Hoshino and Fabris wrote, 'As many school administrators know, creating a timetable is incredibly difficult, requiring the careful balance of numerous requirements (hard constraints) and preferences (soft constraints). Prior to the introduction of operations research and management science methodologies, school timetables had to be generated by hand. The purposes of the school timetable are to inform teachers when and where they teach each course, and to enable students to enroll in a subset of courses without schedule conflicts.
Since the 1970s, researchers in operations research and management science have developed computerized solutions for the school timetable problem (STP).ĭescription and purpose of a school timetable Ī school timetable consists of a list of the complete set of offered courses, as well as the time and place of each course offered. Other factors include the class subjects and the type of classrooms available (for example, science laboratories). Table for coordinating educational schedules at an institution Empty timetable sheet showing time slot allocations.Ī school timetable is a calendar that coordinates students and teachers within the classrooms and time periods of the school day.