Master Schedule Grid for Visual Scheduler
The master schedule grid is organized with departments, teachers, and days across the top, periods down the left, and sections within the interior rows and columns.
Departments
In the first header row, the name of each teacher department displays in alphabetical order.
"Department Not Specified" appears at the end of the row to group teachers who are not associated with a specific department.
Teachers
In the second header row, teachers appear grouped by department.
Within each department, teachers appear in alphabetical order by last name.
Teachers who are not associated with a department appear grouped in alphabetical order under the heading of "Department Not Specified" at the end of the [Departments] row.
For each teacher, his or her last name and first name appear.
If a teacher’s name is longer than the width of the cell, an ellipsis appears. To view a teacher’s entire name, hover over the cell and a tooltip appears displaying the teacher’s last name, first name, middle initial, teacher number, and teacher ID.
Only teachers who are active and have the Schedule This Teacher checkbox selected on the Staff Scheduling Preferences page appear.
Days
If the scenario contains more than one cycle day, the days appear in the third header row.
Days are sorted by ID. However, the Abbreviation is the text that appears in the heading. For more information, refer to Define Days.
Periods
In the first column, the abbreviation of each period is displayed in period sort order.
Sections
Sections for each teacher appear within the interior rows and columns, including:
Item | Description |
|---|---|
[Course Name] | The course name. If the course name is longer than the width of the tile, an ellipsis appears. To view the course name in its entirety, hover over the tile, and a tooltip appears displaying the full course name. |
[Course Number.Section Number] | The course and course section number. If the course and course section number are longer than the width of the tile, an ellipsis appears. To view the course and course section number in its entirety, hover over the tile, and a tooltip appears displaying the course and course section number. |
[Singleton/Doubleton Indicator] | A square with one dot indicates a singleton and a square with two dots indicates a doubleton. In addition, singleton tiles appear pink and doubleton tiles appear green. A singleton is a course with only one section in a given school year. A doubleton is a course with two sections in a given school year. This is determined by the value in the target number of sections to offer. To modify this setting, navigate to the PowerScheduler page, then Courses, then the course, then Preferences. |
Section Information
When hovering over a course section in the master schedule grid, the course section expands for better readability. Additionally, a tooltip displays the following information:
If there is more than one section meeting for the selected course section, the course section and all section meetings appear highlighted. If an edge of the master schedule grid appears highlighted, it denotes additional section meetings not within view.
Item | Description |
|---|---|
[Course Name] | The course name. |
[Course Number] | The course number. |
[Section Number] | The course section number. |
[Seats Made Available by Grade Level] | The numbers that display indicate how many seats will be made available for each grade level for students to be scheduled into when a section of the course is created. These numbers are determined by taking the number of course requests for a given course, by grade level, dividing by the target number of sections to offer, and rounding up if needed. |
[Optimal Number of Students] | The number that displays here indicates the ideal balanced classroom size, and is determined by taking the total number of primary and elective course requests and dividing by the target number of sections to offer. |
[Maximum Enrollments] | The maximum enrollment for the course. To modify this setting, navigate to the PowerScheduler page, then Courses, then the course, then Preferences. |
[Unscheduled Sections] | The number of sections that need to be scheduled for the course. |
[Scheduled Sections] | The number of sections that have been scheduled for the course. |
[Target # of Sections to Offer] | The target number of sections to offer for the course. To modify this setting, navigate to the PowerScheduler page, then Courses, then the course, then Preferences. |
[Teacher Assignments] | The teacher assignments that have been created for the course. |
Term Length
The term length of the course is reflected in the appearance of the section tile within a cell:
A term length may be defined up to a twelfth-length course.
If the course is a year-long course, the section tile takes up the entire cell.
If the course is a semester-length course, the cell is divided into two segments. The section tile appears within the cell based on when the section occurs (S1 or S2).
If the course is a trimester-length course, the cell is divided into three segments. The section tile appears within the cell based on when the section occurs (T1, T2, or T3).
If the course is a quarter-length course, the cell is divided into four segments. The section tile appears within the cell based on when the section occurs (Q1, Q2, Q3, or Q4).
Edit Section Information
Click the section tile you want to edit.
Use the following table to enter information in the fields:
Field | Description |
|---|---|
Course name | The name and number of the selected course. This field is read-only. |
Section number | The section number for the section. This field is read-only. |
Current Enrollment | The current enrollment of students in the section. Click to view the section’s class roster. For more information, refer to View Class Roster. If no students are enrolled, a zero displays. You can also access the Class Roster page from the master schedule grid. Simply press and hold COMMAND (Mac) or CONTROL (Windows) and click the section tile. For more information about enrolling students, refer to Students for Visual Scheduler. For more information about using the scheduling engine to load students into the master schedule, refer to Load Process: Load Students. |
Maximum Enrollment | Enter the maximum number of students that can enroll in the section. If nothing is entered, a zero displays, and the maximum enrollment is the same value as set for the course. |
Expression | Select the checkboxes for the periods and for the days on which the section is taught. This creates the schedule expression that appears next to the section on several pages. |
Term | Choose the term in which the section is offered. Only valid terms as set for the course display. |
Room | Choose the room in which the section is taught. |
Grade Level | Enter the grade level of the section. |
Teacher | Choose a teacher. |
Close Section at Max | Select the checkbox to not accept more enrollments than the maximum number of enrolled students. |
Lock Section | Select the checkbox if the section should not be rescheduled during the next build. |
Section Type | Choose the type of section, such as Bilingual. |
House | Choose the house to which the section belongs. |
Team | Choose the team associated with the section. |
School Where Taught | Enter the school ID if the section is taught at a different school. |
Dependent Sections | Enter any dependent sections for the section. Separate multiple sections with commas. |
Grade Scale | Choose the grade scale for the section. |
Maximum Load Status | Choose whether the section should be exempt from counting towards a teacher's maximum student load
|
Exclude From Attendance | Select the checkbox if you do not want to include the section in the student ADM/ADA counts. |
Exclude from GPA? | Either include or exclude the grade from the GPA calculation. |
Exclude from Class Rank? | Either include or exclude the grade from the class rank calculation. |
Exclude from Honor Roll? | Either include or exclude the grade from the honor roll calculation. |
Click Save.
Delete a Section
Deleting a section from the master schedule grid results in all enrollment records associated with the section being permanently deleted.
Click the Course Name of the section you want to delete.
Click Delete.
Click Delete.
Section Alerts
If a section's terms, number of periods per meeting, valid day combinations, and/or valid start periods are set up incorrectly, an Alert icon (triangle with an exclamation) appears in the upper right corner of the section tile. If an Alert icon appears, the section tile cannot be moved until the setup is corrected.
View a Section Alert
Click the Alert icon to view the alert. Possible error messages include:
This section does not match valid terms.
This section does not match [number of periods per meeting] periods per meeting.
This section does not match valid days [day combinations].
This section does not match valid start periods [periods].
Correct a Section Alert at the Section Level
Use the following procedure to correct at the section level.
Click the section tile you want to correct.
Use the following table to edit information as needed:
Field | Description |
|---|---|
Expression | Select the checkboxes for the periods for the appropriate days on which the section is taught. This creates the schedule expression that appears next to the section on several pages. |
Term | Choose the term in which the section is offered. Only valid terms as set for the course display. If valid terms set for the course differ from the terms associated with the active scenario, adjust the terms associated with the scenario or the valid terms set for the course. |
Click Done.
Correct a Section Alert at the Course Level
Use the following procedure to correct the Periods Per Meeting, Valid Start Periods, Valid Terms, and/or Valid Day Combinations at the course level.
Navigate to the PowerScheduler page.
Choose Courses from the PowerScheduler menu.
Choose Preferences.
Click the name of the course you want to correct.
Use the following table to edit information as needed:
Field | Description |
|---|---|
Periods Per Meeting | Enter the number of periods the course section meets each time it convenes. Most courses meet for a single period. Some courses have an intensive curriculum and may convene for two or more periods per meeting. |
Valid Start Periods | Select the checkbox next to the appropriate periods to determine in which periods the course is valid to start. For example, if you want a course that has two periods per meeting to start any period except 6 or 7 in a seven-period day, select the checkboxes next to Period 1, Period 2, Period 3, Period 4, and Period 5. |
Valid Terms | Click Associate to select the terms the course can meet. For example, assume you want the system to schedule a half-year course in the fall of a four-term school year. Select S1 (first semester) as the only valid term for the course. Only terms that are active for the scenario are available for selection. For example, if your scenario has yearlong and quarter-long terms, then S1 would not be available for selection. |
Valid Day Combinations | Enter the valid days that the course can meet. For example, if a teacher is available to teach a course only on the B day of an AB schedule, enter B. Click Day to add or edit a day. Enclose single entries in parentheses, such as (B). Enclose multiple entries each in its own parentheses and join together, such as (A)(B)(D). Use commas to indicate day combinations and/or dashes to indicate a range, such as (A, C-E). |
Click Submit.
Section Level Course Requests in Common
You can use the Course Requests in Common pop-up to view which sections have requests in common within the selected period, day, and term, including any terms that overlap, such as Trimester 1 and Quarter 1. Course requests in common represent potential conflicts.
Use the Course Requests in Common Function
Click the Show Course Requests in Common (grid) icon.
The total number of course requests for the selected course appears after the course name and number.
Singleton (square with one dot) courses that share requests in common appear at the top of the list.
Doubleton (square with two dots) courses that share requests in common appear next.
The name and number of each course appear, as well as the total number of course requests common to each course listed.
Courses are sorted in descending order based on the total number of course requests.
If there are no commonalities, the message "No Course Requests in Common" appears.
To view courses with multiple sections that share requests in common, click Show All Courses with Requests in Common.
If there are no singletons and doubletons that share requests in common, this link does not appear, as the courses with multiple sections that share requests in common will automatically appear in the dialog. Additionally, if there are no courses with multiple sections that share requests in common, this link does not appear.Click the upper right corner to close.
Move Sections
Sections may be moved from one cell to another by dragging and dropping. Additionally, a section may be moved by editing the section information via the Section Detail pop-up. For more information, refer to the Sections.
When moving a section, note the following:
Item | Description |
|---|---|
Multiple Section Meetings | If a course section has multiple meetings (more than one period per meeting or meets on multiple days), as you move a section, you will note that multiple cells appear orange. |
Multiple Sections | Multiple sections can be scheduled within the same teacher/period/day/term cell so that you can create a schedule that best meets your school's scheduling and reporting needs. If a teacher/period/day/term cell becomes exceedingly complex, the section tile displays the message “Too complex to display. Sections: [Number of Sections scheduled into this cell appears]”. Click to view the Scheduled Sections Too Complex to Display, which provides information about how to view the sections and the sections scheduled for this teacher/period/day/term. |
Orange | When moving a section in the master schedule grid, the section may be placed in any cell that appears orange. If a section is placed in a cell that is not orange, the section will revert to its original position. A cell that does not appear orange indicates the cell doesn’t match the section’s or the course’s criteria. |
Preferred Room | The section is automatically assigned to the teacher's preferred room if one has been defined. If the teacher’s preferred room has not been defined, no room is automatically assigned. You can change the room associated with the section. For more information on defining a teacher’s preferred room, refer to Staff Schedule Setup. |
Scrolling | When moving a section in the master schedule grid, the master schedule grid scrolls to the left, right, top, or bottom of the schedule grid while dragging the section tile without having to click. |
Striping | If a tile appears shaded with striping, it denotes that a Teacher Free constraint has been specified for that period. However, you may still schedule a section in that cell, but you may need to remove the teacher constraint. To modify this setting, navigate to the PowerScheduler page, then Constraints, then Teacher Free. |
Move a Section
Do any of the following:
To move a section from one teacher to another, drag and drop the tile from one cell to the other.
To move a section from one period to another, drag and drop the tile from one cell to the other.
To move a section from one day to another, drag and drop the tile from one cell to the other. This is only applicable if the scenario contains more than one cycle day in the schedule.
To move a section from one term to another, drag and drop the tile from one cell to the other. This is only applicable if the scenario contains more than one term in the schedule and the valid terms for the course contain more than one term.
Print the Master Schedule Grid for Visual Scheduler
Using the Printer icon, you can print a printer-friendly version of the master schedule grid.
Print sizing and margins implementation differ across browsers; you may need to adjust these values to get the best results.
Click the Printer icon.
Use the following table to enter information:
Page setup options must match your print page setup. Background printing must be enabled to print in color.
Field | Description |
|---|---|
Pages | Choose one of the following options:
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Paper Size & Margins | Enter the size of the paper:
Enter the size of the margins:
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Color | Choose one of the following options:
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Header Font Size | This is the size of the letters. It is set in points (72 points = 1 inch). Enter the font size you want the header to appear as. |
Body Font Size | This is the size of the letters. It is set in points (72 points = 1 inch). Enter the font size you want the contents to appear in. |
Fill Entire Page | Select this option to fit the entire printable area on a page. Otherwise, leave blank. |
Teachers Per Page | If Multiple Pages have been selected, enter the number of teachers you want to appear on each page. The total number of teachers that appear is based on the Schedule option you select below. Use this number to help you determine how many teachers you want to appear on each page. |
Schedule | Choose one of the following options:
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Click Preview & Print. Options vary based on your operating system and browser settings.