wsipc guide to the advanced master schedule builder process

WSIPC Guide to the Advanced Master Schedule Builder Process

WSIPC Guide to Advanced Master Schedule Builder (December 2014) i Version 05.14.10.00.04

Contents Contents i

About This Guide 1

Concepts You Should Know 1 Section vs. Class 1 Course Master vs. Schedule Master 1 Placing vs. Scheduling 1 MSB vs. AMSB 1

What You Should Know Before You Start 1 Be Sure You’re Signed In 1

How to Use This Guide 1 Navigation Paths 2 Getting Around 2 Screen Shots 2

What’s in a WSIPC Guide 2 Do Not Post This Guide to the Public Internet 3

What’s New in This Edition 3

How the Advanced Master Schedule Builder Process Works 4

Setting Up the Advanced Master Schedule Builder 5

Current Year Scheduling Setup of the AMSB 6 STEP 1: Activate the Advanced Master Schedule Builder for Current Year 6 STEP 2: Run the Advanced Master Schedule Builder Setup Utility 6

Future Year Scheduling Setup of the AMSB 7 STEP 3: Clone the Schedule Master from Current Year to Next Year 8 STEP 4: Activate the AMSB for Future Year 9 STEP 5: Initialize Records: Clearing Teacher, Room, and Period Information 9 STEP 6: Re-synchronize Student Class Counts 10 STEP 7: Make Scheduling Period Times Available to the Master Schedule Builder 10 STEP 8: Configure Staff Maintenance Information 13 STEP 9: Configure Room Assignments 19 STEP 10: Perform Course Maintenance 21 STEP 11: Create Sections and Class Meets 28 STEP 12: Configure Section Details 29 STEP 13: Configure Class Meet Details 32

Managing Student Requests 34

Contents

WSIPC Guide to Advanced Master Schedule Builder (December 2014) i Version 05.14.10.00.04

Important Tasks to Perform Before Running the Master Schedule Builder 35

STEP 14: Create a Schedule Master Save Point 36 STEP 15: Estimate the Number of Students in Each Section 36 STEP 16: Compare the Estimated Number of Sections and Actual Number of Sections Values 36 STEP 17: Calculate Potential Conflicts in the Schedule Master 37 STEP 18: Run Course Validation Report 37

Building the Schedule Master 38

Using the Automated Mode to Build the Schedule Master 39 Configuring the Automated Master Schedule Builder 39 Viewing the Results 44

Using the Interactive Mode to Build the Schedule Master 44 Configuring the Interactive Master Schedule Builder 45 Placing Sections Using the Interactive Master Schedule Builder 47 Master Schedule Builder Suggestion Rules-Point Breakdown 53 Using Both Interactive Master Schedule Builder and Interactive Scheduling Board Interchangeably 54 Viewing the Results 54

Next Steps 55

Appendix A - Advanced Master Schedule Builder Checklist 56

Appendix B - Understanding AMSB Logic Processes 59

Appendix C - Frequently Asked Questions 60

I am receiving a warning on the Analysis screen of the Interactive Master Schedule Builder that states there are not enough seats to accommodate the class maximum 60 In the Interactive Master Schedule Builder why is a specific period not appearing or being suggested? 60 In Interactive Master Schedule Builder why is my Analyze button unavailable? 60 In the Interactive Master Schedule Builder why is the Analyze button unavailable even though the meeting pattern is displayed? 61 When we run the Automated Master Schedule Builder, it generates a report called the Automated Master Builder Warning Report. Why are we getting warnings on all of our classes saying we do not have enough seats? 61 We are trying to run the Automated Master Schedule Builder and all of the courses are being placed in one period. Why is it not spreading them out throughout the day? 61

WSIPC Guide to Advanced Master Schedule Builder (December 2015) 1 Version 05.15.10.00.03

About This Guide This Guide explains the Advanced Master Scheduler Builder Process and how it’s used in Future Scheduling. The Advanced Master Schedule Builder (AMSB) Process is an optional supplemental tool that assists in building a Schedule Master for an Entity. It uses many of the utilities and reports in Future Scheduling that you may already be familiar with. The AMSB process requires a significant amount of setup time to ensure that a Schedule Master is built with the least amount of conflicts. It uses the Master Schedule Builder (MSB) along with specific advanced settings from the Course Master to determine the best placement of classes within the Schedule Master. Caution Every step described in this Guide must be followed to complete the

AMSB process.

Concepts You Should Know Before you learn how to use the AMSB process, familiarize yourself with the following pairs of terms used throughout this Guide.

Section vs. Class The words Section and Class appear throughout the Future Scheduling module. Though these words technically mean the same thing, there are subtle differences in the way the terms are used. Most areas of Future Scheduling use the word Class when a process or area involves a student, and the word Section when a process or area involves a course or the Course Master. For example, a student enrolls in a Class, but a Course contains Sections. For the sake of simplicity, this Guide uses the word Section in both cases.

Course Master vs. Schedule Master A Course Master contains information about an Entity’s Courses, Sections and Meets. (A Meet defines such things as the day of the week the Section is taught.) The Schedule Master (also called the Master Schedule) defines the Entity’s plan for Courses it will offer.

About This Guide


Placing vs. Scheduling The premise of the AMSB process is to find the best possible placement of Courses within the Schedule Master. This Guide uses Placing when referring to a Course/Class and Scheduling when referring to a student.

MSB vs. AMSB The Master Schedule Builder (MSB) is a tool used to build the Schedule Master. It can be processed using two modes: Interactive or Automated. It uses student requests, teacher availability, and room usage to determine where each Course should be placed to minimize student conflicts. The MSB, without the AMSB enabled, can only suggest or assign Periods. The Advanced Master Schedule Builder (AMSB) Process uses the MSB tool, along with specific advanced settings from the Course Master to determine the best placement of Classes within the Schedule Master. With the AMSB enabled, you now have the ability to suggest or assign Control Sets, Day Meets, staff members, and room numbers.

What You Should Know Before You Start You’ll find that the Guide is much more helpful if you have experience with the Future Scheduling, Current Scheduling, and Student Demographics modules.

Be Sure You’re Signed In This Guide is intended to be read while you are working in the areas of the software that involve the AMSB process, so be sure you are signed in. Many of the procedures and concepts discussed in the Guide are best understood if you practice as you read.

How to Use This Guide This section shows you how to follow navigation paths in a Guide, and how to navigate around the Guide using various features. This section also describes how and when screen shots are used in the Guide.

About This Guide


Navigation Paths The procedures in this Guide begin with navigation menu paths. Select the Display Navigation Menu Paths check box in User Preferences to ensure that you can follow these paths. The option is not available in User Preferences if it is already enabled for the entire district. To learn more about setting User Preferences, see the WSIPC Guide to Skyward’s School Management System.

Getting Around If you’re using this Guide electronically, you can click any text in blue font to move to the section of the Guide that the text refers to. Because the Guides are published in PDF format, you can also use the PDF navigation pane to quickly move from one

section to another. If the pane is hidden, click the Bookmark button in the menu bar on the left side of the screen.

Screen Shots You’ll find screen shots throughout the Guide to help you learn how to use the software. The data entered in the screen shots in this Guide is an example of the data you might enter. These screen shots are updated with each edition to make sure what you see on your screen matches what you see in the Guide. To prevent the Guide from becoming a lengthy picture book, WSIPC Guides use screen shots only to help illustrate a key idea or when options on a screen are described. This allows WSIPC Guides to be effective and concise.

What’s in a WSIPC Guide WSIPC Guides are designed to provide readers with everything they need to know to safely and effectively use Skyward’s software. WSIPC strives to make Guides that address the diverse needs of these audiences. Therefore, this Guide doesn’t contain information customized for specific audiences, districts, or schools.

If you need to create educational materials that address the specific needs of your Service Center or district, consider using this Guide as a starting point for developing your own customized materials.

http://skydoc.wa-k12.net/skydoc/-WSIPC%20Guide%20to%20Skyward%E2%80%99s%20School%20Management%20System.pdf

http://skydoc.wa-k12.net/skydoc/-WSIPC%20Guide%20to%20Skyward%E2%80%99s%20School%20Management%20System.pdf

About This Guide


Do Not Post This Guide to the Public Internet The information contained in this Guide is copyright protected. You may store a digital copy of this Guide on your internal server for access by authorized users. Allowing access to this Guide by anonymous users, including search engine crawlers, is not permitted. If you are unsure whether your website is open or your server is protected from crawlers, contact your systems administrator.

What’s New in This Edition This section highlights the significant changes to the Guide since the last edition such as content about new features, important notes and cautions, and sections of the Guide that have been expanded or moved.

Description of Change Page #

Updated the Guide to reflect WSIPC’s November 2015 software release version 05.15.10.00.03.

N/A


How the Advanced Master Schedule Builder Process Works

The Advanced Master Schedule Builder (AMSB) process assists in the creation of a Schedule Master and schedules Control Sets (Terms), Day Meet patterns, Periods of the day, staff members, and classrooms. This process can handle nearly any type of scheduling, including team scheduling, block scheduling, day rotation, and Course Masters with staggered lunches (Period Redefinition). After the initial setup in the Course Master, the AMSB process can create an entire Schedule Master. Using the AMSB process may be helpful to a school that is completely recreating its Schedule Master, and to a school that is making only minor adjustments to the Course Master from year to year. When you run the AMSB process, it selects a Course to process according to specific range values you enter and then analyzes every possible combination of Control Set, Day Meet pattern, Period, staff member, and room for the Sections of that Course. “Points” are awarded for each individual aspect of each combination, taking into account all of the AMSB setup and Master Builder Rules. The possible combinations are then ranked by the total number of points, with the “best possible values” represented by the suggested record containing the highest point value. When determining the possibility of each individual field, a list of “warnings” is created that shows the Master Builder Rules that would potentially be broken by making this assignment. The AMSB process uses information from specific areas in the Course Master to determine the best placement of classes within a Schedule Master. Information is gathered for this process from the areas shown in the table below.

Current Year Future Year

Scheduling Period Times Course Maintenance

Staff Maintenance Class Section Maintenance

Building Room Maintenance Class Meet Maintenance

Best Practice

Read this entire document to become familiar with the functionality of the AMSB before proceeding with any setup.


Setting Up the Advanced Master Schedule Builder

The most important part of creating a Schedule Master with the least amount of conflicts is taking the time to set up the many areas that the Advanced Master Schedule Builder (AMSB) process looks at. There are specific steps you must take to ensure the successful creation of your Schedule Master. Caution You must complete each Setup step in the exact order that is listed

in this Guide. Although the AMSB process is used to build a Course Master for Future Scheduling, the first two steps are performed in the Current Scheduling module. The remaining setup steps are performed in the Future Scheduling module. Setting up the AMSB involves the following steps: Current Year Scheduling Setup of the AMSB

STEP 1: Activate the Advanced Master Schedule Builder for Current Year

STEP 2: Run the Advanced Master Schedule Builder Setup Utility Future Year Scheduling Setup of the AMSB

STEP 3: Clone the Schedule Master from Current Year to Next Year STEP 4: Activate the AMSB for Future STEP 5: Initialize Records: Clearing Teacher, Room, and Period

Information STEP 6: Re-synchronize Student Class Counts STEP 7: Make Scheduling Period Times STEP 8: Configure Staff Maintenance Information STEP 9: Configure Room Assignments STEP 10: Perform Course Maintenance STEP 11: Create Sections and Class Meets STEP 12: Configure Section Details STEP 13: Configure Class Meet Details

This section explains each step.



Current Year Scheduling Setup of the AMSB This section explains the AMSB setup steps you perform in the Current Scheduling module.

STEP 1: Activate the Advanced Master Schedule Builder for Current Year In order to perform the necessary setup steps in Current Year Scheduling, you must activate the AMSB for the current year. After the AMSB is activated, new utilities, tabs, and options appear in the Course Master. To activate the AMSB for the current year:

1. Go to Student Management\Office\CS Setup\CF\SE.

2. Expand the School Year Record for the current year.

3. Next to the Entity Year Options heading, click Edit Entity Year Options.

4. Select the Use Advanced Master Schedule Builder check box.

5. Click Save.

STEP 2: Run the Advanced Master Schedule Builder Setup Utility The Advanced Master Schedule Builder (AMSB) Setup Utility assists in the configuration of data for use in creating a Schedule Master using the AMSB. The AMSB Setup Utility is typically run on Current Year data prior to cloning the Current Year Schedule Master to the next year. The utility populates the setup options for Courses in the Current Year. Fields that will be used by the AMSB process to create the Schedule Master are populated on the courses. The fields will contain all of the possibilities that the utility determines from the Meet Patterns on each existing Section. This includes, but is not limited to, the following: Control Sets, Day Meet Patterns, Periods, Recommended Staff and Rooms.



Note Running this utility multiple times will not adversely affect the data. If you run the AMSB Setup Utility more than once, it re-processes through the Schedule Master and re-populates all of the Course and Class Section values that apply to AMSB, except for the Day Patterns. This utility only creates and assigns Day Pattern Records the first time the utility is run.

Example: A Course has a single Section that is offered Semester 2 and you update the Control Sets for the Course to include Semester 1, but do not build a second Section that is offered Semester 1. When you run the utility again, the Semester 1 Control Set is deleted. The Semester 2 Control Set remains because you only have a Section that is offered Semester 2.

To run the Advanced Master Schedule Builder Setup Utility:

1. Go to Student Management\Office\CS\BC Setup\UT\AS.

2. Click Run. After the utility has finished processing, a report displays how many Course and Class Records were modified.

Tip You can narrow the ranges for Course Key when running this utility

if you choose to run it for a specific Course or Courses.

Future Year Scheduling Setup of the AMSB After you complete the AMSB setup steps in Current Year, you are ready to clone the Schedule Master from Current Year to Next Year. By doing this, you can bring forward all the information you have just populated in the Current Year Schedule Master and clone it forward to the Next Year for use with the AMSB Process. Depending on whether you clone Class Meet Records, you will have an opportunity to clear existing data such as teachers and Periods so that the AMSB process can make the decision as to which teacher and Period to assign to a Class.



STEP 3: Clone the Schedule Master from Current Year to Next Year Consider whether you want your Next Year Schedule Master to be built entirely by the Master Schedule Builder (MSB) or whether you want the MSB to make minimal changes to your cloned schedule. If you have already cloned your Schedule Master this is an optional step. If you are going to make a lot of changes to your Schedule Master and intend to have the MSB build your entire schedule for you, do the following: Run the Clone Scheduling Master Files Utility (Student Management\

Office\FS Setup\UT\CS), and select Courses only in the Records to Clone box. Note The MSB can create some Class Meet Records. However, it is

recommended that the desired number of Section Records exist for each Course, and that each Section has at least one Class Meet Record. To learn more about the Auto Generate Sections and Class Meets Utility, see “STEP 11: Create Sections and Class Meets” (page 28).

If you want the MSB to make minimal changes only, do the following: Run the Clone Scheduling Master Files Utility (Student Management\

Office\FS Setup\UT\CS), and select Courses and Sections or Courses, Sections and Class Meets in the Records to Clone box.

To learn more about the Clone Scheduling Master Files Utility, see the “Run the Clone Scheduling Master Files Utility” section of the WSIPC Guide to Future Scheduling: Part One - Preparing to Schedule. Tip Create a Schedule Master Save Point (Student Management\

Office\FS\BC Setup\UT\SP). This saves the Schedule Master and all associated Schedule Master Detail Records, including Class Meets that you have cloned before initializing.

http://skydoc.wa-k12.net/skydoc/-WSIPC Guide to Future Scheduling - Part One - Preparing to Schedule.pdf




STEP 4: Activate the AMSB for Future Year In order to perform the necessary AMSB setup steps in Future Year Scheduling, you must activate the AMSB in Future Scheduling Entity Year Setup for Future Year. After you do this, new utilities, areas, and options become available in the Course Master. To activate the AMSB for the future year:

1. Go to Student Management\Office\FS Setup\CF\SE.

2. Expand the record for the school year being scheduled.

3. Next to the Entity Year Options heading, click Edit Entity Year Options.

4. In the Entity Year Options area, select Use Advanced Master Schedule Builder.

5. Click Save.

STEP 5: Initialize Records: Clearing Teacher, Room, and Period Information When cloning the Course Master, if you chose to clone Class Meets you must now delete or reset some data in the Class Meet Records before the Classes are placed in the Schedule Master. This is called initializing. You can use the Initialize Class Meet Details Utility (Student Management\Office\FS\BM Setup\UT\IC) to clear all teachers, rooms, and/or Period information in order to allow the AMSB to assign the values for teacher, room and Period. To learn more about this utility, see the “Step 4: Prepare Meeting Patterns for Placement in the Schedule Master” section of the WSIPC Guide to Future Scheduling: Part Three - Building the Schedule Master. Note In the Initialize Class Meet Details area, there is the option, Only

Initialize Classes Built by the Master Builder. This option is used after the MSB has suggested Periods for Classes. It deletes the suggested Periods so that you can start over without resetting any Periods you may have assigned manually, including “gotta be’s” or “must haves.”

Note The Display Periods and Attendance Periods on the Meeting Pattern

are not initialized with a zero Period. The current value remains until a Period assignment is made through the MSB.

http://skydoc.wa-k12.net/skydoc/-WSIPC Guide to Future Scheduling - Part Three - Building the Schedule Master.pdf




STEP 6: Re-synchronize Student Class Counts After you clone the Schedule Master from the Current Year to Next Year, you must also run the Re-synchronize Student Class Counts Utility (Student Management\Office\FS\BC Setup\UT\RS). This utility updates the values in the Current Requests box on the Course Master and the Number of Requests box for each Section.

STEP 7: Make Scheduling Period Times Available to the Master Schedule Builder Now that you have activated the AMSB and run the AMSB Setup Utility to populate fields in the Course Master, you must edit the Scheduling Period Times and make appropriate periods available to the Master Schedule Builder (MSB). The Scheduling Period Times contain the lists of Periods and the corresponding start and stop times where you must specify the Period(s) that can be scheduled by the MSB tool. Prior to completing this step, ensure that the appropriate Day Meeting Pattern Codes exist (Student Management\Office\CS\BC Setup\CO\DP). You need a Day Pattern for each combination of days that Classes meet, typically just one (MTWRF). To review Scheduling Period Times available to the Master Schedule Builder:

1. Go to Student Management\Office\CS\BC Setup\CO\SP.

2. Select a Display Period and click Edit.

3. Review and configure the Scheduling Period Times screen (Figure 1). Table 1 describes the options on this screen.

4. Click Save.

5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 to configure each Period you want to make

available to the MSB.



Figure 1 - Scheduling Period Times screen

Option Description

Day Meeting Pattern

The Day Meeting Pattern associated with this Period. This value appears in the Master Builder Settings in the Course, in the Day Patterns field. If none exist, you must create Day Meeting Patterns in the Codes area (Student Management\Office\CS\BC Setup\CO\DP). You need a Day Pattern for each combination of days that Classes meet, typically just one (MTWRF). Note: Day Meet Patterns are cloned from year to year.

Allow Period to be suggested by Master Builder

Allows the Master Schedule Builder to suggest or auto-assign this Period. Note: If the Period is not available to the Master Builder, it will not appear in the Master Builder Settings area in the Periods field on each Course. Example: You may not want the Master Builder to suggest a Period if there is a designated period of the day where all students are attending lunch, advisory or zero hour.



Option Description

Considered Lunch Period (for Staff Members)

Indicates this is a lunch period for a staff member. Note: When suggesting the best staff member to teach a Section of a Course, the Master Builder attempts to leave a Lunch Period open for each staff member. This does not mean that the Master Builder will always leave a Lunch Period open for each person, but it will influence the decision when multiple Periods or staff members are available.

Schedule Period Hours Per Day

The number of hours per day that classes meet during this Period. For example, if the selected period is 45 minutes, the value entered in this field would be .75 (45 minutes in this period/60 minutes in a period hour). If the selected period is 1 hour and 15 minutes, the value entered in this field would be 1.25 (75 minutes in this period/60 minutes in a period hour). Note: The Maximum Total Teaching Hours and Maximum Consecutive Teaching Hours values for a Staff member, reference this field to determine the hours that a teacher can teach in a day.

Block Periods

Stores the periods that are linked to this Period for Block Scheduling. The AMSB process attempts to schedule a Blocked Section into two linked periods. For example, if periods 1, 2 and 3 are a block period, you would enter “2,3” for the Display Period 1 Record, then you would enter “1,3” for the Display Period 2 Record, and lastly you would enter “1,2” for the Display Period 3 Record. Tip: You can use Block Periods without using the AMSB. However, the AMSB option must be enabled. To learn how to enable the AMSB option, see “STEP 4: Activate the AMSB for Future Year” (page 9).

Table 1 - Options on the Scheduling Period Times screen



STEP 8: Configure Staff Maintenance Information This step involves maintaining Staff information for teachers, and is optional depending on your district’s business practices. Configuring Staff maintenance information includes the following tasks: Adding Staff Qualifications Adding Maximum Total and Maximum Consecutive Teaching Hours and

Room Number Running the Mass Assign Teacher Schedule Fields Utility Assigning a NY Scheduling Team Creating Do Not Schedule Time Entry Records

Each task is described below.

Adding Staff Qualifications The AMSB process looks at Staff and Course qualifications when assigning teachers to Sections of the Course. If no qualifications are entered, the AMSB process assumes there are none required to teach the Course. This option works in conjunction with the Qualifications area in the Course Master/General Properties area. To learn more about adding Qualifications through the Course Master, see “Adding Qualifications to a Course” (page 22) in “STEP 10: Perform Course Maintenance.” Note None of the information in this area affects or impacts CEDARS state

reporting. To add Staff Qualifications:

1. Go to Student Management\Staff\SF\SF.

2. Select the staff member you want to add Qualifications for and expand the record.

3. Next to the Qualifications heading, click Add Qualifications.

4. In the Endorsement box, select the appropriate Endorsement.

Note Your district has the option to change these titles.

To customize the titles in this area (Human Resources\ Employee\EP Setup\CF\EC), contact your Human Resources office.



5. In the Eligibility box, select the appropriate Eligibility if needed.

Note Your district has the option to change these titles.


6. Select the Highly Qualified check box if the teacher is identified as Highly

Qualified in the selected Subject area.

7. Click Save.

Adding Maximum Total and Maximum Consecutive Teaching Hours and Room Number The AMSB process assigns teachers to a Course, but you have the option to limit the number of hours or consecutive hours a staff member may teach during the school day. This is defined by the Schedule Period Hours Per Day value in the Scheduling Period Times table. Once a staff member is assigned to his or her limit of hours or consecutive hours, the AMSB process assigns other staff members who are designated to teach the Course. In addition, you can also assign a Room Number to a specific staff member. To learn more about Configuring Room Assignments, see “STEP 9: Configure Room Assignments” (page 19). To add Maximum Total and Maximum Consecutive Teaching Hours and Room Number:


2. Select the staff member you want to add Maximum Total and Maximum Consecutive Teaching Hours or Room Number for and expand the record.

3. Expand the Entity heading.

4. Click Edit to the left of the Entity number.



5. Enter values in the Maximum Total Teaching Hours, Maximum Consecutive Teaching Hours and Room Number boxes (see Figure 2 for an example). Note Maximum Total Teaching Hours and Maximum Consecutive

Teaching Hours are the number of minutes (stated as hours) that a teacher teaches during a school day. They are not the number of periods taught in a day. Typically these two values are the same unless a teacher is on a restricted scheduled (such as a medical condition), then you might adjust the Maximum Consecutive Teaching Hours value. Maximum Total Teaching Hours and Maximum Consecutive Teaching Hours are only available on the Staff Entity tab when the AMSB is activated for your Entity.

6. Click Save.

Figure 2 - Example of Maximum Total Teaching Hours and Maximum Consecutive Teaching Hours when an Entity has six Periods in a school day and the teacher is required to have one prep Period



Running the Mass Assign Teacher Schedule Fields Utility You can use the Mass Assign Teacher Schedule Fields Utility to update Maximum Total Teaching Hours and Maximum Consecutive Teaching Hours for a range of teachers or for individual staff members. To run the Mass Assign Teacher Schedule Fields Utility:

1. Go to Student Management\Staff\SF Setup\UT\MS.

2. Do one of the following: Select Ranges to select Courses. Select Individual to select teachers to update.

3. In the Fields to Update area (Figure 3), select the Update Maximum Total

Teaching Hours to check box and the Update Maximum Consecutive Teaching Hours to check box.

4. Enter values in the Maximum Total Teaching Hours and Maximum Consecutive Teaching Hours boxes (Figure 2 on page 15 for an example).

5. Click Process.

Figure 3 - Example of Mass Assign Maximum Total Teaching Hours and Maximum Consecutive Teaching Hours when an Entity has six Periods in a school day and the teacher is required to have one prep Period



Assigning a NY Scheduling Team If your Entity is going to use the AMSB process to assign teachers to Meets, and you’re also using Scheduling Teams, this option ensures that the correct teacher is being assigned to the correct Section. Assigning a Scheduling Team to a staff member increases the possibility that the staff member will be assigned to a Section that is also assigned to the same Scheduling Team. To assign a NY Scheduling Team:


2. Select a staff member and expand the record.

3. Expand the Entity heading.

4. Click Edit to the left of the Entity number.

5. In the NY Scheduling Team box, select a Team.

6. Click Save. Note The staff member must also be included in the Course’s

Recommended Staff list to be considered for assignment to a Section. To learn more about this requirement, see “Selecting Master Builder Settings” (page 23).

Creating Do Not Schedule Time Entry Records Before you use the AMSB process to build the Schedule Master, you must specify any teacher unavailability. If a teacher is not available to teach for a specific Period of the day, you add it to the teacher’s schedule as a Do Not Schedule Time Entry Record. This prevents the AMSB process from assigning specific teachers to Periods when they aren’t available to teach. To create a Do Not Schedule Time Entry Record:


2. Select the staff member you want to add a Do Not Schedule Time Entry Record for and expand the record.

3. Next to the Schedule heading, click View Schedule Matrix for Current/Next

Year and Edit ‘Do Not Schedule’ time.



4. Click Filter Options.

5. In the School Year area, select Next Year.

6. Click Save.

7. Click Add ‘Do Not Schedule’ Records on the right side of the screen.

8. Select the Periods, Days, and Terms during which the staff member is not

available to teach (Figure 4).

9. In the Reason box, enter text that explains why the staff member is not available.

10. Click Save. Note You can add Do Not Schedule Time Entry Records for a range of

teachers through the Mass Assign Teacher Schedule Fields Utility. For example, if all 10th grade Math teachers need to have their Prep time during Period 2, you can use this utility to add the unavailability to their schedules at the same time. To learn more about this utility, see “Running the Mass Assign Teacher Schedule Fields Utility” (page 16).

Figure 4 - Creating a Do Not Schedule Time Entry Record on the Maintain ‘Do Not Schedule’ Time screen



STEP 9: Configure Room Assignments Configuring Room Assignments allows the MSB to assign a room. If you do not select the option for the MSB to Assign Room Numbers, then configuring Room Assignments is not necessary. To learn how to assign a Room Number to a staff member, see “STEP 8: Configure Staff Maintenance Information” (page 13). To configure Room Assignments:

1. Go to Student Management\Office\CS Setup\CO\BU.

2. Select the Building Code you want to update and expand the record.

3. Expand the Building Room Codes area.

4. Click View All Rooms in this Building.

5. Select the designated room and click Edit.

6. Configure the Room Code Maintenance screen (Figure 5). Table 2 describes some of the options on this screen.

7. Click Save.

Figure 5 - Room Code Maintenance screen



Option Description

Description Description of the room.

Room Status Shows if the room is Active or Inactive.

Seating Maximum

Defines the maximum number of seats that are available in this room.

Note: This value can’t be less than the Maximum Students value on the section.

Note: If this value isn’t defined, in the MSB (Interactive Mode) when analyzing classes you will receive warnings that the room does not have enough seats to accommodate the maximum. You will also receive a message on the Automated Master Builder Warning Report in the MSB (Automated Mode) but you have to fix the class maximum before it will assign a room.

Maximum Classes Assigned

This box is used in conjunction with the Room Type and Seating Maximum to assign each active section in a room. The Master Builder will first try to assign classes to every room of a specific type, but when all rooms have been used, it may need to put more than one class in a room. Note: If this value is 1, multiple classes will not be assigned in a period.

Room Type

Specifies the type of room required for the section. Room Types could include Gym, Band, Lab, or Classroom. Note: When you edit the Room Type Code, you must click the Room Type hyperlink to see these values. The Estimated Number of Seats range defined for each Room Type value does not govern a room’s section’s maximum student seat capacity. The Seating Maximum value in combination with the Max Classes Assigned value governs the capacity and number of classes that can be scheduled simultaneously into a room.

Table 2 - Options on the Room Code Maintenance screen



STEP 10: Perform Course Maintenance The majority of the setup for the AMSB is performed in the Course Master after the AMSB Setup Utility has been run. To ensure your Schedule Master is built with the fewest conflicts, you will review various fields in multiple areas of the Course Master and make the necessary adjustments.

Viewing the Actual Number of Sections The Actual Number of Sections value is used when building the Schedule Master instead of the value in the Estimated Number of Sections. The Actual Number of Sections value is automatically updated based on the number of actual Sections on the Course. These values are used in building the Schedule Master and must match in order for the system to build the Schedule Master correctly. Note To review these values for multiple courses in your Course Master,

you can use the Course Report by Course or the Course/Class Count Report.

To view the Actual Number of Sections:

1. Go to Student Management\Office\FS\BC\CM.

2. Select the Course you want to view, and click Edit Course on the right side of the screen.

3. In the General Properties area of the Edit Course screen, view the number

populated in the Actual Nbr of Sections box. Figure 6 provides an example. Note If you suspect the value in Actual Nbr of Sections is not

correct, run the Re-synchronize Student Class Counts Utility. To learn more about this utility, see “STEP 6: Re-synchronize Student Class Counts” (page 10).

4. Click Back.



Figure 6 - The Edit Course screen showing the Actual Nbr of Sections box

Adding Qualifications to a Course If Qualifications are entered for a Course, a teacher must meet at least one of these Qualifications to be assigned to a Section of the Course. If there are no Qualifications for the Course, it is assumed none are required. Having Qualifications entered on a Course prevents a teacher from being assigned to a Section if he or she does not have Qualifications entered on the Staff Record, and is not designated as Highly Qualified for at least one of the Course’s Qualifications. Qualifications in the Course Master area work in conjunction with Qualifications in the Staff area. To learn more about adding Qualifications for a staff member, see “Adding Staff Qualifications” (page 13). To add Qualifications to a Course:


2. Select a Course you want to add Qualifications for.

3. Click Edit Course.

4. Next to the Qualifications heading, click Add a Qualification.

5. In the Endorsement box, select the appropriate Endorsement.

Note Your district has the option to change these titles. To customize the titles in this area (Human Resources\ Employee\EP Setup\CF\EC), contact your Human Resources office.



6. In the Eligibility box, select the appropriate Eligibility, if needed. Note Your district has the option to change these titles.


7. Do one of the following:

Click Save. Click Save and Go to Prev Course. Click Save and Go to Next Course. Click Back if you did not add any Qualifications.

Note In order for the MSB to use Qualifications as part of its

selection criteria, Qualifications must be entered for the teacher in the Staff area and in the General Properties area on the Course Master. A teacher must meet at least one matching Qualification on his or her Staff Record to be assigned to Sections of the Course.

Selecting Master Builder Settings After activating the AMSB in Entity Year Options, the Master Builder Settings area appears in the Course Master when you edit a Course. The options in this area are specific to the AMSB process. Some of the values in this area are populated from each Section and Class Meet of the Course when the AMSB Setup Utility is run in the Current Year Course Master. The values appear in the Next Year Course Master after cloning is completed. To select Master Builder Settings:


2. Select a Course you want to change the Master Builder Settings for.

3. Click Edit Course.

4. Expand the Master Builder Settings area.



5. Configure the Master Builder Settings screen (Figure 7). Table 3 describes the options on this screen. Note Configuring the Master Builder Settings for each Course

gives you the flexibility to make adjustments to the Courses in your Schedule Master for the next school year. These changes might include adding or removing a teacher, changing the Control Sets, changing the Period a Course is offered, or adding constraints. By configuring the Master Builder Settings to reflect as many allowable placements and assignments of a class, and also listing necessary constraints, the closer the MSB can build a Schedule Master that meets you needs with the fewest amount of conflicts.


Click Save. Click Save and Go to Prev Course. Click Save and Go to Next Course. Click Back if no changes.

Figure 7 - Master Builder Settings screen



Option Description

Control Sets

Specifies the approximate percentage of Sections to offer during each Control Set, such as Semester 1, Semester 2. To make a change to the % distribution, click Edit. Note: To Update Control Sets Possible for Courses within your Course Master, run the Update Control Sets Possible Utility (Student Management\Office\FS\BC Setup\UT\UC).

Day Patterns

Specifies what Day Patterns to use when assigning a Day Pattern to the Class Meet. After the AMSB Setup Utility is run, the Day Patterns area automatically populates. The area lists all possible combinations of Day Patterns that exist on any Class Meets in the Course Master. This option is used in conjunction with Number of Days, discussed in “STEP 11: Create Sections and Class Meets” (page 28). Note: If you leave this option blank, the AMSB process will not use Day Patterns to determine placement of classes. Note: To set up Day Pattern Codes for selection in the AMSB, go to Day Pattern Codes (Student Management\Office\FS\BC Setup\CO\DP).

Periods

Specifies which periods you want the MSB to consider when scheduling the Class. Remove all Periods that you don’t want the MSB to consider for a Class Meet’s placement. Note: The AMSB process will never place Classes in Period 00.



Option Description

Recommended Staff

Displays the specific teachers that you want to teach the Classes. They are populated from the AMSB Setup Utility from the existing Meet Patterns. Add or remove teachers as desired based on who should teach the Classes next year. Note: You can specify a priority for a staff assignment, as well as give a teacher a minimum and maximum percentage of Sections to be taught. Note: After the AMSB Setup Utility is run, the Recommended Staff area automatically populates with the teacher(s) currently assigned to any of the Course’s Class Meet patterns. The Recommended Staff can be cloned from year to year through the Future Year Scheduling process if the Clone This Record to Next Year check box is selected. If the Clone This Record to Next Year check box is cleared when you run the AMSB Setup Utility in Next Year’s data, the Recommended Staff won’t be added to the list because they aren’t on the Meet Pattern.

Master Builder Constraints

Allows you to establish rules that determine how Sections for a Course are placed in the MSB in relation to Sections of another Course. To learn more about this feature, see “Understanding Master Builder Constraints” (page 28).

Manual Course Rank

Specifies a value in the Manual Course Rank to determine the order in which Courses are processed and placed in the Scheduled Master by the MSB. Any Course changed to a value lower than 999 will be processed earlier. This is the first criterion used to determine the order in which Courses are processed. Note: To exclude a Course from being processed by the MSB, type “0” in the Manual Course Rank box.



Option Description

Allow Multiple Sections To Be Scheduled During Same Period

Allows the MSB to assign multiple Sections in the same Period. If you specify a value in The Maximum Percentage of Sections Allowed in One Period box, it limits the number of Sections assigned in the same Period. Example: You have run the Auto-Generate Section and Class Meet Records Utility. There are 16 Sections of Chemistry for S1, but there are only 4 Chemistry lab classrooms available per Period. To ensure that the AMSB process won’t schedule more than 4 Sections in 1 period, select Allow Multiple Sections to be Scheduled During Same Period and set the Maximum Percentage of Sections Allowed in One Period value to 25%.

Maximum Percentage of Sections Allowed in One Period

If the Allow Multiple Sections to Be Scheduled During Same Period is selected, this option becomes available and allows you to limit the number of Sections assigned in the same Period.

Table 3 - Options on the Master Builder Settings screen



Understanding Master Builder Constraints Constraints allow you to establish rules that determine how Sections for a Course are placed in relation to Sections of another Course. Options include placement based on the following criteria: Terms before or after another Class The same or different terms as another Class The same, different, or sequential Periods as another Class The same or different rooms as another Class The same or different teacher as another Class

Example: Art 110 is a Semester 1 Class and needs to be offered before Art 120 which is a Semester 2 Class (Figure 8). The constraints allow you to link the Courses, and select applicable Sections that the constraint applies to, and specify which Course should be placed first.

Figure 8 - Master Builder Constraints Maintenance screen

STEP 11: Create Sections and Class Meets You can use the Auto Generate Sections and Class Meets Utility (Student Management\Office\FS\BC Setup\UT\AG) to automatically create Section and Class Meet Records. However, this utility will not delete extra Sections if they exist. Be sure that each Section that exists has at least one Class Meet Record before running the MSB. If you don’t want to run this utility, but need additional Sections and Class Meets, be sure the Estimated and Actual values match. Add Sections and Class Meets or delete Sections and Classes meet to ensure the Estimated and the Actual value match.



STEP 12: Configure Section Details There are specific options in the Class Section Maintenance area that the MSB looks at when placing Classes in the Schedule Master. You can also find and change some of these options in the Section Defaults area within the Course Master. To configure Section Details:


2. Select a Course you want to configure and expand the record.

3. Expand Section Details.

4. Click Edit to the left of the Section.

5. Configure the Class Section Maintenance area of the Edit Section screen (Figure 9). Table 4 describes the options that are related to how the MSB functions in this area.

6. Click Save.

Figure 9 - Edit Section screen



Option Description

Number of Days

Represents the number of days per week that the Class should meet. This value is used to assign a Day Pattern to a Class Meet from the list of available choices. Only those Day Patterns that are in agreement with the Number of Days value are used when scheduling Class Meets for the Section. Example: The Day Patterns area may contain the following combinations: MTWRF, TWRF, MWF, TRF, MRF and if the value in the Number of Days box is 3, the Patterns that are considered when scheduling a Class Meet are those that comprise 3 days (MWF, TRF and MRF). If you don’t want the MRF pattern to be considered for a Class Meet, you must remove it from the Day Pattern selections. To learn more about this, see “Selecting Master Builder Settings” (page 23).

Number of Periods

The number of Periods that need to be assigned to the Class Meets for the Section. If the value in Number of Periods is greater than the number of Class Meets for the Section, additional Class Meet Records are required and need to be created by running the Auto Generate Sections and Class Meets Utility. To learn more about this utility, see “STEP 11: Create Sections and Class Meets” (page 28). Note: This option works simultaneously with the Block Section option described later in this table.

Number of Teachers

The number of teachers that need to be assigned to the Class Meet for the Section. For example, if you have a team teaching scenario, this value would be 2. Otherwise, this value is typically 1.



Option Description

Block Section

Indicates that classes should be scheduled in consecutive Periods. Used for Classes that need to be scheduled. The MSB will try to schedule the Sections in consecutive Periods. A value greater than one in the Number of Periods box signals the need for multiple Class Meets on a Section. If the option is not selected, it will not schedule consecutively. Example: A Section of a Course is required to meet two full Periods. If the Section is a Block Section, it may get scheduled in Period 2 and 3. If it is not marked as a Block Section, it could get scheduled into Period 2 and 7.

Section Locked from Master Builder

Prevents the MSB from processing this Section. Note: Control Set Locked From Master Builder is automatically selected when this option is selected. Note: At any point after the MSB is done processing or re-processing, you can lock this area.

Control Set Locked from Master Builder

Prevents the MSB from changing the selected Control Set on the Section. Note: At any point after the MSB is done processing or re-processing, you can lock this area.

Room Type

Defines the type of room that should be assigned by the MSB to the selected Section. If more than one type of room is selected, they are prioritized in order of preference. Note: This option is used to determine the type of room required for the Section. It is used in conjunction with “STEP 9: Configure Room Assignments” (page 19).

Table 4 - Options in the Class Section Maintenance area



STEP 13: Configure Class Meet Details Within the Class Meet area of the Course Master, you have the ability to lock and prevent the MSB from changing specific areas of the Schedule Master. To prevent the MSB from changing values on the Class Meet when placing Classes, you can lock specific values. The MSB adheres to the locked values when placing the Class. To configure Class Meet details:


2. Select a Course you want to configure Class Meet details for and expand the Course.

3. Expand Section Details.

4. Expand the specific Section to reveal the Class Meet Records that you want to

configure and click Edit to the left of the Meet.

5. Configure the Master Builder Locks area of the Edit Class Meet screen (Figure 10). Table 5 describes the options in this area.

6. Click Save.



Figure 10 - Edit Class Meet screen

Options Description

Lock Periods Prevents the MSB from changing the Scheduling Period on the Class Meet.

Lock Days Meet Prevents Days Meet Pattern of the Class Meet from being changed by the MSB.

Lock Building-Room Prevents the MSB from changing the current Building/Room on the Class Meet.

Lock Teacher Prevents the MSB from changing the current teacher on the Class Meet.

Table 5 - Options in the Master Builder Locks area


Managing Student Requests After Current Year and Future Year Setup have been completed for the Advanced Master Schedule Builder Process, the next step is to enter Course Requests for students. To learn how to enter Course Requests for students, see the “Add Student Course Requests” section of the WSIPC Guide to Future Scheduling: Part Two - Managing Student Requests.

http://skydoc.wa-k12.net/skydoc/-WSIPC Guide to Future Scheduling - Part Two - Managing Student Requests.pdf



Important Tasks to Perform Before Running the Master Schedule Builder

After you finish entering information in the Course Master, after all Courses have the desired Master Builder Settings, and after the Sections and Class Meets have had the AMSB fields configured, it is important to perform the following steps before running the MSB: STEP 14: Create a Schedule Master Save Point STEP 15: Estimate the Number of Students in Each Section STEP 16: Compare the Estimated Number of Sections and Actual Number of

Sections Values STEP 17: Calculate Potential Conflicts in the Schedule Master STEP 18: Run Course Validation Report

This section explains each of these steps as they pertain to the AMSB process. To learn more about the Save Point and Course Validation Report, see the WSIPC Guide to Future Scheduling: Part One - Preparing to Schedule. To learn more about the Update Estimated Number of Sections Utility, the Course/Class Count Report or the Create Course Conflict Matrix Utility used in the sections below, see the WSIPC Guide to Future Scheduling: Part Three - Building the Schedule Master. With the AMSB enabled, you can determine whether the MSB will assign more than just Periods. You can choose to have Control Sets, Day Meets, staff members, and rooms or buildings assigned in the MSB settings. These recommendations are set in the Master Builder Settings area for each Course so that the software’s logic can utilize these recommendations and choices.







STEP 14: Create a Schedule Master Save Point Creating a Schedule Master Save Point (Student Management\Office\ FS\BC Setup\UT\SP) saves the Schedule Master and all associated Schedule Master Detail records. You can run a utility later to restore to a selected Schedule Master. Only changes to the Class Meeting Pattern information are restored. Changes to Section and Course information are not restored.

STEP 15: Estimate the Number of Students in Each Section Run the Update Estimated Number of Sections Utility (Student Management\ Office\FS\BC Setup\UT\UE). This utility determines the ideal number of Sections for each Course and updates the Estimated Number of Sections box on each Course. The calculation is based on the values in the Current Requests and Maximum Seats Available boxes of each Course.

STEP 16: Compare the Estimated Number of Sections and Actual Number of Sections Values After running the Update Estimated Number of Sections Utility, run the Course/Class Count Report (Student Management\Office\FS\BC\RE\CC). This report is helpful when comparing the Estimated Number of Sections and Actual Number of Sections for each Course. Run this report to ensure that the Estimated Values match the Actual Values. Or, you can edit the first active Course in the Course Master and then select Save and Go to Next Course to move through each course in the Course Master while reviewing values in the Estimated Nbr of Sections and Actual Nbr of Sections fields. Alternatively, you can select a filter in the Course Master to display active Courses only and review the values in the Est Nbr Sct and Act Nbr Sct columns. Having the Estimated Number of Sections value equal the Actual Number of Sections value provides better information on potential conflicts when scheduling the Sections using the AMSB process.



STEP 17: Calculate Potential Conflicts in the Schedule Master The Create Course Conflict Matrix Utility (Student Management\Office\FS\BM Setup\UT\CC) creates a listing of potential conflicts where there are common requests. This utility is used in the MSB to determine the best possible Period to schedule a Class. This utility looks at each combination of two Courses and the number of students who have requested both Courses. Caution Run the Create Course Conflict Matrix Utility again after adding or

removing a Section/Meeting Pattern to the Course Master, or if changes are made to student requests. If this option is not run again after changes are made, the MSB uses inaccurate information to build the Schedule Master.

STEP 18: Run Course Validation Report When you generate the Course Validation Report (Student Management\Office\ FS\BC\RE\CV), the process searches through every Course for the selected Entity and School Year. This report shows all warnings and errors due to incorrect data or incorrect relationships among Courses, Sections, and Class Meet Records. Items denoted as Errors must be changed before scheduling will work properly. Items denoted as Warnings should be changed but are not required to be. Note Before you process student requests and create student schedules,

consider whether any students must be placed into certain sections of Courses before being scheduled automatically. These would be your “gotta be’s” or “must haves.” Classes might include Band, Choir, AP Courses, or Courses where students need to be placed with a specific teacher.


Building the Schedule Master Now that you have activated the Advanced Master Schedule Builder, prepared your Course Master, configured different areas of the software, and run various utilities, it’s time to build your Schedule Master. The intent of the AMSB process is to input the information and have the software make the decisions. This is the point where all of your time and effort with configuration and setup come together. By running the MSB in Automated mode, you allow the software to make all the placement decisions for Classes based on your preparation. Although you can run the MSB in an Interactive mode, this is not recommended when using the Advanced Master Schedule Builder. However, this section discusses both the Interactive and Automated modes to help you determine which mode works best with your district’s business practices. The Master Schedule Builder, with AMSB activated, gives you more advanced processing options. You can choose whether the MSB will assign Control Sets, Day Meets, staff members and room or buildings. This is in addition to the selections in the Master Builder Settings on each Course so that the software’s logic knows the recommendations and choices for each Course.

Mode Description

Automated Assigns Periods, Control Sets, Day Meets, staff, and rooms/buildings automatically based on student, teacher, and room conflicts. No interaction or processing is done by the user.

Interactive

Allows you to select the Course and Section to process. The software suggests a Period, Control Set, Day Meet, staff, and room/buildings based on student, teacher, and room conflict. This mode allows you to be fully interactive where you can use the Interactive Scheduling Board and Interactive Master Builder interchangeably.

Table 6 - Master Schedule Builder modes

Building the Schedule Master


Using the Automated Mode to Build the Schedule Master Running the MSB in the Automated mode is not interactive. All scheduling decisions are dependent upon existing configuration for the AMSB in the Courses, Sections, and Class Meet Records, as well as the ranges and selections made in the Automated Master Schedule Builder Options area. With the AMSB enabled, the MSB can also choose to have Control Sets, Day Meets, staff members, and room/buildings assigned based on the values you set in the Master Builder Settings on each Course.

Configuring the Automated Master Schedule Builder With the AMSB enabled, the Automated MSB can assign Control Sets, Day Meets, staff members, and room or buildings based on the values you configure in the Master Builder Settings on each Course. To configure the Automated Master Schedule Builder:

1. Go to Student Management\Office\FS\BM\MS\AB.


Click Add to create a new template.

Select an existing template and click Edit.

3. Configure the Automated Master Schedule Builder screen (Figure 11) Table 7 describes the applicable options on this screen.

4. Click Save and Run.



Figure 11 - Automated Master Schedule Builder screen

Option Description

School Year School year being scheduled.

Note: Be sure you are running this for the correct school year.

Terms Defaults to the terms defined for the school year being scheduled.

Control Sets Determines the Courses that will be selected based on the Control Sets assigned to the Sections.

Course Key

Restricts the Courses to be processed by Course Key. Typically, this is left at the default settings. However, to process all of one type of Course where the Course keys are within a range of Course keys, restrict this range.

Example: All of your Art Course keys begin with the letters “AR.” To process only Art Courses, you could restrict the range to AR through ARZZZZZ.



Option Description

Grade/Grad Year

Designates the Grade Level range from the Course that will be available for processing. Example: A high school wants to schedule senior-level Courses in the Schedule Master first to give seniors the best opportunity to have their entire Course Requests scheduled. Therefore, the Grad Yr/Grade boxes are set as 12 through 12. All Courses available to seniors are available for placement in the Schedule Master. This includes Courses where the grade level range is 9-12, 10-12 and 11-12.

Actual Number of Sections

Specifies the Courses and Sections that will be processed based on the value in the Actual Nbr of Sections box on the Course.

Manual Course Rank

Determines the Courses processed by Course Rank value. When the MSB is used, the Course Rank value on each course can be changed from the default value of 999. Typically, you would leave this at the default value, but you could restrict which Courses are processed by narrowing down the range. Example: If multiple Course Rank Values are used, you could first process all Courses with a manual Rank of 1, and then process another group of Courses, or the remaining Courses.

Include Required Courses

Specifies whether Courses with a value equal to Required in the Elective/Required box in the Course Master will be processed.

Include Elective Courses

Specifies whether Courses with a value equal to Elective in the Elective/Required field in the Course Master will be processed.

Include Courses Without Student Requests

Specifies whether Courses with no requests will be processed. Note: Typically, this option is not selected.



Option Description

Include Classes Previously Scheduled

Determines whether Sections (Classes) previously placed in the Schedule Master in a specific Period will be available to be processed. This option is commonly used after Courses have already been placed in the Schedule Master. It can be selected to help resolve conflicts after Course adjustments have been made. Due to the changes, a new Period may be suggested. You may also want to see if a particular Section would fit better with a different teacher, room, or term assignment. Note: Does not include “0” hour courses.

Display Period Restricts previously scheduled Classes by the Display Period value. This option is only available if the option Include Classes Previously Scheduled is selected.

All Subjects Includes all Courses regardless of their assigned subject in the Course Master. If Subjects is selected, you can specify certain subjects.

Assign Control Sets (Terms)

Determines whether the MSB will assign Control Sets (Terms) when placing a Course, based upon the settings and recommendations you made in the Master Builder Settings on each Course.

Assign Day Meets

Determines whether the MSB will Assign Day Meets when placing a Course, based upon the settings and recommendations you made in the Master Builder Settings on each Course.

Assign Periods

Determines whether the MSB will assign Periods when placing a Course, based upon the settings and recommendations you made in the Master Builder Settings on each Course.

Assign Staff Members

Determines whether the MSB will assign staff members when placing a course, based upon the settings and recommendations you made in the Master Builder Settings on each Course.

Assign Room Numbers

Determines whether the MSB will assign room numbers when placing a Course, based upon the settings and recommendations you made in the Master Builder Settings on each Course.



Option Description

Overwrite Values Previously Assigned By The Master Builder

If values (Control Set, Days, Period, teacher, room) have previously been assigned through the MSB, selecting this option allows the utility to overwrite these values. You indicate which values may be overwritten (such as Assign Control Sets, Assign Periods, Assign Day Meets) by selecting them in conjunction with this option.

Overwrite All Existing Values

Overwrites all existing values that were scheduled by the MSB and those that were hand-scheduled. If the value was assigned by the MSB and it is a value that you selected (Assign Control Sets, Assign Periods, Assign Day Meets, Assign Staff Members) to be assigned by the MSB, it will be overwritten.

Assign Suggested Values Despite Warnings

Allows the utility to place a course even if the combination of assignment values has a warning. For example, if the best possible combination (the one with the highest Suggested Rank Value) has a staff conflict, the utility will still select that combination for placement. This is because despite this conflict, the combination is superior to the other possible combinations.

Master Builder Suggestion Rules – Point Breakdown

Rules used to suggest placement for Sections based on the Point Values on this screen. To learn more about this option, see “Master Schedule Builder Suggestion Rules-Point Breakdown” (page 53).

Table 7 - Options on the Automated Master Schedule Builder screen



Viewing the Results After running the Automated MSB, the software generates an Automated Master Builder Counts Report which is broken into two parts. The first part details how many Courses and Sections were processed and how many teachers, Periods, rooms and Day Meets were assigned. The second part of the report is the Automated Master Builder Warning Report, which details information about each Class and why it isn’t being scheduled. Note You can choose to ignore the warnings by selecting the Assign

Suggested Values Despite Warnings check box on the Automated Master Schedule Builder screen.

To view the results of the MSB, use the Interactive Scheduling Board. The Interactive Scheduling Board uses the same analysis techniques and offers the same information as the MSB, but it allows you to view the entire Schedule Master at a glance rather than one Section at a time.

Using the Interactive Mode to Build the Schedule Master Running the MSB in the Interactive mode allows you to manipulate the scheduling process. This gives you the freedom to allow the software to suggest the best Section placement combination based on the configuration made for the AMSB in the Courses, Sections, and Class Meet Records. However, you can override a suggestion made by the process at any time.



Configuring the Interactive Master Schedule Builder With the AMSB enabled, the Interactive MSB can suggest Control Sets, Day Meets, staff members, and room/buildings based on the values you set in the Master Builder Settings on each Course. To configure the Interactive Master Schedule Builder:

1. Go to Student Management\Office\FS\BM\MS\IA.

2. Configure the Interactive Master Schedule Builder screen (Figure 12). Table 8 describes the options that are unique to the Interactive Master Schedule Builder mode.

3. Click OK.

Figure 12 - Interactive Master Schedule Builder screen

Option Description of Options

Show point breakdown in Suggested Value browse

Displays the point value calculated by the Master Builder Suggestion Rules – Point Breakdown for each possible placement suggestion made by the MSB. This appears on the Analysis screen in the Suggested Values table. Note: You cannot select this option if you are using Internet Explorer as your browser.




Suggest Control Sets (Terms)

Determines whether the MSB will suggest Control Sets (Terms) when placing a Course, based upon the settings and recommendations you made in the Master Builder Settings on each Course.

Suggest Day Meets

Determines whether the MSB will suggest Day Meets when placing a Course, based upon the settings and recommendations you made in the Master Builder Settings on each Course.

Suggest Periods

Determines whether the MSB will Suggest Periods when placing a Course, based upon the settings and recommendations you made in the Master Builder Settings on each Course.

Suggest Staff Members

Determines whether the MSB will suggest staff members when placing a Course, based upon the settings and recommendations you made in the Master Builder Settings on each Course.

Suggest Room Numbers

Determines whether the MSB will suggest room numbers when placing a Course, based upon the settings and recommendations you made in the Master Builder Settings on each Course.

Automatically Advance to the Next Class after Scheduling

After scheduling the Section you are currently processing, the next Section is automatically selected and the suggested Period appears. This eliminates the need to click Select to process the next Section and it increases the efficiency of the Master Builder.

Automatically Analyze the Next Class

After scheduling the Section you are currently processing, the next Section is automatically analyzed and information regarding conflicts and suggested combinations (Periods, teachers, and buildings/rooms) is available. This eliminates the need to click Analyze to analyze the next Section, and it increases the efficiency of the Master Builder. This option is only available if the Automatically Advance to the Next Class after Scheduling option is selected.

Only Display Suggested Values without Errors

Displays only those classes that do not have a conflict in the Suggested Values table.




Do Not Display Warnings when Selecting a Suggested Value

Suppresses warnings on the Analysis screen regarding possible conflicts. If selected, warnings can be viewed by selecting the applicable buttons (Conflict, Staff or Room).

Table 8 - Options on the Interactive Master Schedule Ranges screen

Placing Sections Using the Interactive Master Schedule Builder Now that you know how to select the desired Courses to work within the MSB, you can place the Classes into the Schedule Master. To place Sections using the Interactive Master Schedule Builder:

1. Do one of the following: Click Analyze to accept the Class that the software selected for

placement in the Schedule Master.

Select a different Class for placement in the Master Schedule by clicking the Class hyperlink, the Express Entry Lookup box (EEL), or the Next button. You will only have to select Analyze for the first Class unless you did not select Automatically Analyze the next Class on the Ranges screen.

Note If you don’t see a particular Class listed in the Class Selection

list, it may be because the Class Control Set assigned to the Section is not a Control Set defined in the Master Builder Settings for the Course.

2. Determine the Control Set (Days) and Period that the Section should be

scheduled in (Figure 13). Table 9 describes the options on this screen that help you make that determination.

3. Click Schedule to accept the suggested values (Control Set, Period, Staff, and

Building/Room) or select other Class Meet Available Values and click Schedule. See Table 9 (page 52) for a more detailed description of these options.



4. Do one of the following: If you see the next Class (selected automatically for placement), click

Analyze (if you didn't select Automatically Analyze the Next Class) or the Class will be analyzed automatically (if you did select the option). Repeat steps 1 through 3.

If you see the same Class you just scheduled in the Class Information

area (this happens if you did not select Automatically Advance to the Next Class after Scheduling), you must select the next Class you want to place in the Schedule Master, and then click Analyze.

If you want to select a Class other than the next Class that is selected

automatically, click Cancel Schedule and click the Class hyperlink, or use the EEL to select the next Class you want to place in the Schedule Master.

5. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you have placed all desired classes in the Schedule

Master. See Figure 13 for an example.

6. Click Close.

Figure 13 - Interactive Master Schedule Builder Analysis screen



AREA PURPOSE OF AREA

Class Information

Displays information about the Course and is the area used to select a Course for placement in the Schedule Master.

There are also areas on the screen that provide opportunity for editing the Course and Section information.

Options in This Area Description of Options

Class Allows selection of the Section to be placed in the Schedule Master, using the hyperlink or Express Entry Lookup (EEL).

Previous / Next Moves to the previous or next Course or Section according to the values specified on the Ranges screen.

Analyze

Provides information regarding the selected Section. The information analyzed includes actual and estimated conflicts, estimated students, teacher and room status conflicts. It also suggests a Control Set, Period, Staff, and Room from available values. That combination of values and five other suggested combinations are listed and ranked by the fewest conflicts. If there are student, staff, or room conflicts, buttons are available (Conflict, Staff and/or Room). You can use these buttons to view the conflicts specific to the selected combination of values suggested by the software.

Add Meet Shortcut to the Course Master to allow you to add a Class Meet to the selected Class.

Edit Meet Shortcut to the Course Master to allow you to edit the Class Meet for the selected Class.

Delete Meet Allows you to delete the Class Meet for the selected Class.

Edit Course Shortcut to the Course Master to allow you to edit values on the selected Course.

Edit Section Shortcut to the Course Master to allow you to edit values on the selected Section.

Course Rank Used in conjunction with the AMSB. The default value of all Courses is 999 when the AMSB is not used.



Options in This Area Description of Options

Estimated Section(s) The Estimated Nbr of Sections value of the Course from the Course Master.

Actual Section(s) The Actual Nbr of Sections value of the Course from the Course Master.

Request(s) The Current Requests value of the Course from the Course Master.

AREA PURPOSE OF AREA

Class Meet Available Values

After a Course and Section are selected for processing, information about the Meeting Pattern appears, as well as options located at the bottom of this area that can be used

to schedule and/or adjust the information.

Options in this Area Description of Options

Control Sets (Days)

Identifies the Class Control Set (length of a Course and terms of the Section) and the days (MTWRF or Day Rotation) on which the Class will be scheduled.

Multiple options might appear under each of the Class Meet Available Values. You can click on different values to make a different selection.

Note: Warnings will appear if they haven’t been disabled. The warnings are based on all the settings you configured for the AMSB in the Course, Section, and Meet. Note: If <None> is the highlighted option, <None> is the value saved to the Meeting Pattern for the Days value.

Periods

Lists all available Periods the Class can be scheduled into. The suggested Period is selected. To choose another period, click a different selection. If you select a Period in which a different Section of the same Course is already offered, a warning appears. That Period also appears in red in the Suggest Values table to the right.




Staff (Priority)

Lists staff members who have been added to the Recommended Staff area of the Master Builder Settings tab. A Priority is assigned to the staff member based on the value assigned in the Recommended Staff area. Note: If <None> is the highlighted option, <None> is the value saved to the Meeting Pattern for the Staff value.

Rooms (Priority)

Lists suggested rooms if a room has been assigned on the Meet Pattern or assigned as a default room in the Staff file. Note: If <None> is the highlighted option, <None> is the value saved to the Meeting Pattern for the Rooms value.

Suggested Values Combinations

Lists combinations of the possible values in the Control Set, Periods, Staff and Rooms columns, ranked by the software. The suggested combination (Rank 1) is selected.

Rank

Value calculated by the software. Actual Conflicts and Estimated Conflicts are based on the values in the Master Builder Settings such as Control Set %, Period, Constraints, Staff and Room availability, and any Section settings or Locks on the Class Meets.

Actual Conflicts

Indicates that conflicts have occurred only between Courses that are both singletons (single-Section Courses). If a Period shows a number for Actual Conflicts, the Section being scheduled is guaranteed to have that number of student conflicts if it is scheduled into that Period. Example: Band is a year-long singleton Course that has been scheduled into Period 1. Ten students request Band and Photography, a semester-long singleton Course. If Photography is scheduled into Period 1, these students have a guaranteed conflict in their schedule. They cannot take both Band and Photography in Period 1.




Estimated Conflicts

Indicates conflicts have occurred between multiple-section Courses and between singleton and multiple-Section Courses. The calculation divides the number of conflicts between Courses and the total number of estimated Sections for two Courses. A factor is then applied to provide an estimated number of possible conflicts if this Section of the Course was assigned to the selected Period.

Estimated Students

Estimated number of students who will be scheduled into the Period based on the current Course Master, assuming every student will be scheduled into every requested Course.

Rank Value

The point value that determines the Rank of the Class Meet. All of the points from each contributing factor of a Class’s placement (such as Actual Conflicts, Estimated Conflicts, and Estimated Students) are totaled to determine the Rank Value (points).

Pts (Points)

The value assigned to each contributing factor of a Class’s placement. Each factor is assigned a weight, or level of importance. The higher the point value, the more that particular rule influences the placement of a Section.

Conflict Course and student conflict information pertaining to the selected Period. You can view common requests with conflicts, all Classes that overlap, or all common requests.

Staff Course and Class conflict information pertaining to the selected staff member.

Room Course and Class conflict information pertaining to the selected room/building.

Schedule Schedules the Course Section into the Period currently selected in the Periods column in the Class Meet Available Values area.

Cancel Schedule

Allows you to avoid having to place the Section. This is the only way to access the Class Information portion of the screen, to select another Section to schedule, or to click the Close button.

Table 9 - Options in the Interactive Master Schedule Builder area



Master Schedule Builder Suggestion Rules-Point Breakdown The Master Schedule Builder uses a point system when determining the best possible values for placement of each Class. Each field that affects the placement of a Class has a number of rules that affect a possible value being assigned to a Class. Each rule is assigned a weight, or level of importance. The higher the point value, the more that particular rule influences the placement of a section. The MSB calculates a Suggested Rank Value for each placement combination based upon the point values set in this area. The higher the point value, the more that particular rule influences the placement of a Section. All of the rules are provided a default point value assigned by Skyward. Although the MSB allows you to update these values to more closely match the requirements of an Entity, it is recommended that you run the MSB with the default values. When running the Interactive Master Builder, the Master Builder Suggestion Rules – Point Breakdown Options have Suggested Value Display Options which don’t appear in the Automated Mode. These options allow you to look at All Possible Values or Only Available Values. Example An Entity believes that it is more important that a staff member is

certified to teach a course than to be on a specific Scheduling Team. Changing the point values for one of the Staff Rules does not affect the possibility of a Term, Day, Period, or room assignment. It only changes the probability of one staff member (one that is certified) being suggested over another. To accomplish this, you change the point value assigned to Qualifications so that it is higher than the point value assigned to Staff Scheduling Team.

Note To learn more about each option and how points are awarded in the

Master Builder Suggestion Rules Point Breakdown area (Figure 14), double click on a field with your mouse pointer.



Figure 14 - Master Builder Suggestion Rules Point Breakdown are on the Master Builder Options screen

Using Both Interactive Master Schedule Builder and Interactive Scheduling Board Interchangeably If you are not running the Automated MSB, you can use the Interactive Scheduling Board and Interactive Master Schedule Builder interchangeably to assist with making changes and viewing the Schedule Master. The Interactive Scheduling Board is just a different view of the Schedule Master. The Interactive Scheduling Board is an optional tool to use in addition to the Interactive Master Schedule Builder. To learn more about the Interactive Scheduling Board, see the “Scheduling Using the Interactive Scheduling Board” section of the WSIPC Guide to Future Scheduling: Part Three - Building a Schedule Master. Both of these interactive modes update the Meeting Pattern information as soon as you move chips or schedule a Class. Whichever mode you choose may be determined by the Classes you need to schedule and your district’s business practices.

Viewing the Results To view the results of the MSB, use the Interactive Scheduling Board. The Interactive Scheduling Board uses the same analysis techniques and offers the same information as the MSB, but it allows you to view the entire Schedule Master at a glance rather than one Section at a time.




Next Steps After building a Schedule Master, you are now ready to schedule students into Classes. See the WSIPC Guide to Future Scheduling: Part Four - Scheduling Students to help you successfully schedule students into your newly built Schedule Master.

http://skydoc.wa-k12.net/skydoc/-WSIPC Guide to Future Scheduling - Part Four - Scheduling Students.pdf


Appendix A - Advanced Master Schedule Builder Checklist

To ensure that you are building a Schedule Master with the least amount of conflicts, follow each step in this checklist as recommended. This checklist does not replace the Future Scheduling Checklist found in the Appendix of all WSIPC Guides to Future Scheduling. This checklist supplements what is already there. If you choose to use the Advanced Master Schedule Builder, this checklist starts right before the WSIPC Guide to Future Scheduling: Part Three - Building the Scheduling Master. It is assumed that you will use this checklist in conjunction with WSIPC Guide to Future Scheduling: Part One - Preparing to Schedule and WSIPC Guide to Future Scheduling: Part Two - Managing Student Requests.

The checklist below walks you through building a Schedule Master using the AMSB process. After your Schedule Master is built, you can schedule students into Classes by following WSIPC Guide to Future Scheduling: Part Four - Scheduling Students.

Table 10 defines the Future Scheduling Process terms used in the checklist.

Term Description

Required Step must be performed to create a Schedule Master and to schedule students using the AMSB.

Recommended Step should be performed to achieve best results in the scheduling process.

Perform as Needed

Data in this area may or may not need to be adjusted from last year’s settings or configuration. Change data that needs updating.

Table 10 - Future Scheduling Process terms









Current Year Scheduling Setup of AMSB

STEP 1: Activate AMSB for Current Year (Perform as Needed)

STEP 2: Run Advanced Master Schedule Builder Setup Utility (Perform as Needed)

Future Year Scheduling Setup of AMSB

STEP 3: Clone the Schedule Master from Current Year to Next Year (Required)

- Create a Schedule Master Save Point

STEP 4: Activate Advanced Master Schedule Builder for Future Year (Required)

STEP 5: Initialize Records: Clearing Teacher, Room and Period Information (Required)

STEP 6: Re-synchronize Student Class Counts (Required)

STEP 7: Select Scheduling Period Times and Day Meet Patterns (Required)

STEP 8: Configure Staff Maintenance Information (Recommended) - Update Qualifications under Staff - Update Maximum Total/Consecutive Teaching Hours and Room

Number - Can use Mass Assign Teacher Schedule Fields - Update NY Scheduling Team - Create Do Not Schedule Records

STEP 9: Configure Room Assignments (Perform as Needed)

STEP 10: Perform Course Maintenance (Required) - Viewing the Actual Nbr of Sections - Update Qualifications under Course Master - Change the options on the Master Builder Settings tab

STEP 11: Create Sections and Class Meets (Required)

STEP 12: Configure Section Details (Required)

STEP 13: Configure Class Meet Details (Perform as Needed)



Managing Student Requests


STEP 14: Create a Schedule Master Save Point (Recommended)

STEP 15: Estimate the Number of Students in Each Section (Required)

STEP 16: Compare the Estimated Number of Sections and Actual Number of Sections Value (Required)

STEP 17: Calculate Potential Conflicts in the Schedule Master (Required)

STEP 18: Run Course Validation Report (Required)


Mode: Run the Automated Master Schedule Builder - Configuring the Automated Master Schedule Builder - Viewing the Results

Mode: Configuring the Interactive Master Schedule Builder - Placing Sections Using the Interactive Master Schedule Builder - Master Schedule Builder Suggestion Rules-Point Breakdown - Using Both Interactive Master Schedule Builder and Interactive

Scheduling Board Interchangeably - Viewing the Results

Next Steps

To schedule students, see the WSIPC Guide to Future Scheduling: Part Four - Scheduling Students




Appendix B - Understanding AMSB Logic Processes

To determine the order in which Courses are placed in the Master Schedule Builder, the software uses the following fields and logic in the order listed below:

1. Manual Course Rank (ascending order).

2. Actual Number of Sections (ascending order- singletons placed first).

3. Course Length by number of Terms (descending order). Example A year-long course that spans 4 terms is processed before a

semester-long course that spans 2 terms.

4. Control Sets Available by number of Terms (ascending order).

Example A course that has a single Control Set (S1) is processed before a course that has multiple control Sets (S1, S2).

5. Number of Recommended Staff available (ascending order).

6. Number of Periods available (ascending order).

7. Number of Rooms available (ascending order).

8. Required before an Elective course.

9. Percentage of seats available to students requesting the course (descending).


Appendix C - Frequently Asked Questions

I am receiving a warning on the Analysis screen of the Interactive Master Schedule Builder that states there are not enough seats to accommodate the class maximum You can change the Building Room Code maximum students at Student Management\Office\CS Setup\CO\BU. From here expand on the building and then edit the Building Room Code to enter the seating maximum.

In the Interactive Master Schedule Builder why is a specific period not appearing or being suggested? First, review Scheduling Period Times and make sure the Allow Period to be suggested by Master Builder check box is selected. Then review Master Builder Settings on the course to be sure the Period is selected. Lastly, review the Class Meet to see if the Lock Period is selected (which would prevent periods other than the Scheduling Period from appearing).

In Interactive Master Schedule Builder why is my Analyze button unavailable? Make sure you have Meet Patterns created in the Course Master at this time. If you need to create meeting patterns, you can create them using the Auto-Generate Sections and Class Meets Utility (Office\Future Scheduling\BC Setup\UT\AG). The utility can be run with only the Create Class Meeting Patterns check box selected.

Appendix C - Frequently Asked Questions


In the Interactive Master Schedule Builder why is the Analyze button unavailable even though the meeting pattern is displayed? There are no Values/Suggestions because all possible combinations of values have an error/warning. In the Interactive Master Builder Range screen, click the Options button in the lower-right corner. At the top of the Master Builder Options screen, select All Possible for each of the Suggested Value Display Options. Then run the Master Builder for a Course that was not displaying any Values/Suggestions. It should now display Values and you can see the errors that were causing them to be unavailable.

When we run the Automated Master Schedule Builder, it generates a report called the Automated Master Builder Warning Report. Why are we getting warnings on all of our classes saying we do not have enough seats? This is just a warning. However, if you don’t want it to assign rooms, clear the Assign Room Numbers check box on the Automated Master Schedule Builder Template. If you do want to assign rooms, then ensure they are configured correctly (max rooms, etc.)

We are trying to run the Automated Master Schedule Builder and all of the courses are being placed in one period. Why is it not spreading them out throughout the day? Verify that a Day Meet Pattern is assigned to the Scheduling Period Times, Number of Days on the Section is appropriate, and the Day Patterns on the Course is correct.

TERMS OF USE The information contained herein is licensed, trade-secret and proprietary and may not be used, disclosed or reproduced without permission of the licensing authorities, WSIPC and/or Skyward, Inc. As a condition of use, the User agrees to protect and keep the information from disclosure or falling into the public domain. The failure to comply with this agreement may result in the immediate termination of the User’s right to access the information. COPYRIGHT © Copyright 2015 WSIPC. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part of this manual in any medium without the express and written permission of WSIPC is prohibited by law. This edition is printed in the United States of America. The contents may be corrected or modified by revisions without prior notice. Pages may be added, deleted, or changed as required. The WSIPC logo is a registered trademark of WSIPC. Skyward® is the registered trademark for Skyward, Inc. located in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. WSIPC 2121 West Casino Road Everett, WA 98204 425.349.6600 www.wsipc.org

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wsipc guide to the advanced master schedule builder process

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