In this study, the University Course Timetabling Problem (UCTP) has been investigated. This is a form of Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) and belongs to the NP-complete class. The nature of a such problem is highly descriptive, a solution therefore involves combining many aspects of the problem. Although various timetabling algorithms have been continuously developed for nearly half a cent...

The paper describes a new approach, based on cell biology, to the uncapacitated examination timetabling problem. This approach begins with a single cell which is developed into a fully grown organism through the processes of cell division, cell interaction and cell migration. The mature organism represents a solution to the particular timetabling problem. The paper discusses the performance of ...

Research in the field of examination timetabling has developed in two directions. The first looks at applying various methodologies to induce examination timetables. The second takes an indirect approach to the problem and examines the generation of heuristics or combinations of heuristics, i.e. hyper-heuristics, to be used in the construction of examination timetables. The study presented in t...

Here we introduce DePathos, a graphical tool for a timetabling constraint engine (Pathos). Since the core of Pathos is textbased and provides little user-interaction, finding an appropriate solution for large problems (1000-2000 variables) can be a very time consuming process requiring the constant supervision of a constraint programming expert. DePathos uses an incremental solution strategy. S...

Timetabling problems are often solved based upon what is assumed to be complete information about the problem. However, users may later desire modifications to the generated timetable to adapt to changing requirements or increase their personal satisfaction with the solution [1,5,3]. Methods that allow corrections to an existing timetable while leaving most of the solution intact are necessary....

A key concept in timetabling problems is that of the conflict graph with edges representing pairs of events that are not allowed to occur at the same time. Usually, the only information presented about such graphs is their density. However, intuitively, it seems likely that such graphs are structured, and most likely have some clustering. In analysing the structure of social networks or of the ...

The most complete form of academic timetabling problem is the population and course timetabling problem. In this problem, there may be multiple classes of each subject, and the decision on which students are to constitute each class is made in concert with the decision on the timetable for each class. In order to solve this problem, it is normally simplified or decomposed in some fashion. One s...

Course timetabling is a combinatorial optimization problem and has been confirmed to be an NP-complete problem. Course timetabling problems are different for different universities. The studied university course timetabling problem involves hard constraints such as classroom, class curriculum, and other variables. Concurrently, some soft constraints need also to be considered, including teacher...

We describe the General Examination/Lecture Timetabling Problem (GELTP), which covers a very broad range of real problems faced continually in educational institutions, and we describe how Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) can be employed to eeectively address arbitrary instances of the GELTP. Some benchmark GELTPs are described, including real and randomly generated problems. Results are presented...