Understand how teaching and learning activities are scheduled

Providing activity information

To successfully schedule, each activity must have the following information collected and verified:

• Activity size, type, duration & delivery weeks
• Class size for each activity type (e.g. Tutorial = 30, Workshop = 60, etc.)
• Room type (flat-floor, tiered etc.)
• Seating type (e.g. tables and chairs etc.)
• Name of teaching staff (where known)
• Staff unavailability (with ADE/DDE approval)
• Recording or streaming requirements (Echo360, Zoom).
• Where multiple repeats are required, preferences for online or evening allocations

Timetabling and Venue Services will provide the basics from the last time the unit was scheduled, however all information must be validated and reviewed prior to the start of scheduling.

Where breakout rooms or other additional teaching activities (such as student consultations) require teaching spaces this must be specified during Data Collection.

Requesting specific arrangements

There are cases where very specific arrangements (such as scheduled activities in a specific order or in specific centrally-owned locations) are needed to ensure an optimal student experience. If you need to request specific arrangements, please provide context during the data collection process.

Where possible, Timetabling and Venue Services will manage these requests in consultation with the ADE/DDE and relevant faculty contacts however requests cannot be guaranteed.

If online or evening repeats or activities are planned for your unit, please Timetabling and Venue Services during Data Collection - this helps to ensure optimal spread of activities and reduces load on campus space during peak times.

Scheduling the correct number of classes of the required size

The projected student enrolments for the forthcoming teaching period are crucial for determining the number of classes and appropriate learning spaces required.

Academic Services and Analytics have created a dashboard that predicts unit enrollment using historical data trends. This information is shared with the faculties at the beginning of the scheduling process for review and adjustment to schedule the most accurate number of repeats for activities. As enrolment fluctuates, Timetabling and Venue Services will review the number of repeats and work with faculties if changes are required.

Staff Unavailability

Where approved staffing unavailability has been provided by the ADE/DDE, Timetabling and Venue Services will make every attempt to schedule classes within available hours, unless there is a significant impact to students due to clashes with other units critical to course progression.

Where staff request specific days/times during Data Collection we are unable to accommodate unless:

• ADE/DDE approval evidence is provided, and
• There is a specific pedagogical reason, or
• The class is scheduled in faculty-owned space

Timetabling and Venue Services will make every attempt to schedule based on information provided during Data Collection, however space availability and clash protection constraints significantly influence this process. Where the timetable requires alterations, staff are encouraged to utilise the Draft Review process to request changes.

Managing repeats in different delivery formats

Where a unit requires more than five repeats of an activity due to enrolments or teaching preferences the fifth repeat must be held in a different delivery mode (online or evening), as a minimum. Alternative repeat options are designed to provide additional flexibility to students and ensure a more equitable division of on campus space amongst units with varying enrolments. No unit mode change from Blended to Flexible is required unless more than 20% of activities offered are offered in a different delivery mode to the rest of the activities within the unit. The vast majority of units requiring repeats in online, or evening modes will not be required to change their unit mode as a result of the additional repeats.

Late additions to the timetable due to enrolment fluctuations

Where Timetabling and Venue Services need to add additional classes due to enrolment fluctuations at or near the start of a teaching period the relevant faculty staff member will be notified with a selection of options based on room availability, student numbers and educator availability. In most cases, these additional classes will not require a unit mode change unless the new classes result in the unit meeting the 20% threshold for mode changes.

Where late additions do require a unit mode change, Timetabling and Venue Services will advise of this before making the change to the timetable.

Scheduling activities

After the required information is collected and validated, Timetabling and Venue Services assigns all activities a day, time and physical resources (learning spaces, technology). These demand-driven allocations are based on how well they suit teaching requirements and capacity.

We schedule according to the following principles:

• Prioritise activities with a close match to the size of the available learning space.
• Activities may be scheduled in faculty-owned spaces with the permission of the owning faculty where necessary.
• Where there are activities with 5 or more repeats, at least one activity must be scheduled online or in the evening. The unit mode may also need to be updated to reflect the availability of these options to students.
• Teaching activities can be scheduled between 8am and 9pm Monday to Friday, however Friday evenings are avoided unless absolutely necessary
• Evening units are scheduled between 6pm and 9pm (this is not available for level one undergraduate units)
• Where a specific order of activities is requested, subsequent activity may be scheduled in the following week of teaching.
• To achieve a fair and equitable allocation of resources, requests for a specific day and time for activities are not accepted

Note: Activities that require a specific sequence (for example, practical activities that require specific time between sessions) may nominate a range of suitable days of the week or sections of the day (AM/PM) with Deputy/Associate Dean (Education) approval.

Ensuring effective space utilisation

Space (particularly centrally-managed space) is limited across our campuses. Centrally managed spaces include spaces such as LTB and the Alan Finkel Building for Technology and Design. While Timetabling and Venue Services aims to schedule activities close to faculty precincts (primary location of faculty student services and staff functions) this is only possible where activities meet the considerations below.

Timetabling and Venue Services schedule activities with a focus on ensuring the equitable split of central spaces across faculties by:

• Allocated hours into central spaces will be based on planned enrolments and the number of weeks an activity will run.
• All additional hours per space size will be added to a central pool that will be equally distributed between all faculties utilising that space size.
• Where units require space for less than 12 weeks, a pro rata allocation is applied and the additional hours returned to the central pool.
• Identifying which activities are using central spaces to capacity and which ones aren’t.
• Identifying whether there are more appropriate spaces for activities not held to capacity.
• Sharing data with Buildings & Property to help inform future space planning initiatives.
• Identifying alternatives available for faculties where space is not available.

When determining which activity is placed into a space, we consider:

• Size and number of activities required for a unit and how closely they align to the requested space size.
• The year level of the unit (first year units are prioritised for on campus spaces).
• Alternative spaces available for an activity.
• Academic preference, with units willing to offer increased flexibility (such as one online repeat, one on campus day repeat, and one on campus evening repeat) prioritised for space.
• Attendance rates in prior year offerings of the activity (where available) to ensure the space is used as effectively as possible.

Faculty contacts and ADE/DDEs are asked to determine the prioritisation of activities within the central space allocation for each faculty.

Clash protection

Timetabling and Venue Services prioritises the prevention of clashes between core units required for academic progression.

Students are not permitted to have approved clashes in their timetable, unless the clash is a once-off (such as a mid semester assessment) as they can lead to reduced academic performance. There may be instances where activities are scheduled at the same time as other popular activities for enrolled students - in these cases students must be advised to seek course advice for alternative enrolment options.

If clashes are found between units critical to the student’s academic progression, faculties are asked to contact Timetabling and Venue Services to discuss options for additional activity repeats. Additional information can be found on Student Timetables.

Reviewing the draft timetable

The timetable will be released to staff according to the Scheduling Timelines. Change requests can be submitted through the Draft Review form. Timetabling and Venue Services will make every effort to accommodate changes, however sometimes requests cannot be fulfilled due to the impact to student experience (such as reduced class options or a large increase in clashes caused by the proposed change) or space constraints. In such instances, the team will provide a range of alternate options to consider within 3 business days of receiving the request.

Reducing the need for changes to your timetable

Accuracy in timetabling relies on the information gathered during the Data Collection phase. The more information and context provided in initial submissions, the more likely Timetabling and Venue Services will be able to accommodate your requests. When submitting requests please consider:

• Did I provide this information during Data Collection?
• Does my request fall within reasonable grounds for change, such as significant student impact?
• Is there another unit within my school, department or faculty I could request to swap with?
• Are there alternative options I can provide to ensure my change request can be accommodated, such as changes to the number of activities or planned size of classes, or identifying a range of times or days for on campus changes?

Public holiday arrangements

It is unavoidable that a small number of activities each year will fall on public holidays when the University is closed.

Activities scheduled on public holidays are removed from students’ timetables before the timetable is published. Your preferences for handling any potential activities scheduled on public holidays will be collected during Data Collection, and will endeavour to make these adjustments prior to releasing the timetable in Draft Review. Where needed, we’ll reach out to the appropriate contact to discuss changes prior to releasing the timetable.

Extended field trips may include public holidays if they fall during the teaching period and if the dates and the expectation of attendance are communicated to students at the start of the teaching period and recorded in the Handbook.

Once the final timetable is agreed between Timetabling and Venue Services and the faculty, the timetable is published for students. In most cases, students will choose preferred class times during Preference Entry prior to the final release of the timetable in Allocation Adjustment. Timetabling and Venue Services makes every effort to prioritise student preferences in final allocations, however adjustments may be required where a preference results in a clash between multiple activities or there are too many students preferencing that timeslot.

Once the timetable has been published, any change requests must be submitted through the Post Publication Change form and may require additional approval from your faculty ADE/DDE.

If a change to the timetable is required after publication to students during Preference Entry, you’ll need to submit the Post Publication Change form. Once the timetable has been published any change results in impacts for students, so please consider whether your change is absolutely necessary prior to submission.

Post-Publication Change Guidelines

Changes that have been identified by Timetabling and Venue Services to cause significant impact to students may require additional approval from your faculty ADE/DDE.

Expand the accordions below to view the types of changes that require faculty approval