Possible Models for Timetabling at Tertiary Institutions

This paper deals with the timetabling problem at tertiary institutions. An empirical research was carried out dealing with timetabling at tertiary institutions in Southern Africa. Questionnaires dealing with, inter alia, student population, number of groups, constraints and the method used for timetabling, were sent to the tertiary institutions. There was a response rate of over 80%. Mad it clear that the timetabling problem is still prevalent. An analysis of the questionnaires revealed some very interesting results, namely, that there were various methods used for timetabling and that no institution that responded is using a fully automated system for timetabling. The analysis indicates that a great deal of time and effort is involved in the process, up to 200 person hours in some institutions. It is clear that the present methods do not address all the timetabling problems. This paper highlights the problems that are still prevalent today and presents three possible models for tertiary timetabling. Each model is examined for its uniqueness, range of applicability and areas of success. It could be loading at the limitations of the models.