Academic Timetabling Policy (Effective from AY2324)
1. Purpose and Objectives
a) The purpose of the Academic Timetabling Policy is to support high quality teaching and enables students to learn effectively, through coordinated and consistent timetabling practices.
b) The timetabling policy is developed to meet the following objectives:
i. To ensure that students are taught in the most appropriate teaching accommodation available, taking account of the varied teaching and learning methods used within and across programmes and modules;
ii. To ensure that the timetable is published at a time and in a manner that provides students and staff with necessary information to plan learning and teaching;
iii. To ensure students can attend classes in all their compulsory modules and have a reasonable choice of optional modules;
iv. To optimise the use of University teaching facilities and equipment;
v. To minimise the number of amendments made to the timetable following publication.
2. Scope
The Academic Timetabling Policy applies to the timetabling of all credit-bearing and non- credit-bearing teaching activities in the University, and therefore to all students registered for those teaching activities and staff teaching those teaching activities.
3. Policy
a) All teaching activities must be scheduled within the University’s academic timetable, using the dedicated timetabling software.
b) Teaching activities will be scheduled at times and in locations by Registry whereby all resources are assigned to create an optimal timetable. Departments may submit their preference for the location and timing of the scheduling of a class. Where it is not possible for the Registry to meet these preferences, a reasonable alternative will be found.
c) Teaching activities are scheduled on a semester basis. When it becomes relevant and appropriate, summer programmes will be incorporated into the University’s academic timetable and will be included within the scope of this Policy.
d) Scheduled teaching is normally between 9am and 8pm Monday to Friday. Teaching on Saturday and/or Sunday can be requested to be scheduled where the Programme Director deems it appropriate based on the needs of students attending the classes.
Make-up sessions may be arranged for classes missed due to them falling on a public holiday/university closure day within the teaching week upon request from departments to the Registry.
e) Efforts should be made to ensure staff who are scheduled for activities after 5pm will not have timetabled activities in early morning on the same day and the next day.
f) Staff and students should have at least one hour break for lunch between the hours of 12pm and 2pm and one hour break for supper between the hours of 4 pm and 8 pm.
g) Classes should be scheduled to start and finish on the hour or half hour. Staff should ensure that classes finish approximately ten minutes before the scheduled finish time for the venue to be vacated and for staff and students to move between venues.
h) Travel distance will be considered to ensure staff and students have sufficient time to move between venues. Wherever possible, travel time will be minimized for cohorts of students.
i) The Registry will endeavor to schedule classes in accessible classrooms or those with specific facilities where there is a known requirement for an adjustment to the timetable on the grounds of student or staff disability.
j) All scheduled classes should be held by following the timetables published by Registry. No change may be made to the published timetable, except under the following situations:
i. Staff absence or withdrawal from the University which leads to an unavoidable cancellation and impossibility of arranging a substitute lecturer, as described in the Statement of Cancellation of Classes;
ii. Unexpected low or high student module registration;
iii. Unexpected facility failure (e.g. health and safety hazard, technology failure);
iv. Data errors;
v. Other case, as determined by the Registry, in consultation with the Director of Centre of Academic Affairs
4. Roles and Responsibilities
a) Registry is responsible for:
i. Managing and coordinating the production of the University’s academic timetable;
ii. Coordinating periodic audit of classrooms to ensure accuracy of timetable;
iii. Producing regular teaching room usage reports for managerial use, in consultation with CMO;
iv. Optimising the use of the University’s teaching space and for highlighting any emerging issues related to the use of space for teaching;
v. Modelling the use for teaching of new spaces identified;
vi. Publishing the University’s academic timetable to staff and students;
vii. Resolving queries and issues with the timetable, such as clashes, changes;
b) Timetabling Officers/Department Secretary in departments/centres/schools are responsible for:
i. Collecting timetable requests for each module to be scheduled, including module tutor(s), maximizing class size the module delivery pattern, classroom type and other specific scheduling requirements;
ii. Enter and manage class and lab schedule in the central timetabling system, according to agreed protocols;
c) CMO is responsible for:
i. The appropriate maintenance of all classrooms and facilities to a satisfactory standard;
ii. Providing Registry and academic departments with updated information about University resources.
d) MITS is responsible for:
i. Providing support in fields of server, database, interface, and other technical issues to support the software function in classrooms for the use in teaching;
ii. Ensuring that hardware and software available in classrooms are maintained and configured appropriately to support teaching.
(Last Review Date: 12 Apr 2023)