Master Builder Option Set

Best practice is for the main person responsible for schedule to check out option set. This eliminates anyone else from processing schedule for option set. Other users may make changes to course requests and schedule sections within checked out option set..

• Click . User name is reflected in Currently Checked Out To.  Schedule Option Set may be edited. No one else can edit set except user listed.

• Click when finished.

• Click the word School(SCHOOL). The word highlights and the School Attributes detail displays on the right. Attribute  explanations follow.

• Complete School Attributes.

School Attributes

• Number of Days

Number of meeting days the school meets per week

• Number of Periods

Number of periods the school holds in a day

• Number of Terms

Number of terms setup for the year

Default Section Attributes

• Maximum Section Size

Maximum number of students that can be assigned to a section

• Minimum Section Size

Minimum number of students requesting a course for a section to be created

• Optimum Section Size

Optimal number of students to be assigned to a section

• Number of Meeting Days

Number of meeting days the sections should be schedule for. In an A/B schedule, this would be 1 or 2, for example.

• Number of Meeting Periods

Number of periods in which sections can be scheduled. This is generally one.

• Number of Meeting Terms

Number of terms in which sections can be scheduled.

• Grade Low

Lowest grade level of students that can be assigned to a section

• Grade High

Highest grade level of students that can be assigned to a section

• Schedule Priority

Default priority to be assigned to a section (CoreHigh or ElectiveLow). When assigning students to a section, Core sections are assigned before Electives.

Default Teacher Attributes

• Max Period Load Per Day

Maximum number of periods that can be assigned to a teacher in a day

• Max Period Load Per Termmaximum

Number of periods that can be assigned to a teacher in a term

• Opt Period Load Per Day

Optimal number of periods to be assigned to a teacher in a day

• Opt Period Load Per Term

Optimal number of periods to be assigned to a teacher in a term

• Max Seq Periods

Maximum number of sequential periods that can be assigned to a teacher

• Max Stu Load Period

Maximum number of students that can be assigned to a teacher in a period

• Department

If any teacher is not assigned to a lower level of category, and they are assigned to the department selected here in the Staff screen, they will be scheduled using the school-level attributes. If a teacher is not listed in a category and they are not assigned to this department, they will not be scheduled.

• Grade Low

Lowest grade level of students that can be assigned to a teacher

• Grade High

Highest grade level of students that can be assigned to a teacher

• Is Full Time

Check this box if all teachers are full-time teachers

Default Room Attributes

• Department

If any room is not assigned to a lower level of category, and it is assigned to the department selected here in the School Room screen, it will be scheduled using the school-level attributes. If a room is not listed in a category and it is not assigned to this department, and it is not assigned to the selected room type, it will not be scheduled.

• Grade Low

Lowest grade level of students that can be assigned to a room

• Grade High

Highest grade level of students that can be assigned to a room

• Room Type

If any room is not assigned to a lower level of category, and it is assigned to the room type selected here in the School Room screen, it will be scheduled using the school-level attributes. If a room is not listed in a category and it is not assigned to this room type, and it is not assigned to the selected department, it will not be scheduled.

• Max Size

Maximum number of students that can be assigned to a room

• Opt Size

Optimal number of students to be assigned to a room

• Click .

Add Subject Category to School

• Click the word School(SCHOOL). The word highlights.

• Click  Action… and select Add Subjects to School. Add Subject screen opens.

• Enter a Category Name. Example: Math

• Enter a Category ID. Example: MA

• Click . Add Subject screen closes. New Subject Category displays.

Add Subject Category to Subject

• Click to left of School to expand tree.

• Click name of desired subject. Subject name highlights.

• Click  Action… and select Add Subjects to XXXX. Add Subject screen opens.

• Enter a Category Name. Example: Algebra

• Enter a Category ID. Example: ALG

• Click . Add Subject screen closes. New Subject Category displays.

School attributes are at the top of the hierarchy, meaning that these are the overall default settings  referenced during the MSB processes. These attributes may be overridden at lower levels of the hierarchy.

• Click to left of School(SCHOOL). Subject Category tree expands..

• Click name of desired Subject Category. Subject Category highlights and detail screen displays on right.

On the Courses tab:

• Complete Section Attributes. The field descriptions are:

• Maximum Section Size  

Maximum number of students that can be assigned to a section

• Minimum Section Size

Minimum number of students requesting a course for a section to be created

• Optimum Section Size

Optimal number of students to be assigned to a section

• Number of Meeting Days

Number of meeting days available

• Number of Meeting Periods

Number of periods available

• Number of Meeting Terms

Number of terms available

• Grade Low

Lowest grade level of students that can be assigned to a section

• Grade High

Highest grade level of students that can be assigned to a section

• Schedule Priority

Default priority to be assigned to a section (Core – High or Elective – Low). When assigning students to a section, Core sections are assigned before Electives.

Assign Courses to Subject Category

• Click .   

• Enter partial or complete data on any field on screen.

• Click . Search Results displays a list of records matching criteria entered

• Click anywhere on appropriate record to highlight

• Click                                    

OR

Click . This will move all of records found in Search Results column to Selected Items column.

Multiple searches may be made until all courses have been found and added to Selected Items column.

• Click  . This will close Chooser view and courses selected will be listed on the Courses grid.

Customize Subject Category Rules

• Click on any Rules bar to display options. Field descriptions below.

Builder Rules

• Reserved

This option will be removed in future versions of the software and should not be used.

• Do Not Schedule Sections

Do not schedule sections for the courses in this category.

• Ignore Time Constraints

Time constraints for periods, terms, meeting days can be set for individual courses (see the Customizing Individual Options section later in this chapter). For example, a gym class could be limited to the last period of the day. Check this box to ignore these constraints.

• Ignore Frozen Sections

This will be used in future versions of the Master Schedule Builder but has not yet been implemented.

• Ignore All Course Links

Individual courses can be linked, such as a chemistry class could have the lecture and lab courses linked (see the Customizing Individual Options section later in this chapter). Check this box to ignore these links.

• Ignore Max Sections Per Term

This will be used in future versions of the Master Schedule Builder but has not yet been implemented.

• Do Not Schedule Teachers

Do not assign teachers to sections in this category. This can be helpful to establish if there are enough rooms and sections to accommodate student requests.

• Do Not Use Teacher Type to Schedule Teachers

Teachers can be categorized as either full-time or part-time in the Teacher screen link on the Option Set, as outlined in the Customizing Individual Options section later in this chapter, by checking the Is Full Time box. In the Subject Categories, a category can be set to only use full-time teachers by checking the Is Full-Time box. To ignore these settings and assign part-time and full-time teachers to any category, check this rule.

• Do Not Use Departments to Schedule Teachers

If teachers are not assigned to a subject category, the Master Schedule Builder will use the department assigned to the teacher. If this box is checked, the departments will not be used. If a teacher is not assigned to a subject category, or if categories are not used (the previous checkbox), the teacher will not be included in the schedule.

• Do Not Use Grade Levels To Schedule Teachers

In the Subject Categories, a group of teachers can be allocated to specific grade levels. If this box is checked, these restrictions will be ignored when assigning teachers to sections.

• Do Not Use Teacher Group To Schedule Teachers

This rule is no longer in use and will be removed from future versions of the Master Schedule Builder.

• Do Not Use Subject Areas To Schedule Teachers

This rule is no longer in use and will be removed from future versions of the Master Schedule Builder.

• Ignore Teacher Property Restrictions

This rule is no longer in use and will be removed from future versions of the Master Schedule Builder.

• Do Not Schedule Rooms

Do not assign sections to rooms

• Do Not Use Room Types To Schedule Rooms

If rooms are not assigned to a subject category, the Master Schedule Builder will use the room type assigned to the room. If this box is checked, the room type will not be used. If a room is not assigned to a subject category, or if categories are not used, the room will not be included in the schedule.

• Do Not Use Subject Areas To Schedule Rooms

This rule is no longer in use and will be removed from future versions of the Master Schedule Builder.

• Do Not Use Departments To Schedule Rooms

If rooms are not assigned to a subject category, the Master Schedule Builder will use the department assigned to the room. If this box is checked, the departments will not be used.

• Do Not Use Room Groups To Schedule Rooms

This rule is no longer in use and will be removed from future versions of the Master Schedule Builder.

• Ignore Rooms Property Restrictions

This rule is no longer in use and will be removed from future versions of the Master Schedule Builder.

Loader Rules

• Reserved

This option will be removed in future versions of the software and should not be used.

• Do Not Schedule Electives

Do not include any elective courses in this category in the schedule

• Do Not Schedule Optionals

This will be used in future versions of the Master Schedule Builder but has not yet been implemented.

• Ignore Maximum Section Size

Allow the Loader to schedule more students than is set in max class size for courses in this category

• Ignore All Course Links

Individual courses can be linked, such as a chemistry class could have the lecture and lab courses linked (see the Customizing Individual Options section later in this chapter). Check this box to ignore these links.

• Ignore Alternatives

Do not schedule students into alternate courses for this category

• Ignore Student Property Restrictions

Disregard any student property constraints set on the Constraints tab.

Balancer Rules

• Reserved

This option will be removed in future versions of the software and should not be used.

• Do Not Schedule Electives

Do not include any elective courses in this category in the schedule

• Do Not Schedule Optionals

This will be used in future versions of the Master Schedule Builder but has not yet been implemented.

• Ignore Maximum Section Size  

Allow the Loader to schedule more students than is set in max class size for courses in this category

• Ignore All Course Links

Individual courses can be linked, such as a chemistry class could have the lecture and lab courses linked (see the Customizing Individual Options section later in this chapter). Check this box to ignore these links.

• Ignore Alternates

Do not schedule students into alternate courses for this category

• Ignore Student Property Restrictions

Disregard any student property constraints set on the Constraints tab.

Analyzer Rules

• Do Not Analyze

Do Not include course in this category in the analyzer

Resolver Rules

• Reserved

This option will be removed in future versions of the software and should not be used.

• Do Not Schedule Electives

Do Not include any elective courses in this category in the schedule

• Do Not Schedule Optionals

This will be used in future versions of the Master Schedule Builder but has not yet been implemented.

• Ignore Maximum Section Size

Allow the Loader to schedule more students than is set in max class size for courses in this category

• Ignore All Course Links

Individual courses can be linked, such as a chemistry class could have the lecture and lab courses linked. Check this box to ignore these links.

• Ignore Alternatives

Do not schedule students into alternate courses for this category

• Ignore Student Property Restrictions

Disregard any student property constraints set on the Constraints tab.

• Click .

• Click to left of School(SCHOOL). Subject Category tree expands..

• Click name of desired Subject Category. Subject Category highlights and detail screen displays on right.

On the Teachers tab:

• Complete Attributes. The field descriptions are:

• Max Period Load Per Day

Maximum number of periods that can be assigned to a teacher in a day

• Max Period Load Per Term

Maximum number of periods that can be assigned to a teacher in a term

• Opt Period Load Per Day

Optimal number of periods to be assigned to a teacher in a day

• Opt Period Load Per Term

Optimal number of periods to be assigned to a teacher in a term

• Max Seq Periods

Maximum number of sequential periods that can be assigned to a teacher

• Max Stu Load Period

Maximum number of students that can be assigned to a teacher in a period

• Department

If any teacher is not assigned to a lower level of category, and they are assigned to the department selected here in the Staff screen, they will be scheduled using the school-level attributes. If a teacher is not listed in a category and they are not assigned to this department, they will not be scheduled.

• Grade Low

Lowest grade level of students that can be assigned to a teacher

• Grade High

Highest grade level of students that can be assigned to a teacher

• Is Full Time

Check this box if all teachers are full-time teachers

Add Teachers Assigned to Subject Category

• Click .   

• Enter partial or complete data on any field on screen.

• Click . Search Results displays a list of records matching criteria entered

• Click anywhere on appropriate record to highlight

• Click                                    

OR

Click . This will move all of records found in Search Results column to Selected Items column.

Multiple searches may be made until all courses have been found and added to Selected Items column.

• Click  . This will close Chooser view and teachers selected will be listed on the Teachers grid.

Customize Teacher Rules

• Click on any Rules bar to display options. Field descriptions below.

Builder Rules

• Do Not Schedule

Do not assign the teachers in this category to a section

• Do Not Reserve Lunch

This will be used in future versions of the Master Schedule Builder but has not yet been implemented.

• Ignore Max Period Load Per Day

Ignore the maximum number of teaching periods per day set for a teacher when building the schedule and allow teachers to be scheduled for more than this number of periods in a day

• Ignore Max Period Load Per Term

Ignore the maximum number of teaching periods per term set for a teacher when building the schedule and allow teachers to be scheduled for more than this number of periods in a term

• Ignore Max Period Load Per Year

Ignore the maximum number of teaching periods per year set for a teacher when building the schedule and allow teachers to be scheduled for more than this number of periods in a year

• Ignore Max Sequential Teaching Periods

Allow teachers to be scheduled for more than the maximum number of sequential periods in a day

• Ignore Time Constraints

Individual teachers can have time constraints set where the teacher is limited to specific periods or terms or meeting days. Check this box to ignore these constraints.

Loader Rules

• Ignore Max Student Load Per Period

Allow the teacher to be assigned more than the maximum number of students per period

• Ignore Max Student Load Per Day

Allow the teacher to be assigned more than the maximum number of students per day

• Ignore Max Student Load Per Term

Allow the teacher to be assigned more than the maximum number of students per term

• Ignore Max Student Load Per Year

Allow the teacher to be assigned more than the maximum number of students per year

Balancer Rules

• Ignore Max Student Load Per Period

Allow the teacher to be assigned more than the maximum number of students per period

• Ignore Max Student Load Per Day

Allow the teacher to be assigned more than the maximum number of students per day

• Ignore Max Student Load Per Term

Allow the teacher to be assigned more than the maximum number of students per term

• Ignore Max Student Load Per Year

Allow the teacher to be assigned more than the maximum number of students per year

Analyzer Rules

• Ignore Max Student Load Per Period

Allow the teacher to be assigned more than the maximum number of students per period

• Ignore Max Student Load Per Day

Allow the teacher to be assigned more than the maximum number of students per day

• Ignore Max Student Load Per Term

Allow the teacher to be assigned more than the maximum number of students per term

• Ignore Max Student Load Per Year

Allow the teacher to be assigned more than the maximum number of students per year

Resolver Rules

• Ignore Max Student Load Per Period

Allow the teacher to be assigned more than the maximum number of students per period

• Ignore Max Student Load Per Day

Allow the teacher to be assigned more than the maximum number of students per day

• Ignore Max Student Load Per Term

Allow the teacher to be assigned more than the maximum number of students per term

• Ignore Max Student Load Per Year

Allow the teacher to be assigned more than the maximum number of students per year

• Click .

• Click to left of School(SCHOOL). Subject Category tree expands..

• Click name of desired Subject Category. Subject Category highlights and detail screen displays on right.

On the Rooms tab:

• Complete Attributes. The field descriptions are:

• Department

If any room is not assigned to a lower level of category, and it is assigned to the department selected here in the School Room screen, it will be scheduled using the school-level attributes.  If a room is not listed in a category and it is not assigned to this department, and it is not assigned to the selected room type, it will not be scheduled.

• Grade Low

The lowest grade level of students that can be assigned to a room

• Grade High

The highest grade level of students that can be assigned to a room

• Room Type

If any room is not assigned to a lower level of category, and it is assigned to the room type selected here in the School Room screen, it will be scheduled using the school-level attributes.  If a room is not listed in a category and it is not assigned to this room type, and it is not assigned to the selected department, it will not be scheduled.

• Max Size

The maximum number of students that can be assigned to a room

• Opt Size

The optimal number of students to be assigned to a room

Add Rooms Assigned to Subject Category

• Click .   

• Enter partial or complete data on any field on screen.

• Click . Search Results displays a list of records matching criteria entered

• Click anywhere on appropriate record to highlight

• Click                                    

OR

Click . This will move all of records found in Search Results column to Selected Items column.

Multiple searches may be made until all courses have been found and added to Selected Items column.

• Click  . This will close Chooser view and rooms selected will be listed on the Rooms grid.

Customize Room Rules

• Click on any Rules bar to display options. Field descriptions below.

Builder Rules

• Do Not Schedule

Do not assign sections to rooms in this category

• Ignore Maximum Capacity

Allow more students to be scheduled in the room than set in the Max Size box

• Ignore Time Constraint

Individual rooms can have time constraints set where the room is limited to specific periods or terms or meeting days.  Check this box to ignore these constraints.

Loader Rules

• Ignore Maximum Capacity

Allow more students to be scheduled in the room than set in the Max Size box

Balancer Rules

• Ignore Maximum Capacity

Allow more students to be scheduled in the room than set in the Max Size box

Analyzer Rules

• Do Not Analyze

Do not include these rooms in the Analyzer process

Resolver Rules

• Ignore Maximum Capacity

Allow more students to be scheduled in the room than set in Max Size

• Click .

Constraints can limit the students, teachers, or rooms that can be assigned to a category of courses. They can also limit the periods, terms, or meeting days that can be assigned to the courses. Constraints are set for each subject category of courses by clicking on the Constraints tab.

• Click to left of School(SCHOOL). Subject Category tree expands..

• Click name of desired Subject Category. Subject Category highlights and detail screen displays on right.

On the Constraints tab:

Student Property Constraints

Student Property Constraints set a requirement that any student assigned to courses in the given subject category must have a specific value indicated. For example, a constraint could be added so that all students assigned to the given category of courses must be assigned to a particular House or Team.

Add Student Property Constraint

• Click on Student Property Constraints bar. A new line is added.

• Enter a description in Constraint Name.

This constraint can be included or excluded from the group of courses.

• Check Exclude Constraint, if appropriate. A blank box means ONLY students with this constraint will be scheduled for this group of courses.

• Enter Amount of times the constraint must be true for the student to be included. Example:  If the student must have both their Tribal Name and the Johnson O’Malley box checked to be eligible for a group of courses, these values would be entered in the detail and the Amount set to 2.

• Click .

• Click to select the property and value.

• Click line number of constraint. Line highlights and the detail screen displays.

• Click on the Properties bar. Add School Course Student Property Constraint screen displays.

• Click Student Property List and select property.

• Enter Property Value. This must match the information entered for the student exactly. If the selected property is a lookup table, the code for the lookup table should be entered.

• Click . School Course Student Property Constraint screen closes and information is displayed on Properties grid.

• Repeat procedure to add additional properties.

• Click when finished.

Staff Property Constraints

Staff Property Constraints set a requirement that any staff assigned to courses in the given subject category must have a specific value indicated. For example, a constraint could be added so that all staff assigned to the given category of courses must have a master’s degree.

Add Staff Property Constraint

• Click on Staff Property Constraints bar. A new line is added.

• Enter a description in Constraint Name.

This constraint can be included or excluded from the group of courses.

• Check Exclude Constraint, if appropriate. A blank box means ONLY staff  with this constraint will be scheduled for this group of courses.

• Enter Amount of times the constraint must be true for the staff to be included. Example:  If the staff must be highly qualified in two subjects to be eligible for a group of courses, these values would be entered in the detail and the Amount set to 2.

• Click .

• Click to select the property and value.

• Click line number of constraint. Line highlights and the detail screen displays.

• Click on the Properties bar. Add School Course Staff Property Constraint screen displays.

• Click Staff Property List and select property.

• Enter Property Value. This must match the information entered for the staff exactly. If the selected property is a lookup table, the code for the lookup table should be entered.

• Click . Add School Course Staff Property Constraint screen closes and information is displayed on Properties grid.

• Repeat procedure to add additional properties.

• Click when finished.

Room Property Constraints

Room Property Constraints set a requirement that any room assigned to courses in the given subject category must have a specific value set in the indicated room property. For example, a constraint could be added so that all rooms assigned to the given category of courses must have a specific room size set in the School Room screen.

Add Room Property Constraint

• Click on Room Property Constraints bar. A new line is added.

• Enter a description in Constraint Name.

This constraint can be included or excluded from the group of courses.

• Check Exclude Constraint, if appropriate. A blank box means ONLY rooms  with this constraint will be scheduled for this group of courses.

• Enter Amount of times the constraint must be true for the room to be included. Example:  If the room must have both a class size of 20 and a room type of Classroom to be eligible for a group of courses, these values would be entered in the detail and the Amount set to 2.

• Click .

• Click to select the property and value.

• Click line number of constraint. Line highlights and the detail screen displays.

• Click on the Properties bar. Add School Course Room Property Constraint screen displays.

• Click Room Property List and select property.

• Enter Property Value. This must match the information entered for the room exactly. If the selected property is a lookup table, the code for the lookup table should be entered.

• Click . Add School Course Room Property Constraint screen closes and information is displayed on Properties grid.

• Repeat procedure to add additional properties.

• Click when finished.

Time Constraints

The courses, teachers, and rooms assigned to a subject category can also be limited to specific periods, terms, or meeting days using Time Constraints.

Add Time Constraint

• Click on Time Constraints bar. A new line is added.

This constraint can be a pattern to include (the course will be scheduled for the period, term, and meeting days indicated), or to exclude the times indicated.

• Check Exclude Pattern, if appropriate. If checked, this will set the course so that its sections cannot be scheduled during the periods, terms or meeting days indicated.

• Click Begin and End Period Range s and select.

• Repeat for Term Range.

• Check Meeting Days, if setup and used at the school.

• Click .