schedule* X X X X
Allow Unfiltered Search X X X X
Scheduling X X X X Courses X X X X Section X X X X Roster Setup Scheduling Wizard** X X X X Add Course** X X X X
Scheduling Build Constraints** X X X X
Roster Copy** X X X X
Schedule Gap Filler** X X X X
Request Wizard** X X X X
Fill Teams** X X X X
Campus Tool Name Tool Read Write Add Delete
Lunches ** X X X X
Scheduling Group ** X X X X
Reports X X X X
Review the Standard User Rights Technical Reference for information.
Explanation of Tool Right Options
Read – allows a user to view tool, but not make changes Write – allows a user to view tool, and make changes
Add – allows a user to view tool, make changes and add new items
The Scheduling Process
Several people in the school need to communicate for the scheduling process to be successful. School administrators review last year’s setup and determine if changes need to be made; counselors review course requests for student achievement; schedulers revise the master schedule for best school practices.
Flowchart
This flowchart provides a global look at the process of scheduling when viewed in relation to the Schedule Wizard.
Scheduling Checklist
Calendars
Configure the next School Year.
Create a calendar for the next school year.
Add extra days at the beginning and end of the year to allow for professional development workshops and emergency days (snow days).
Roll the existing calendar forward. Select the areas to copy forward. Reference the New Calendar Workflow user reference.
NOTE: Teachers/staff members who have end dates on current District Assignment and/or District Employment records will not roll forward.
Enrollment
Communicate to office staff that enrollments will be rolled forward. State Reporting
enrollment changes made to the current enrollment record will also need to be made in next year’s enrollment record.
Set Next Calendar, Next Grade on the student’s current year enrollment for those who will NOT roll forward by grade sequence or school boundary.
Roll student enrollments forward. Use the first day of school as the start date.
User Security
Add a Scheduling Preparation Tool Right User Group.
Add a Scheduling Wizard Tool Right User Group.
Add a Next Year Calendar Group for each school.
Add the schedulers to the appropriate Tool Right Group(s) and Calendar Group(s).
Course Cleanup
Add new courses that will be offered for the year.
Remove the Active checkmark for courses that will no longer be offered in the next school year.
Verify next year course information that affects scheduling:
Departments
Scheduling priority
Maximum Students
Terms, schedules, periods.
Sections to build
Allow Requests, Allow Teacher Requests
Description – viewable in the Portal for registration and in the Course Catalog.
Input any necessary scheduling rules
Build any necessary course constraints (optional).
NOTE: Course constraints severely restrict the placement of course sections and limit the success of the Schedule Wizard. Use this option sparingly.
Request Entry
Hand enter requests using the walk-in scheduler for special circumstances (students who have particular needs).
Mass enter student requests through the Request Wizard.
Allow students to enter their own requests through the portal.
Planning the Master Schedule
Generate request reports (counts, conflicts, batch, satisfied, detail). These reports used in conjunction with scheduling team and departments of school will guide schools and how many sections to build.
Scheduling and Curriculum Functions
Most schools carry their courses over from year to year to save time. Courses are defined in Campus using the Course folder.
̉ Update the school’s Course Catalog with new courses and/or change courses not offered to inactive.
̉ Verify the courses offered.
̉ Verify the course description and the maximum student number is entered. ̉ Verify the department assigned to the course is correct.
̉ Verify the grading task assignments for each course are correct. ̉ Verify the scheduling and prerequisite rules are correct.
Scheduling Course Functions
Before launching the Schedule Wizard to move courses around and build sections, the available list of courses should be reviewed for accuracy. Users can determine which courses are going to available for the next year. Course numbers can be changed, if desired, and if teaching assignments were rolled with the calendar, these can be verified and/or removed.
NOTE: Before making changes to courses, ensure that the selected calendar and school is the next school year’s calendar. Any changes made in the current school year will affect grading, active student schedules and grade book viewing.
Courses
PATH: Scheduling > Courses > Course
Most schools carry courses over from year to year to save time. Courses are defined in the Scheduling module in the Course folder or by creating a district-wide course catalog. Any field on the course tab can be modified. Users can also create new courses that will be offered in the next school year. The Schedule Wizard does not support the creation of courses within it; any new courses and any course changes (course names, department settings, etc.) need to be done in the Scheduling module.
Below are definitions about the fields on the course tab and what impact it has on the Schedule Wizard.
Field Description
Number Indicates the number of the course. Numbers can be alpha-numeric. In the Schedule Wizard, courses are sorted by the course number.
Name Displays the Name of the course.
Standards-based Indicates the course only used standards as part of the grading of students. If using both grading tasks and standards, leave this checkbox unselected.
Active The course must be checked as active to schedule students. To inactivate a course, uncheck the Active box. By doing this, the course is not available for requests made by the student or for placement on the master schedule.
State Code This code is used for certain state reports, such as the Carl Perkins report. For specific instructions on state reports, please see the appropriate state reporting user guides. Department Assigning departments to courses will make it easier to navigate in Schedule Wizard. This
allows the user to view and modify the master schedule one department at a time. Assigning each teacher to a department on the district assignment tab in Census will also make it easier to navigate in the Wizard.
Scheduling Priority Entering a number will indicate that this course should be loaded before other courses. It is okay to leave this field blank. Courses offered one time during the day will have a scheduling priority (Band, Color Guard).
Maximum Students This is the maximum number of students that Schedule Wizard will place into any section of a course. If this field is set to thirty (30), up to thirty students will be placed in any given section of that course. If 150 students requested the course, five sections will be built to meet all requests. The wizard will not overload sections, but a counselor does have the ability to add additional students to a section using the Walk-In Scheduler.
Terms Represents the duration or length of time the course meets during the calendar year. It is necessary to specify the number of terms a course meets so that the drag and drop functionality of the Wizard can be used.
Schedules Denotes on which days the course is available. A school’s day may be seven periods all day long, all week long. In this case, the schedule would be one (1). A school on an A/B rotation that has four classes each day, but the course is available both days, the schedule is two (2).
Field Description
Periods Indicates the length of time the section will meet during the day. Most classes will be set at one (1), but there can be instances where the student is in the same class for two consecutive class periods (study hall, teacher’s aid).
Sections to Build Entering a number in this field tells the wizard to automatically create that number of sections for the course. If an English class needs two sections to fit all of the students, two sections will be placed on the master schedule.
GPA Weight This number is used as a multiplier for cumulative GPA calculations. Bonus Points Indicates the course uses additional points as part of the grading process. Transcript Indicates the course is posted to the student’s transcript.
Required If this option is set as required, students do not have the ability to choose this course for online registration.
Type Indicates the course is required or elective.
Honors Indicates the course is taught with different curriculum than other courses. Activity This is only assigned for activity courses (football, chess, etc.)
Perkins Code Only available in certain states. Homeroom Indicates the course is the homeroom.
Allow Requests Allows students to request this course when registering for classes. Allow Teacher
Requests Allows teachers to request the next course the student takes. Attendance Indicates attendance can be taken for the course.
Unit Attendance Indicates the course uses minute attendance rather than period attendance. Comments Lists internal comments on the course.
Description Displays a summary of what is done in the course. This description displays on the Campus Portal.
NOTE: Verify that the selected calendar and school is for the NEXT school year. Any changes made in the current school year will affect grading, active student schedules and grade book.
Adding New Courses without a Course Catalog
1.
Select the Add Course Wizard. An empty course tab screen will appear.2.
Enter the Number and Name of the course. These fields are required, and there may be a district policy on numbering and naming sequences.3.
Check the Active box if this course is being taught in the school year selected.4.
Enter the State Code for the course.5.
Select the Department from the dropdown list to which this course belongs.6.
If desired, enter a Scheduling Priority. Courses with a higher priority (a priority of one will be scheduled first; a priority of five will be scheduled last) will be scheduled first when using the scheduling wizard.9.
Enter the GPA Weight.10.
If bonus points are factored into the total grade for this course, check the Bonus Points checkbox.11.
If the grade received for this course should show on the student’s transcript, check the Transcript checkbox.12.
Select the Type for this course from the drop-down list. Options are Elective or Required.13.
Select an Activity Code to be associated with this course.14.
If a course is an honors or advanced course, select the Honors Code from the dropdown list. This is only available in certain states.15.
Enter the Perkins Code if applicable for this course. This is only available in certain states.16.
Check the boxes for Homeroom (used in certain state reports), Attendance (teacher needsto take attendance for the students), Allow Requests (must be checked for students to request course online), and Unit Attendance (used when taking “positive” or time-based attendance).
17.
Enter any Comments that should be associated with this course. This text field is only used internally.18.
In the Description editor, enter a brief description, movie file or picture, etc. The text entered in this field is displayed in the portal for online registration purposes.19.
Click the Save icon when finished. The new course will now be available in the Course folder so that sections and rosters can be added.Adding New Courses with a Course Catalog
This process is for those districts that have built and created Course Catalogs and Course Masters. When using a course catalog, the course selection becomes very restrictive as District Administrators have ensured that a uniform course list is available to all school buildings.
NOTE: When creating a course catalog, users need to first create that course under the Course Master before it can be selected under the Course Creation page.
1.
Select the Add Course Wizard. A Course Creation wizard screen will appear.2.
Select the courses to add to the course list from the Select Course window. Use the CTRL and SHIFT keys to select multiple courses at one time. A summary of each selected course appears in the Course Master Record view only when one course is selected at a time.3.
When the appropriate courses have been selected, click the Select this Course Master button(viewable when one course is selected) or the Batch Add these Course Masters button (viewable when multiple courses are selected). A pop-up window will appear when the course masters have been added.
4.
After the course masters have been added, use the Course folder to search for and modify information about that course – create sections, verify correct course setup, apply scheduling rules and any applicable course fees.Course Sections
PATH: Scheduling > Courses > Course > Section
The Sections tab within the course folder is provided as a view screen. Once the information is selected, the entire view will change. This tab lists the sections assigned to this course in numerical section number order.
Users can quickly see the teacher of the course, the room where the section meets, what term and period the section meets, and how many seats are available and/or taken. There is also a column for the Scheduling Group, also known as Scheduling Teams, if used in the mass scheduling of courses.
There are two ways to access Section information:
•
Click the Edit link next to the section number from the Course Section tab. This will change the screen to look at the section information first, instead of the course information.•
Select the Section from the Course search results list. From this view, users can see the roster of the section, enter attendance and grades, as well as add additional students to the roster. This same view is accessible by clicking the plus (+) sign next to the course name and selecting one of the sections that will appear below the course.The section editor lists specific information about the section selected. The quick view of the section is first entered here or populated when the section is created in the Schedule Wizard.
The entry of the Teacher Display Name and the Primary teacher is not required, but highly recommended if the teacher of a section is known. This selection appears on student schedules. Additional teachers may be added if the section is team-taught. Non-teaching staff can also be added by selecting the Section Staff dropdown list.
Definitions of Staff Dropdown Lists
Staff Dropdown List Description
Primary Teacher Used to list the primary teacher of the section. Staff included on this list have the Teacher checkbox marked on the District Assignment tab.
Teachers Indicates additional teachers that will be instructing the students in the course. Staff included on this list have the Teacher checkbox marked on the District Assignment tab.
Section Staff Indicates staff members who will be involved in the classroom (other teachers, paraprofessionals, special education, library staff, etc.). Staff members included in this list have an active District Assignment record.
These three fields use the same logic:
•
If the District Assignment record is ended during the current year but prior to the current date, the staff person’s name will appear in red in the dropdown list, noting the district assignment start and end date. Start and end dates are displayed when the dropdown list is expanded.•
Only staff who have the Teacher checkbox marked on their District Assignment records will appear in the Primary Teacher and Teacher dropdown lists.•
A staff person can only be selected once for any of the dropdown lists. This prevents duplicate records.Upon saving of the Section tab, additional fields will appear for the Teacher and Section staff dropdown lists, allowing the user to add several teachers and section staff persons for any section. Only one primary teacher can be listed for a section at any given time.
Adding Course Section Information
1.
Select a section by clicking the Edit link next to the section name. The Section editors will appear, which provides specific information about the section of the course. The section tab is broken into two areas – the Section Editor and the Section Schedule Placement.Section Editor
2.
Enter the Section Number for the new section. When sections are created using theSchedule Wizard, section numbers are created in numeric order; it is advised that this order be maintained for clarity purposes.
3.
Enter the Teacher Display Name, which is the name of the teacher that will appear on printed schedule reports and on the student’s schedule tab.4.
Enter the Max Students for this section. This is different than the Max Students field on the Course tab. The number set here overrides the number entered on the course tab. The maximum students that is set on the course is noted in parentheses next to this field. If the course has a maximum student number of 30, the section can have a number that is higher or lower than 30, based on the room that is assigned or on the students that will be served in this section.5.
Check the boxes for recording the number of Lunches, Milk and Adult lunch count if needed for students in this course. This setting provides a way for the teacher to tally how many students will be receiving lunch or milk when taking attendance.6.
Select the Room number from the dropdown list for where this section will be meeting.7.
If this section is skinnied with another section (see Scheduling Rules), enter in the SkinnySequence. The number with the lowest sequence will appear first on a student’s schedule.
8.
Select a Team that will be assigned to this course.9.
If this is a homeroom course section, mark the Homeroom checkbox.10.
Select the teacher who will be teaching this section from the Primary Teacher dropdown list. This should be the same name as the person entered in the Teacher Display Name field.11.
If there are multiple teachers that will be teaching this section, select additional teachersfrom the Teachers dropdown list.
13.
Enter the Primary Teaching Mode Override and the Non-Primary Teaching Mode Override. These fields may not appear in every district.Section Schedule Placement
14.
Check the boxes for when the section will meet. Periods are listed down the left-hand side; terms are listed across the top. If this new section meets in Period 5 of Term 3, a check would be placed there.15.
Click the Save icon when finished. The new section will be created, and the screen will now display all section related information.Scheduling Rules
PATH: Scheduling > Courses > Course > Scheduling Rules
The Scheduling Wizard approaches the fulfillment of student course requests in a very systematic manner. In most situations, it is important to help the Wizard understand the
relationship between courses as they are created and defined. This is done using the scheduling rules.
Scheduling rules tie courses together in a variety of ways, affecting the flexibility of the Schedule Wizard. The rule only takes effect if a student has requested both courses during the same scheduling year. When a rule is applied to a course, its complement is applied to the course’s pair. Rules should only be used if absolutely necessary to achieve the education goals of the district.
Scheduling problems arise when scheduling rules are applied incorrectly or overused. If student requests are not being fulfilled for a course or series of courses, analyze the scheduling rules associated with those courses to make sure they are not preventing the Schedule Wizard from working efficiently. Scheduling rules may not operate as expected if a section spans multiple terms.
Following are the names and definitions of the available Scheduling Rules. Thirteen different rules are available for assignment to a course. Make sure that the rules are necessary before assigning them to courses.
Rule Definition
Before Course A is before Course B. This rule limits the terms into which a student can be scheduled into a course. For example, Math 100 is before Math 101. If Math 101 is placed in term 3, students in Math 100 can only be scheduled in term 1 or 2. After Course A is after Course B. This rule limits the terms into which a student can be
scheduled into a course. This is the complement of Before. For example, Math 101 is after Math 100. If Math 100 is placed in term 1, students in Math 101 can only be scheduled in terms 2, 3 or 4.
Precedes Course A precedes Course B. This rule is a stricter version of the Before rule, with the addition that the courses must be in consecutive terms. For example, Math 10A precedes Math 10B. If Math 10B is scheduled in term 4, Math 10A can only be scheduled in term 3.
Follows Course A follows Course B. This rule is the complement of the Precedes rule. For example, Math 10B follows Math 10A. If Math 10A is scheduled into term 1, Math 10B can only be scheduled in term 2.
Consecutive This rule states the courses must be in consecutive terms but not in any order. Math A is scheduled in term 1 and Math B is scheduled in term 2 or Math B is scheduled in term 1 and Math A is scheduled in term 2.
Rule Definition
Same Teacher This rule states that two courses must be taught by the same teacher. This also works for team teaching if the same team of teachers teaches both courses. For example, Spanish A has the same teacher as Spanish B. If Spanish A is taught by Ms. Hernandez, then Spanish B can only be in a section taught by Ms. Hernandez. Same teacher will not be confused by teachers with the same name.
If team teaching is used with the same teacher rule, errors may be encountered when different combinations of the same teachers are used with the rule.
Same Section This rule states that both courses must be scheduled into sections that have the same section number. This is the strictest rule and takes precedence over all others. For example, Math 10A is the same section as Math 10B. If a student is scheduled into section 1 of Math 10A, the student can only be scheduled into Math 10B section 1. Same Period This rule states that both courses must be scheduled into a section that meets during
the same period number during different terms. For example, English 10A is the same period as English 10B. If a student is scheduled into a section of 10A that meets term 1, period 2, English 10B must be scheduled into term 2, 3 or 4 during period 2.
Same This rule states that both courses must be scheduled into different periods of the same term. For example, English 100 is the same term as Literature 101. If a student is scheduled into a section of English 100 during term 1, he must be scheduled into a section of Literature 101 that meets during term 1, but not during the same period. Not Same This rule states that both courses must be scheduled into different terms. This rule is common for Phy Ed classes. Phy Ed 10 is Not Same as Fitness 11. If Phy Ed 10 is scheduled into a section that meets term 2, the student can only be schedule into a section of Fitness 11 that meets terms 1, 3 or 4.
Skinny This rule states that both courses are scheduled during the same period and the same term. For example, Career is skinnied with Chorus during 3rd hour term 1. The student goes to Career half of the hour and Chorus the other half of the hour; OR if the courses meet every other day or every couple weeks. Skinny is a strict rule that takes precedence over many of the others.
Bind This rule states the student must be scheduled into sections of both courses or neither course. English 10A binds to English 10B. If the load finishes and the student is only scheduled into a section of 10A and not 10B, then the loader will unload the section of 10A. Using bind can result in increased conflicts. Some users prefer to have every section of a course sequence scheduled or none at all. In this situation, bind will free up seats for guidance counselors to start hand scheduling the remaining conflicts.
Combined This rule states that two courses can be taught in the same classroom by the same teacher. This will have the scheduler ignore those teacher and room conflicts. Some rules become irrelevant when using a semester term setup. Precedes/follows and after/ before do not have any basis when the calendar only has two terms. However, if the calendar was built with four terms (quarter schedule), these rules would become very useful.
Adding Scheduling Rules
results.
4.
Click the Save icon when finished. The new rule will be listed in the Rule List table. Rules should be read as such: English 9 Enriched A is scheduled BEFORE English 9 Enriched B. On the scheduling rule tab of English 9 Enriched B will be the inverse of the Before rule (in this case, After).Rule Combinations
Any number of rules can be applied in combination and will be summed together.
Rules are very powerful scheduling tools, but should be used sparingly. Each rule is a new constraint entered into the system leading to the potential for increased conflicts.
Example:
English 10A precedes English 10B English 10A same period English 10B English 10A bind English 10B
Block Schedules
Semester long sections are difficult to fit into a block schedule without causing many conflicts. To allow for more schedule flexibility, a semester long class should be broken into two quarter long classes. If all sections of a course teach the same curriculum, precedes/follows is the only rule that is needed to link them to consecutive terms.
Junior High/Middle Schools
Junior high schedules generally have year long classes with one or two periods filled with the quarter or trimester classes. In a schedule this structured, it often helps to have more restrictive rules. Consider a schedule that is built so a student is expected to take health, physical
education and reading (trimester courses) during the same period and all other periods are filled with year long classes. If each section needs to have the identical roster, then samesection is the only rule needed. If samesection is used, it is up to the user to place the section correctly so that a student can get all three sections with the same number. If more flexibility is allowed, use sameperiod. It is critical that section numbers are sequenced (1, 2, 3); if any mnemonic device of numbering sections is used with the samesection rule, it will be ignored by the Schedule Wizard.
High School
Course sequences are common in high school structures. Consider a course sequence of Algebra 100A, Algebra 100B, Geometry 101A and Geometry 101B that need to occur in that order. The A and B courses or the Algebra and Geometry courses need to be scheduled in consecutive terms, and Algebra courses must come before Geometry courses. The optimal rule combination is as follows:
Geometry 101A precedes Geometry 101B Algebra 100B before Geometry 101A
Student Requests
When the courses are set properly in the new calendar, students can determine which classes they want to take for the next school year. Four ways to accomplish this are discussed in this section. Districts should have in place proper guidelines for students before beginning this process.
Request Options
To use the Schedule Wizard, student course requests must be entered. There are three methods that can be used in conjunction with each other to accomplish this:
•
Online Registration – in the school’s computer lab or at home through the portal;•
Request Wizard – completed by the scheduler and/or guidance counselor;•
Walk-In Scheduling – manually completed by the scheduler or the guidance counselor; and•
Teacher Course Requests – manually entered suggestions for the student by the current teacher.When the Request Wizard is used to submit a request for a student, the request becomes
Required and is designated with the letter R. Students using the online registration cannot alter required selections. All other courses are considered elective, which means a student is allowed to request the course.
NOTE: There is no relationship between this designation and courses that are required for graduation. Required courses for graduation are set up in Grading and Standards under Course Groups.
Courses will be assigned as an alternate when the requests exceed the number of units possible. Alternate courses will NOT be loaded into a student’s schedule by the wizard. These courses will have to be manually placed on a student’s schedule by the scheduler or guidance counselor in the walk-in scheduling tool.
Online Registration
Student accounts can be created to allow students access to review assignments, grades, schedules, etc. It is the same view that parents see when accessing the Portal. The student
The following items need to be done and/or verified when allowing online registration of courses:
•
Student Accounts need to be created for access to the Campus Portal. [System Administration > User Security > Student Accounts]•
Students must be made aware of their username and password for the portal.•
The Portal Options need to be marked to allow Student Registration. [SystemAdministration > Resources > Resources > Portal Options]
Assigning Usernames and Passwords to Students
1.
From the System Administration module, expand the User Security folder.2.
Select the Student Accounts option. This will display an Add Users wizard.3.
Click the Add Users button. This will auto-generate student accounts for portal access throughout the year. Accounts will only be added for the selected school and calendar. When the wizard is finished, a message will appear indicating how many records were added. It is safe to run this wizard several times throughout the year. It will not overwrite existing accounts.Student accounts are created using a simple format for the username and password. This is done so students can quickly login, enter requests and log out.
A student’s username is the Local Student Number assigned by the district. This number is located on the Demographics tab.
Census > People > Demographics > Local Student Number
A student’s password is the student’s <first name initial> <last name initial> <birthdate MMDDYY>.
A student named John Smith who was born November 13, 1993 with a student number of 111111 will enter the following to access the Campus Portal:
Username: 111111 Password: js111393
It is recommended that staff administering the registration process have a list of these usernames and passwords in case students cannot access the portal.
It is recommended students change their login information after they first access the portal. A student’s user account will look like this:
A student only has access to the portal, not to the administration side of Campus. Also, the student will only have access to their own information.
Setting Portal Options for Student Registration
1.
From the System Administration module, expand the Resources folder.2.
Select the Resources option within the Resources folder and navigate to the Portal Options tab.3.
In the Display Preferences section, check the option for Student Registration.4.
Verify the remaining options if anything needs to be modified.5.
Click the Save icon when finished. After the option has been checked, students can log into Campus Portal.displayed in the Campus Portal so students do not change their approved course requests.
Entering Course Requests
The following instructions are for requesting courses in the portal. Before students are allowed to enter requests, it is recommended counselors and other staff enter required courses, so students know what they must take next year. Students do not have the ability to change these required courses.
1.
Click the Course Search link. A search screen will appear.2.
Courses can be searched by the course name or by the course number. Enter either the Course Name (i.e., English) or Course Number (i.e., 2121).3.
Click the GO button. Matching course names will appear to the right.4.
Click on any course listed to view the course description.5.
To request this course as part of the schedule for next year, click the Request as Elective button. Courses can also be requested as Alternates. This course would be placed on the schedule if other electives were full.6.
When finished requesting courses, click the Print Request Summary option to print a report of the requested courses.After registration is complete, administrators and counselors can view the student’s schedule to see which courses were requests as part of Walk-In Scheduler. These courses and any courses entered by counselors will be used in the Schedule Wizard.
Request Wizard
PATH: Scheduling > Request Wizard
The Course Request Wizard allows users to create, modify or remove required courses for groups of students.
The course requests can be based off student groups (scheduling teams), roster data from a previous year, or from other existing requests. These required courses may then be viewed by the students as they register for elective courses using the Campus Online Course Request tool. Courses requested via this tool will have the R indicated in the dropdown box by the list of requested courses for a student.
Using the Request Wizard
1.
Select the Mode for the request wizard – remove requests or create requests.2.
Check the Grades for which to perform the tasks.3.
If there is an additional way to filter the students, select that method – filter on a team or ad hoc set, filter on existing requests or filter on Roster Data from a prior year. If the last option is selected, the course where the roster data is stored will need to be selected from the drop-down list.4.
Select the courses for which to add the student requests from the list of courses on the right.5.
Click the RUN button if no additional filter is selected. If an additional filter is selected,click the Next button.
6.
On the next page, select the filter for the students from the dropdown list and click the RUN button. The system will add or remove requests, as selected in the criteria.Creating Course Requests based on a Scheduling Team or Ad Hoc Set
1.
Select the Mode of Create Requests.2.
Select the Grade Level by placing a check in the grades listed. Only grades in the selected calendar will be listed.3.
Select the filter student option of Filter on team or ad hoc set.4.
Select the Course for which to create the request in the list of courses.5.
Click the Next button. A screen summarizing the selected options will appear.6.
Select the Ad hoc Filter to apply to this request.7.
Select the Scheduling Teams that will be taking this new course. Teams are marked on the section of a course.8.
Click the RUN button. The course will be added to all applicable students. In the picture above, the course AP Biology will be added for current ninth graders that are in Team A.Creating Course Requests based on Existing Requests
1.
Select the Mode of Create Requests.2.
Select the Grade Level by placing a check in the grades listed. Only grades in the selected calendar will be listed.3.
Select the filter student option of Filter on Existing Requests.4.
Select the Course for which to create the request in the list of courses.5.
Click the Next button. A screen summarizing the selected options will appear.6.
Select the course where students have an existing request. For example, an existing request for Civics generates a new request for Geography.7.
Click the RUN button. The course will be added to all applicable students. In the picture below, the course AP Biology will be added for current tenth graders that have also requested Plant Science.Creating Course Requests based on Roster Data from Previous Years
1. Select the Mode of Create Requests.
2.
Select the Grade Level by placing a check in the grades listed. Only grades in the selected calendar will be listed.3.
Select the filter student option of Filter on Filter on Roster Data from a Prior Year.4.
Select the appropriate Calendar from the dropdown list below this filter option.5.
Select the courses to add requests.6.
Click the Next button.7.
Select the course from the previous year where the students are scheduled in the previous course.8.
Click the Run button. Requests will be added for the students who meet the selected criteria.Removing Requests
Course requests can be removed in the same way they were added. The only difference is the selection of the Mode. If removing requests, verify the Mode selected is Remove Requests.
Walk-in Scheduler
PATH: Student Information > General > Schedule > Walk-in Scheduler
The main page of the student's schedule is a view only screen. To alter course sections assigned to a student, click the Walk In Scheduler icon. This will allow users to edit currently scheduled sections and requested sections.
This view will remain the selected view as the user navigates through students until the View Schedule icon is selected. At that time, the main view only screen will appear.
Schedulers can manually add requests by entering or using the Request Wizard. Course numbers will be added Walk-In Scheduler table on the right. The student will see the list of courses in the Portal Registration view.
When a user selects the @ link to the left of a course number, the user is viewing the Manual Mode, which can be used to fill gaps in the student’s schedule or to rework some of the course requests.
When loading requests from the Walk-In Scheduler view of the Schedule tab, course requests display on the right. Locations of where a section meets will appear when the At symbol (@) is selected. At this time, the schedule will display highlighted fields of the section.
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Red = section is full•
Blue = course is available•
Yellow = course is in current scheduleFor additional information on a course already on the schedule, hover over the blue course number-section number link. This will display the teacher of the section, the room number, how many students who have IEPs are currently in the section and an assigned Team/Group name.
While the Scheduling Wizard is used to schedule students into course sections, prior to using the Wizard, counselors or those responsible for student schedules can pre-schedule students for those courses that may be hard to get or for those sections that must be scheduled first (band, etc.). Once scheduled, lock the specific request so it will not be lost when reshuffling in the Schedule Wizard.
Teacher Course Requests
PATH: Instruction > Teacher Course Request
The Teacher Course Requests tool allows a teacher to recommend a course for any student in their course section. This eliminates the paper process of a student gaining approval for moving to the next course available or to an advanced placement course of study. The teachers will use this tool in the context of the current calendar, but the course requests will be applied to one or more existing future calendars.
A course must be marked on the Course editor to allow for teacher requests.
This tool is only usable after the future calendar has been rolled forward and the student’s enrollment has been rolled forward. Anyone not future enrolled will not be editable. If a school has 2 future calendars, the calendar number (or track number) must be used to help the tool know which calendar to put the request into.
Note the following:
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Before/After and Precedes/Follows scheduling rules are used where they exist on courses to eliminate double entry. Rules should be set as such:•
[Current Course Name] before [Next Course Name]•
[Current Course Name] after [Next Course Name]•
A student is scheduled for English 9 before English 10 can be taken. Based on performance, the teacher can suggest the student repeats English 9 the next year, or move on to English 10.•
Scheduling Reports have not been implemented for teachers. If needed, such reports can be gathered from Ad Hoc Reporting.•
Requests entered for the student by an administrator (counselor, principal, etc.) will not be editable by the teacher.•
A student who has requested a class will have a note beside the dropdown saying that it is an Elective Request. The teacher can change these.•
If a school completely changes their course numbers, this tool will not work.This request appears on the student’s walk-in schedule and Registration Portal view as being a teacher made request.
NOTE: A student must have an enrollment in a future calendar in order for the teacher to request a future course for the student. This would also mean that calendars and courses have been rolled over into a future calendar and all other scheduling process items have been reviewed.
Using the Teacher Course Requests
1.
Select the correct school year, school, calendar and course section from the Campus toolbar.2.
Currently enrolled students will appear as they do on the Roster. Select the correct coursefrom the dropdown list. This course will appear as a request on the student’s Walk-In Schedule view.
Scheduling Units
A scheduling unit is based on how many terms are built for the calendar and how many class periods are available in that term. Below are examples for differing schedules and the available scheduling units. Basic Schedule Terms – 4 (quarters) Periods – 7 Period Schedule – 1 4x7x1 = 28 scheduling units Terms – 3 (trimesters) Periods – 5 Period Schedule – 1 3x5x1 = 15 scheduling units A/B Schedule Terms – 4 (quarters) Periods – 4 Period Schedules – 2 4x4x2 = 32 scheduling units
Alternating Day Schedule Terms – 4 (quarters) Periods – 7
Period Schedules - 5
4x7x5 = 140 scheduling units
As students register for classes, it is important that they request the appropriate number of scheduling units. The Request Detail report will show how many scheduling units a student has requested. The Wizard will use these units to build the schedule. Each student should request a few alternates. Alternate classes are not included in the units the Wizard uses; they would have to be added manually to the student schedule.
Example
A typical four term, four period block schedule has sixteen slots. Each student should request a total of sixteen scheduling units worth of required and electives courses.
If a student signed up for sixteen separate courses that each met for one period during one term, he would have sixteen course requests.
If another student signed up for six separate courses that each met for one period during one term and for five separate courses that each met for one period during two terms, he/she would have eleven course requests.
If a third student signed up for seventeen separate courses that each met for one period during one term and two of those courses were “skinnied” (for example, health and physical education), he/she would have seventeen course requests.
Request Analysis
After requests are entered, determine how many sections are needed to satisfy student requests. Several reports are available in the Scheduling module to help with this decision.
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The Request Satisfied report will show all the courses, the number of students who have requested it by grade, the maximum number of students and the number of sections needed to fulfill the requests. To help decide sections, schedulers need to refer back to the current year to determine the actual number of students who completed the course versus the number who registered for it.at the scheduling units requested. For a standard 4x4 block, 16 units would represent 16 courses since each unit represents one course. If the 4x4 had an A/B rotation then the total unit count would be 32 and each course would be two units, still 16 courses.
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The Request Conflicts report is used during the scheduling process. It lists courses with conflicts to that particular course. A list will show bolded course(s) with other courses underneath. The courses underneath have conflicts with the bolded course. The conflict column lists how many students have requests/or conflicts. The section column lists how many sections there are for that course.Department Schedule Worksheets
Depending on the size of the school, it is often helpful for departments to create their own ideal schedules as a starting point for the scheduler. A sample spreadsheet would show teacher, courses, periods and rooms.
It is important to remind teachers that this is just the starting point. The final schedule for the department will most likely vary from this ideal situation due to scheduling conflicts.
Term 1 Teacher
1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3 Teacher 4 Room 1 Room 2 Room 3 Room 4 Per 1 Course name Room 1 Course name Room 2 Course name Room 3 Per 2 Course name Room 1 Course name Room 2 Course name Room 3 Per 3 Course name Room 3 Course name Room 2 Course name Room 4 Per 4 Course name Room 1 Course name Room 4 Course name Room 2
The Schedule Wizard
After all pre-scheduling tasks have been completed, the Schedule Wizard can be launched to place course sections in the appropriate periods and to complete student schedules. This is a complex wizard and is designed to encourage creative schedule building.
Any number of alternative scheduling trials can be created within a calendar. These alternative trials are represented in a hierarchical tree, or trial.
A trial can also be thought of as an instance of a master schedule. One trial can be dramatically different from another trial. The Schedule Wizard requires that each trial within a calendar conform to the same underlying calendar structure. In other words, a trial based on quarters cannot be in the same schedule structure as another based on trimesters. However, it is possible to have multiple schedule structures, where the sixth grade has different terms and periods then
To experiment with alternate calendar structures, ask the Campus administrator to set up alternate schedule structures for the calendars (e.g., PHS 05-06A, PHS 05-06B) and roll the current year’s information into each of them.
NOTE: This should be done in a staging site, not in the live database.
Accessing the Scheduling Wizard
4.
Select the Schedule Wizard option. To open Schedule Wizard, click the Launch the Schedule Wizard link on the gray screen. For best results, the user should have the most current Java environment (http://java.sun.com).5.
When the wizard has performed background analysis, a new window will appear asking for a username and password. This is the same username and password used to log into Campus. Once the username and password is entered and verified, the selection screen will appear.6.
To work with a particular calendar, click the plus (+) sign next to the name of the calendar, or double-click on the folder next to the calendar name.7.
Select the appropriate year for which to schedule students.8.
Select the appropriate trial and click the Open button in the lower-right hand corner of the window.Trials
Trials are created when a calendar is rolled over from a previous year or when the school is using the Schedule Wizard. Trials connect the calendar to the course listing and are used in several scheduling reports.
The trials for a certain calendar are listed in the Trial tree. Select any trial to see detailed information about that trial. In the Trial Detail table, users can see what the Trial ID is (useful for custom reports), the Name of the trial, the Modified Date of the trial and whether this is the Active trial.
Multiple trials can be created in the Schedule Wizard for various purposes. However, only one trial (active trial) can be seen by the web application at a time. The scheduling staff may wish to make a trial active at a given time to review the results in the application. Users will need to log out and log back into Campus to see the newly active trial.
Copying a Trial
New calendars that have just been rolled over will have a trial named Rolled In. This is the original trial that was created. It is recommended that this version be left as it is, to provide a beginning point for the user to see how classes were scheduled the previous year.
1.
Select the existing trial from the list on the left. The name of the trial will appear on the right hand side in the Trial Properties area.2.
Click the Copy button. This will copy the existing trial into a new version that can be changed as often as necessary, and the original version will remain intact.3.
Change the name of the new trial. Examples of often used names are the initials of the user and the date it was made (WPF 3/23/05) or the name of the school, or what was done in that trial (Band Version 032305).4.
Enter Comments about the trial.Creating New Trials
To make a new trial, select one of the existing trials and use the Copy feature. This new trial should be renamed with a title that is descriptive of what was done, or even the date that the trial was created.
Making a Trial Active
1.
Select the existing trial from the list on the left. The name of the trial will appear on the right hand side in the Trial Properties area. If working in a trial, use the Select Trial tool found under File.2.
In the list of trials on the left side of the Trial Selection Tool, click the trial that you wish to make active IF it is not already the active trial.3.
Change the name of the trial. Examples of often used names are the initials of the user and the date it was made (WPF 3/23/05) or the name of the school, or what was done in that trial (Band Version 032305).4.
Click the Active button when finished. This will make the selected trial the course layout that is viewable within Campus. If the Campus application is running in the background, switch to the web browser. Users will need to logout of Campus and log back in to see the changes to the selected trial. The Campus application will check to see which trial is activewhen logging in. The sections as well as the student, teacher, and master schedules that are derived from these sections will display in the application.
NOTE: Users SHOULD NOT work on the active trial in Schedule Wizard. Make a copy of that trial so that changes will not occur in the active trial.
Selecting a new trial from within the Whiteboard of the Schedule Wizard
1.
Navigate to the File menu and select the first option Select Trial.2.
A new screen will display listing all available school calendars and trials.3.
Follow the steps described in the section of this document called Selecting the Calendar and Trial.To save each entry as an individual layer, use the Save Trial Load option on the File menu.
The Whiteboard
Schedulers often use a spreadsheet or a magnetic whiteboard to visualize and build their master schedule. The Schedule Wizard features a master schedule build assist tool that represents school schedules in the same way.
This tool allows users to drag and drop course sections on the computer screen in the same way magnetic squares are used on a whiteboard.
The Schedule Wizard Whiteboard has many features. It has menu options that allow users to easily see teacher conflicts and room conflicts as the schedule is built. There are many hover boxes and right-click menus that aid in the building of a school’s master schedule.
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Course names display in numeric or department order on the left side. To work on a specific set of courses, like English, the other department names may be collapsed for easier viewing.•
Terms and days will display across the top.•
Periods may be across the top or down the side.•
Sections will appear on the grid as they are scheduled.•
Sections may be displayed by number (course/section and total stu¬dents), teacher, room, or scheduling group assigned to the section.Information Pop-Ups
There are several places in the Wizard where hovering will display a window where key information may be found to aid the scheduler in placing sections, detecting issues and determining how successful the current trial meets the needs of students.
Area Pop-up Display
Section The section popup will indicate the section number, the number of students on the roster (both a total and by gender), the teacher assigned to that section, the room the section meets in, as well as the team/scheduling group that the section belongs to. The total number of behavior events (lifetime total) will display, as well as the number of Special Education students in that section. Course Hovering over a course will indicate the number of requests satisfied (students who have been
scheduled in a section of a course) out of the total number of requests, the number of seats filled, the number of sections placed and needed (determined by dividing the total number of requests by the student max defined on the course), and if entered the number of sections to build. Any rules defined for the course will also show in this popup.
Department Department will show the number of requests (fulfilled and grand total) for courses in that department, as well as the number of seats scheduled and taken for courses in that department. Period Useful for determining if a sufficient number of sections are available during that period, as well
as the number of seats available and filled in that period of the day.
Term Useful for determining if a sufficient number of sections are available during that term, as well as the number of seats available and filled.
Course right-click options
Edit Course Renumber Sections View Request Conflicts View Unrostered Students Lock and Unlock Rosters Load Course
Build and Unbuild Course Hide
Edit Section number
Assign Teacher, Room or Group View Section Roster
View Request Conflicts Delete Section
Lock and Unlock All Rosters Load Course
Unload Section
Term Right-click options
Lock and Unlock Rosters Load and Unload Term Hide
Department Right-click options
Renumber All Sections Lock Rosters Unclock Rosters Load Department Unload Department Build Department Unbuild Department Hide
The wizard is designed to allow for basic formatting by the user. These options are available under the View header menu, and are defined below.
Format Option Description
Section This field can be sorted by the (section) number, teacher, room or group (team). The default sorting option is to number.
Conflicts Conflicts are highlighted in red text and can be sorted by the teacher, room, roster or request (singleton).
Missing Data Missing information is highlighted in green text and can be viewed by the teacher, room or group
Highlight For items the user wishes to stand out, courses can be highlighted according to courses without enough seats, full sections, empty sections, singleton courses or sections with a locked roster. Use the highlighting features one at a time, as the first item selected takes highlighting precedence.
Y Axis Users have the option of viewing either courses or teachers along the Y-axis. Period Display Periods can be displayed on the Y-axis or the X-axis.
Grid Display To show specific things in the grid, use the grid display tool to Unhide all courses, Hide all but singletons or Mark Multiple Terms/Periods.
There are two percentages listed in the top left corner of the Wizard’s whiteboard. The first one, Requests, indicates the percent of student requests loaded. The second one, Complete, represents the percentage of students who have all of their requests met. However, if the student does not have any course requests, this will be included in the Complete percentage.
Loading Courses
Options to load courses are available within the Loading menu. Defined below are the items available.
Courses can be loaded by a section, by a course, by a department, by a term, or by a period in addition to loading all courses at one time. When loading courses by a specific setting, users can lock that course so the rosters are unchanged, modify other courses and determine the best setup for the students.
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Run a Full Load – This will load all entered requests into this trial.•
Run a Full Unload – This will unload all entered requests from this trial.•
Auto-load Configuration – This tool will determine how to load student requests to a certain level so they can be reviewed completely.•
Manual Roster Builder – Use this tool to manually select the students and place into a section. If these students should remain in these rosters, do not unlock the rosters at the department, course or section level, as this will undo the lock for all roster entries.•
Section Balancing Configuration – This will load course sections based on the count ofstudent balance, gender balance, minority balance, discipline balance or special education balance. Determine the number of students for each balance and use the slider or enter the number in the appropriate field. Sections will be loaded using this balance.
These activities can be performed multiple times within a trial. If the user does not like the results, sections can be moved around on the grid and then loaded again to optimize the results of the wizard.
Department Options
When a school assigns departments to their courses, the Schedule Wizard will display those courses in department order. If desired, the scheduler can then build the schedule by department, as well as lock and unlock rosters and renumber course sections.
Renumber All Sections
This option will look at all the section numbers assigned to the placed course sections and renumber the sections to be in proper numeric order. If a section 2 appears before a section 1 of the course, after choosing Renumber Sections, section 1 will appear first.
Lock and Unlock Rosters
This option will lock rosters for a section or unlock rosters for a section. Locking of rosters will cause the students in those sections to not be reshuffled when further loading and unloading is done.
Load and Unload Department
Like the loading and unloading of courses, the loading and unloading of departments will populate or unpopulate all courses assigned to that department. Once loaded, the courses could be locked so further movement of students in the sections will not occur.
Build and Unbuild Department
These options will create (Build Department)the course sections for all courses in the
department at one time, or uncreate (Unbuild Department) the course sections. The building option will take some time depending on the amount of course sections and courses needed. A Building Progress pop-up window displays, showing the progress of the build.
Hide
This option will remove the department and all its related courses from the outline of the Schedule Wizard. To display the department again, select the View option from the top of the wizard browser, and select Grid Display and Unhide All.
