Multi department functionality

[kdrosos]

Hello,

I have to propose a multi department functionality. Say, for example, that there are two departments that they want to use FET as a common schedule software and they share rooms and also teaching subjects. If someone wants to add activities, he could specify student years as:

1st Year Dpt A

and

1st Year Dpt B

Well, what I'm proposing is that it could have only one field of student years, e.g. 1st, 2nd etc, and an extra field of Department. So, when a schedule for more than one departments has to be made then the activities could be a map between student sets, subjects, teaching subjects, teachers AND department.

[Liviu Lalescu]

Sorry, but I do not understand.

[kdrosos]

Hi and sorry for the post that you did not understood.

The problem that I came across is the timetabling of multiple departments. In addition, these departments share some common subjects/modules, rooms and teachers.

So, I would like to suggest one more category of data, the Department.

Thus, the student set could be associated with the Department, the teachers as well and their could be common subjects/modules between departments.

[Liviu Lalescu]

You could add the department as an activity tag for an activity? Or as a  building?

[kdrosos]

As I think about it, maybe someone could add the Department as a "Tag" (like the tags students sets, subgourps and etc) to the students, activities and etc.

So, if an activity concerns two or more departments, one would specify it at the Activities Tab (insert new activity) by having one more text box (and list box) regarding the department.

Thus, one teacher could easily assigned as a teacher for one activity which is "inter-department" activity.

Moreover, there would be only 4 (or 5) student sets, i.e. 1st Year, 2nd Year .... 4th Year. The final assignment of the students, activity, teachers and department would be made in the Activities tab (insert new activity) instead of specifying 4 times N, where N is the number of departments.

I hope that I explained it well this time

P.S. What I basically suggest is a multi-department functionality of FET. This will allow to be used as a central schedule making software for a whole department.

[Liviu Lalescu]

Sorry, but I still don't understand. Consider the whole department into FET and just add an activity tag with "Department X" to each activity. But maybe Volker or others understand and explain to me.

[kdrosos]

OK. I will try with an example.

Consider the case that there are two departments. Dept A and Dept B.

Dept A has 3 subjects, 4 years of students. Dept B has 4 subjects and 5 years of students.

Each Dept has each own teachers.

Moreover, there is one extra subject that one teacher from Dept A teaches in both, simultaneously, Depts.

How can one assign such an activity? How can one make up rules that will consider each Depts rules for subjects and students and rules for teachers from each Dept? How can one assign such an activity to year 1 students from Dept A and year 5 students from Dept B? Moreover, how can one have two separate schedules for each Dept?

As far as I know, there is no such possibility ATM. Maybe could be added?

[Volker Dirr]

that is a normal situation to all schools with deputation and schools that have cooperate activities.

in many cases both departments use different timetabling software. So they just solve this problem by setting that activities manually. All other activities are scheduled of course by their favourite timetabling software.

i know also some school that use the same timetabling software. by theorie the best is to add all activities into a single timetabling software and solve the problem (because you don't need to do an agreement about that activities before calculating the timetable). but all the schools i know enter only their own data into their own timetabling software and simply do an agreement about that activities before.

so the common solution is to talk with the other department and do an agreement about that activities. as soon as you done that simply use for example the prefferd time constraint for that activities.
if you want to get the very best timetable, then enter the activities in a single timetabling programm. but be warned: you will get the best timetable, but it also has some minor disadvantages during the activity planning and if you need to change the running timetable of one department.